Notre Dame Still Perfect in ACC with Win over Miami: The Highlights
Notre Dame kept their record in ACC play unblemished on Thursday night in Miami with a 67-62 win over the Hurricanes. The Irish overcame a sluggish start to the first half to pick up their fourth win in as many tries in ACC play. Steve Vasturia built on his reputation of being clutch yet again by driving through the lane and sinking a layup with 8 seconds left to put the Irish up by three.
Notre Dame used a 10-0 run to start the 2nd half to fuel their latest victory. The run would be a sign of things to come as both squads exchanged runs before Vasturia’s latest heroics put the nail in the coffin. Miami used a 13-2 run in the second half to take the lead after Notre Dame built it’s biggest lead of the game.
The runs didn’t end there.
Notre Dame outscored Miami 10-1 down the stretch to comeback one last time before time expired. VJ Beachem came up big in the clutch again with the go ahead basket and victory sealing steal. Beachem’s go ahead bucket set Vasturia up for his latest last second basket.
Colson Goes Cold
Bonzie Colson had a rare off night for Notre Dame on Thursday with a season low 8 points. Colson hit just 2 of 12 shots from the floor. His cold night shooting didn’t effect him on the glass as he recorded his fourth straight game with double digit rebounds. Colson’s 11 rebounds gave him 10 or more rebounds in 11 of the last 14 games.
Matt Farrell kept his hot streak going by leading Notre Dame with 15 points while Beachem added 13 and Vasturia 10. Reserve Austin Torres had an efficient night with 8 points in just 8 minutes off the bench for the Irish.
As a team, Notre Dame hit just 5 of 20 three pointers but did continue their impressive free throw shooting. Notre Dame leads the country from charity stripe and hit 12 of 14 again on Thursday night. The two most important came from Farrell who knocked down both of his attempts following Beachem’s steal.
We’re Going Streaking, Miami Isn’t
Notre Dame’s victory is their 4th in a row in ACC play and 6th in a row overall. The four ACC wins have been a combined 18 points. Miami on the other hand, had their 21 game home winning streak snapped by the Irish who are now 15-2 overall and ranked 20th in the country.
The 4-0 start to conference play is the best in Notre Dame’s short history in the ACC. The Irish are also one of just two unbeaten teams in ACC play along with Florida State.
Next Up for Notre Dame Basketball
The Irish don’t have much time to rest before their next contest. Notre Dame is back in action again Saturday afternoon on the road in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 13-3 on the season after beating Syracuse earlier this week. Hopefully the basketball team can get some payback for the football team after the Hokies ruined Senior Day in November.
Coincidence; Bruce, Damian, the more belittling remarks I make, the Irish just keep on a Winning. Trouble is I’m running out of gems. Oh, what an Honor it would be to Win the Coveted National Invitational Tournament!
Mike,
You are like all of us – permanently emotionally damaged by generations of “one and done” or “two and through” performances in the tournaments! But these guys have made great strides in leaving those bad old days behind. We fans have to be able to leave those days behind too!
As for consistency being the name of the game in the tournament: in basketball post-season events you are dead on right. I’m sure they are working on it. I’m just glad they get a few days rest before FSU. In the tournaments, they won’t get much rest.
Bruce G. Curme ’77 ’82
A great win. My biggest concern wasn’t the slow start at the beginning. Being away sometimes it takes a few minutes to find your groove. It was after they went up by 11 in the 2nd half, then they started missing shots and getting sloppy and they found themselves in the hole by 4 points. It was frustrating to watch. They had a chance to put the Hurricanes away and they didn’t. Thankfully they won it, and they don’t lose their composure, but that is concerning. It will come back to burn them at some point. It’s the same problem I noticed against Fort Wayne, Villanova and Purdue, resulting in 2 of those being losses. If they can clean that up, they could have a great year going forward.
Farrell and Beachem both did a good job last night. I think Colson will be back to form against VT, he just had an off night. It happens. Pfleuger is pretty good too for his limited action this season. And I heard on ESPN last night that their free throws are breaking records. Did I hear correctly that they in the 90’s for FT shots (maybe I misheard that–though I wouldn’t really be surprise–they rarely miss).
In any event, it’s always good to beat Miami. I don’t care what sport it is. And this one felt good because it ruined their home winning streak :).
Injuries will take there toll. The cupboard is bare, except for Rex Pfleuger.
A key injury will always hurt, but they look pretty well conditioned to me – they have closed games well lately…that’s usually a sign of good conditioning. When you are on the road and the game is tied at halftime you are in good shape…you’ve just caused the other team to waste a full half of its home court advantage. Let’s do it again!
Bruce G. Curme
La Crosse, Indiana
Yeah, I’m not sure where Kelly is coming from. I figure ND goes about 8 deep right now. Brey uses more bench players this year than usual. Kelly really seems down on the Irish. I remember he made a comment about ND only going to the NIT this year, which is crazy.
Now I’m realistic. I believe they will go to the tournament. But how deep they go depends on them fixing a few problems, the most being what I’ve been concerned about since Fort Wayne, that is keeping the pressure up. They had a chance to pull away from the Canes and they let them back in it.
your posts lead me to believe that you are a USC fan in sheeps clothing