Jackson Zeros In As Notre Dame Downs No. 13 Louisville
Five overtimes weren't necessary this year for Notre Dame to take down the Cardinals.
A monster day from junior guard Demetrius Jackson spearheaded the Irish to a 71-66 win over No. 13 Louisville in front of a soldout crowd in Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams started the game hot, with Notre Dame hitting 4-of-5 field goal attempts before the first media timeout, and Louisville 4-of-7. The Cardinals won the first round grabbing an 11-9 lead just over four minutes into the game, and maintained that lead 17-15 at the 11:31 mark.
Jackson started the game on fire, ripping off a trio of early three-point makes before the midway point of the first half. On the second made three, he turned and signaled the "three goggles" to former Notre Dame stars Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant, who were courtside in-attendance during the NBA All-Star break. On the third make, he was fouled and made the free throw attempt.
"I wonder why he isn't mentioned for Player of the Year in our league more," head coach Mike Brey said. "He's a Player of the Year candidate - are you kidding me?
"Leadership is an area where as you've seen this week, he's firmly at the controls. I think he's learned how to talk to them and when to get on guys. He really challenged V.J. [Beachem] and Bonzie [Colson] last week at halftime against Carolina, and he's done a good job of knowing when to get on them and when to encourage.
"He's great in timeouts. I'll talk at the beginning of the timeout and he usually finishes it."
The two teams maintained pretty even play throughout the first half, with back-and-forth lead exchanges and ties. Louisville pulled away 43-36 at halftime, though, after the Cardinals ended the period blocking a Jackson three-point attempt and scoring on an alley-oop dunk.
The story of the first half boiled down to a great half for Jackson, but the Irish needed more help to either keep up with the Cardinals scoring rate or slow them down on the defensive end. The junior finished the first half with 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 5-for-8 from three-point range - while the rest of the Irish finished with 16 points on 6-of-18 (33 percent) makes.
Louisville opened the second half grabbing a double-digit lead behind a couple of made three's, eventually putting them ahead 53-42 at the 14:57 marker. It started to feel like the Irish's late charge to upset then-No. 2 North Carolina last week - after trailing by 15 in the first half - could not be duplicated this time.
But Notre Dame found a way. They pulled within five after a three-point make by junior Steve Vasturia and a layup from junior forward V.J. Beachem at the 11:22 marker, and - another - three from Jackson cut the deficit to 61-58 with under 8:25 to play.
The ever-growing noise in the crowd exploded when a two-handed slam from senior forward Zach Auguste put the Irish ahead 62-61 at the 6:53 marker, their first lead of the second half.
"I think that was developed last year with this nucleus," said Brey, on the team finding a way to win. "The guys that returned remembered how we could go for the jugular.
"We've been really cruel competitors this last week, and I couldn't be prouder. When we sense it we go for it, and we know how to finish. Last year's team did that, this year's team had not shown that really until last Saturday, then we had to do it in Greenville and again tonight.
"I'm just really excited about that aspect of us and that personality of our team coming out."
That 62-61 lead was in-part recaptured by more steady play from Jackson and help from Vasturia, who at one stage had combined for 45 of Notre Dame's 60 points.
With the shot clock winding down, a beautiful, poised drive and dish from Jackson to Auguste resulted in a layup, giving the Irish a 67-63 lead with 2:46 to play.
"That play was one of those things where they're in such a good rhythm now with those five guys, the worst thing to do would be to overcoach them," Brey said. "Let them play.
"They know what our strengths are; ballscreening for him, rolling and making the extra pass. You just kind of let the moment happen.
"The crowd was great, we were feeling it. Louisville was wondering. Just shut up as a coach and let them play, and figure it out."
They maintained that lead for a few minutes as neither team could score, and a Beachem steal gave the Irish possession with still a four-point lead with 39 seconds to play.
Fittingly enough, two Jackson free throws helped ice the game for the Irish by giving them a six-point lead with 25 seconds to play, before the eventual 71-66 final.
The Irish have a week off before traveling to Georgia Tech on Feb. 20. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
"I like that we have a little bye week to get into the practice routine," Brey said. "Our last time of good reps in practice before we get into a busy stretch in March, and you kind of are who you are.
"I love the position we're in, and these guys will remain hungry. They know they found something last Saturday.
"Now we're getting into that double-bye territory and why not talk about a regular season championship? Last year's team chased the regular season title until about the last week or so. Those are the things we'll come back to."
Box Score: LINK.
Game Notes:
• The Irish improved to 20-14 all-time against the Cardinals.
• Head coach Mike Brey is now 7-8 in his Notre Dame career against Louisville.