Notre Dame Rolls 89-83 Over Clemson

Clemson is too good at home, they said. Quick, emotional turnarounds are tough to overcome, they said.

But after upsetting then-No. 2 North Carolina at home with College GameDay in the house on Saturday evening, Notre Dame went on the road Monday night and handed Clemson its first conference home loss of the year, leading from start to finish in an 89-83 victory.

Prior to the Feb. 8 loss to the Irish, the Tigers had defeated Florida State 84-75, Louisville 66-62, Duke 68-63, Miami 76-65 and Pittsburgh 73-60 all at home in ACC play.

Notre Dame opened the game on an 11-2 sprint before the first media timeout, after junior forward V.J. Beachem nailed multiple three-point tries from the left corner. But Clemson stuck around to get back into the game at 13-9 at the 11:53 marker - and matters weren't helped for the Irish when at the same time, senior forward Zach Auguste had to take a seat with two fouls.

Without Auguste in the lineup, Notre Dame maintained its lead at 19-16 with 8:01 left in the period behind a jumper from junior guard Demetrius Jackson and a three-pointer by freshman forward Matt Ryan.

Reserve forward Austin Torres checked in for a period with Auguste still on the bench, scoring on a three-point play via an offensive rebound, bucket and free throw. The next possession, Torres passed up a good shot underneath the bucket for what would eventually become a second made three by Ryan, giving the Irish a nine-point lead.

A beautiful alley-oop from freshman guard Rex Pflueger to Jackson helped Notre Dame hold its lead at 27-19 with 5:47 to play.

Notre Dame would go on to lead 35-29 at the break. The first half felt like it was all Irish, yet, it was only a six-point margin at halftime. Mike Brey's team shot 13-of-29 (45 percent) in the first 20 minutes compared to an 11-of-23 (48 percent) clip for Clemson.

Auguste played only the first eight minutes of the half after the foul trouble, contributing four points and four rebounds.

Clemson cut the halftime deficit to as close as one point before the first media timeout, eventually trailing 43-41 at the 14:47 marker. Despite multiple buckets from Auguste, Notre Dame couldn't create any significant distance on the Tigers for several minutes, clinging to a 50-47 lead at the midway point of the final period.

However, two straight buckets from Vasturia - with some lucky bounces - and a corner three from Beachem put the Irish ahead nearly double-digits at 58-49 with 8:36 to play.

The Irish maintained their lead, even extending it to 11 points at 71-60 with 4:25 to play. Notre Dame's lead grew to 77-64 at the 2:27 marker before the eventual 89-83 margin.

Auguste overcame the early foul trouble to lead the Irish in scoring with 19 points on 8-of-12 (66 percent) shooting, in addition to snagging eight rebounds.

Notre Dame next hosts No. 13 Louisville on Saturday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, and it will be televised live on ESPN2.

Box Score: LINK.

Game Notes:

• The Irish improved to 4-0 all-time against the Tigers.

• The starting lineup of Jackson, Vasturia, Beachem, Colson and Auguste grew to 12-5 on the year.