Second-Half Rally Carries Notre Dame 70-63 Over Michigan
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — It was a tale of two halves — again — for Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Like in so many games this year, the Irish dug themselves a massive halftime deficit — this one 41-29 to No. 11-seeded Michigan. But they clawed back to outscore the Wolverines 41-22 in the final period, earning a 70-63 win in The Barclays Center on Friday night.
It was hard not to wonder by halftime if a season that seemed to have so much promise in early February would end in a whimper. Entering Friday night’s contest, the Irish were losers in four of their last seven games, including a few in blowout fashion.
Those defeats were due to turnover issues, committing a combined 35 giveaways in two ACC Tournament contests. Those losses were due to a scuffling starting backcourt in junior Demetrius Jackson and junior Steve Vasturia, whose struggles seemed to grow worse and worse to become just shadows of their earlier season selves.
Michigan grabbed the game’s first lead at 2-0, and held it for the entire first period behind 7 of 14 three-point makes — exactly the Wolverines key the Irish wanted to stop.
Notre Dame committed 10 first-half turnovers — exactly the key the Irish themselves wanted to fix.
And after trailing by as much as 13 with less than seven minutes to go in the first half, the Irish pulled within 34-29 at the 1:36 mark, only to let the Wolverines end the half on a 7-0 run — another key the Irish had worked on in practice, closing out halves.
All those things they said they needed to do, they didn't in the first 20 minutes.
But then came a much-needed halftime talk.
“Coach [Brey] really came up to us and said we have two choices,” senior forward Zach Auguste said. “We come out and play like men and play hard, or we go home.
“It really resonated. Our leadership stepped up and we challenged ourselves to come out and do what we could do, to give it our all. It was our last go-round, so we just came out and did what we could do to move on.”
Suddenly, a Vasturia sighting. The junior opened the second half with a layup and a three-pointer to pull the Irish back in it at 41-34, after finishing the first half just 1 of 5 from the field.
Notre Dame finally tied the game at 48-48 with 12:18 to play — the first since 0-0 — and retook the lead at 51-48 on a Beachem three.
Michigan wouldn't go away, though. The Wolverines responded, jumping back ahead 54-51 after nailing back-to-back threes.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome Notre Dame’s resilient second half. Junior forward V.J. Beachem led the way with perfect 7-of-7 shooting, including 4 of 4 from long distance, and finished with a team-high 18 points.
“This was like some of our really good wins — North Carolina, Louisville — where we almost have to have our life flashing before our very eyes, as we were at halftime, to dig in and defend,” Brey said. “A lot of our great wins, we were down, and it was like, we’ve got to dig in, and we did.
“Again, to hold them to 22 or 23, we can play it when we need to. I’d like to see us play it a little longer, quite frank willy, and maybe I’ll mention that tomorrow."
Brey has never hesitated to shake things up when he knows his current lineup isn’t working.
Insert sophomore guard Matt Farrell picking up his first career start — yes, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — after totaling just 42 minutes in 11 games since the beginning of February, including five DNPs.
He finished with five points and four assists in the win over Michigan.
“He gives us another ball handler on the floor,” Brey said. “I think it helps Demetrius.
“He had four assists. He made some plays. I thought he was really good defensively. You know, it’s interesting, he helped us win a bunch of games early, and then we got away from him, and we were winning.
“I give him a lot of credit because he kept the great attitude because it’s hard, playing early, then not playing. Then we throw him to in there to start and he really delivered. But his teammates are confident in him, and I’m very confident in him.”
Notre Dame advances to face No. 14-seeded Stephen F. Austin on Sunday. The Lumberjacks upset No. 3-seeded West Virginia 70-56 on Friday night. That game is scheduled to start 30 minutes following the conclusion of Villanova versus Iowa, which is set for a 12:10 p.m. ET tipoff.