Notre Dame Pulls Away 89-75 From NC State
Have yourself a senior day, Zach Auguste.
The veteran big man - playing in his final game in Purcell Pavilion - finished with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading Notre Dame to an 89-75 home win over NC State.
Auguste even made 8-of-11 attempts (73 percent) from the free throw line, and threw in another two blocks. He was simply - as head coach Mike Brey puts it - a machine.
"I am so impressed and so proud of the man, leader and player he's become," Brey said. "We've got to ride him hard.
"There's not a big man in the country playing better than Zach Auguste. He's playing as good as anybody."
Notre Dame's prior scoring woes carried over into the game's opening minutes, shooting just 1-for-8 from the field before the first media timeout to trail NC State 6-3.
Usually known for playing at a slow tempo, the Irish seemed to pick it up in transition a few possessions early, in an effort to pick up some easy buckets.
The strategy change worked. Rarely utilized since non-conference play, sophomore guard Matt Farrell played 13 minutes in the first half as a ball-handler and pushed the tempo for the Irish. He finished with three assists in the first period - including one between-the-legs - helping Notre Dame to a 45-39 halftime lead.
Notre Dame’s average possession length in the first half was 13 seconds, compared to a much slower season average of 19. The Irish finished the game with a 15 second average - still very fast.
The fastest offensive team nationally on the season is Green Bay, with an average of 13.4 seconds per possession, according to Kenpom.com. The slowest is American at 21.1.
"The guard tempo was key," Brey said. "We played faster in practice, with a 27-second shot clock for two days. Demetrius and Matt did a great job pushing the pace, and it had us in attack mode.
"Matter of fact, on Thursday, we played a five minute period with an 18-second shot clock. But I think it really helps us. It gets Demetrius [Jackson] going, you're playing downhill and you're attacking. Maybe we take some semi bad shots - I don't care. We're going to roll; we're going to go for it. The running Irish head to D.C."
At the midway point of the first half, freshman forward Matt Ryan scored on three consecutive buckets - including two from long-range - to give the Irish a 20-13 lead.
Ryan and freshman guard Rex Pflueger - on Senior Day, ironically enough - added additional three's to help Notre Dame stay within 32-31 with under 5:00 left in the first half.
Ryan led all scorers in the first period with a blistering 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.
"How about our freshman today?" Brey said. "Matt Ryan, that was coming. It was bubbling the whole time.
"And Rex, I think [Barber] only scored one bucket on him. He's making three's for us and making hustle plays. I love where those guys are heading into postseason play; those guys are not freshmen anymore.
"They've both been very important for us. Ryan has not gone off like that, but he has go off ability written all over him, because he's gone off in practice like that. And he's given us a good lift off the bench, making some shots and helping us win games. But I love where his frame of mind is right now. Rex is Rex - we've seen it, he's a winner and he guards. Now he's starting to make shots and he gets loose balls. I don't think of them as freshmen."
After a difficult first half, junior guard Demetrius Jackson started hot in the second, scoring on a deep midrange jumper and making a fullcourt pass to Beachem for a layup to give the Irish a 10-point lead.
However, NC State responded with a 12-2 run to knot it up at 53-53 by the 14:56 marker. The teams traded baskets with Notre Dame holding a one-point lead after the second media timeout, until back-to-back baskets by Jackson - including a tough layup and pullup three-pointer - gave the Irish a 12-point lead with 8:44 to play.
Notre Dame swelled that lead to 15 points on more scores from Jackson, before leading 85-69 with 3:28 on the clock and the 89-75 final margin.
"When Matt Farrell in that kind of rhythm, you can get DJ out for a while," Brey said. "Let him watch and evaluate.
"And then when he comes back in, he's a man possessed. So I kind of learned something about my team, and it's March."
Notre Dame next awaits the final ACC standings to see where they're seeded in the postseason conference tournament. If North Carolina wins at Duke tonight (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) the Irish secure the No. 4 seed and a double-bye for the ACC tournament.
Box Score: LINK.
Game Notes:
• The Irish improved to 6-4 in the all-time series against the Wolfpack.
• Mike Brey is now 2-2 in his Notre Dame career against NC State.