Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 29, 2025 47 that. He easily could have pouted. Could have been upset about it. He responded. Came in, knocked in a couple open shots, made his free throws. Really guarded. We need all of our guys to respond that way." Frost and Koehler are true freshmen, while Certa played sparingly last year. It's more than reasonable to expect all three to be more consistent in January, when Atlantic Coast Conference play begins, than in November. Shrewsberry certainly believes they will be. If that happens, it makes the Irish a significantly more dangerous team. "When they're open and they shoot it, I feel like it's going in," Shrewsberry said. "Whether it does or it doesn't, it feels like it's going in. And it gives you such a threat to have those guys." To reach its full potential, Notre Dame needs those guys to keep themselves on the court. EARLY RETURNS ON HARALSON, TOWT EXCEED EXPECTATIONS Notre Dame was in trouble before Ha- ralson went into takeover mode. With the Irish down 26-21 to Bellar- mine, the true freshman guard saw a crease in the Knights' zone defense and attacked. Quick first step, right-handed layup off the glass, easy two. The very next possession, he backed down a smaller defender, drew a double team and dished it across the lane to Towt for another two. The possession after that, he knifed into the paint and finished with a finger roll for two more. Six points in about a minute, turn- ing a concerning deficit into a lead. All Haralson. "He's a run stopper for us," Shrews- berry said. "When you get in those mo- ments when the other team's on a run, he can get you a layup, he can get you a paint point and he can get to the free throw line. That's a rally killer." Later, as the Irish went on a run of their own, Haralson started to attack in transition. And as good as the La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere product has been in the half court, that's where he really excels. "That was the thing, just rebounding and going and pushing," Haralson said. "[Bellarmine is] a good team, but some- times they have trouble matching up in transition. So, we wanted to exploit that." Haralson scored 16 points, grabbed 4 rebounds (including 3 on the offen- sive glass) and dished 5 assists Nov. 19. He does all the little things — fight- ing for extra possessions, finding open teammates and hustling for fast-break opportunities — despite being Notre Dame's most talented player. And he did it against Power Four competition Nov. 16 against Ohio State, too. If it wasn't clear by now, Haralson is much more than a hyped-up recruit. He's the real deal, in so many ways. "That stuff is what we expected from him, and just hats off to him" Shrewsberry said. "He really works hard. He's spent a lot of time with [assistant coach] Tre [Whitted]. He's spent a lot of time with [associate head] coach [Kyle] Getter. He's watching a lot of film. I saw him working with [assistant coach] Grady [Eifert]. He spends a lot of time in the gym, working. "He deserves everything that comes to him." Speaking of doing the little things, Towt had himself a night as well. He scored 12 points and grabbed 11 re- bounds, producing the second double- double of his Notre Dame career. The Northern Arizona transfer was averaging 12.6 rebounds per game, which is fourth in college basketball, after leading the nation last year with 12.4. Towt corralled 12 boards against Ohio State, limiting the Buckeyes to just 1 offensive rebound and Bellarmine to 2. Notre Dame is out-rebounding its opponents 39.2-26.6 on average this season, including 12.2-7.4 on the offen- sive end. There is one person respon- sible for that, and he wears No. 33 with flowing, blonde hair and a mustache. "He's usually cleaning it up for us, and that's such a huge advantage," Shrews- berry said. "His defensive rebound num- bers have been really good, but it helps finish our defensive possessions." In addition to his rebounding, Towt is invaluable as a help defender in Notre Dame's defensive scheme. He catches the ball, passes (2.6 assists per game) and scores better than Irish fans are used to from that position. And he brings much-needed effort, toughness and leadership on both ends of the floor. "The scoring part is a huge bonus for us," Shrewsberry said. "People guard us in different ways, and he's finding openings. He's being aggressive and scoring in different ways. But his impact for us is really defensively. "Our team is guarding really hard defensively. We're making it tough on people. We want to force you to one tough, contested shot. And then we want to keep you off the glass." Through five games, it's easy to see the impact on winning Haralson and Towt make for Notre Dame. Do the two of them solve all the prob- lems that led to sub-.500 records in Shrewsberry's first two seasons? No. Both are non-shooters, though Haral- son has plenty of room for development in that area. But they certainly solve a lot of them, raising both the floor and the ceiling in Shrewsberry's third season. After getting underwhelming results from their fresh- men and transfer additions a year ago, the Irish look like they knocked it out of the park with Haralson and Towt. ✦ 2025-26 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Nov. 3 LIU Brooklyn W, 89-67 Nov. 7 Detroit Mercy W, 102-70 Nov. 11 Eastern Illinois W, 78-58 Nov. 16 at Ohio State L, 64-63 Nov. 19 Bellarmine W, 86-79 Nov. 24 vs. Kansas+ (TNT) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25 vs. Rutgers+ (TNT) 1 p.m. Nov. 26/27 vs. TBD+ TBA Dec. 2 Missouri^ (ESPNU) 9 p.m. Dec. 5 at TCU (ESPN+) 8 p.m. Dec. 10 Idaho (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Dec. 13 Evansville (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Dec. 21 Purdue Fort Wayne (ACCNX) 12 p.m. Dec. 30 at Stanford* (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Jan. 2 at California* (ESPN2) 11 p.m. Jan. 10 Clemson* (ESPN2/U) 6 p.m. Jan. 13 Miami* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 12 p.m. Jan. 21 at North Carolina* (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Jan. 24 Boston College* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 27 Virginia* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at Syracuse* (The CW) 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at Louisville* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m. Feb. 7 Florida State* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 10 at SMU* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Feb. 14 Georgia Tech* (The CW) 12 p.m. Feb. 21 at Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Feb. 24 Duke* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m. Feb. 28 NC State* (The CW) 12 p.m. March 4 Stanford* (ESPNU) 9 p.m. March 7 at Boston College* (ESPNU) 12 p.m. + Players Era Championship in Las Vegas (other teams involved are Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Iowa State, Mary- land, Michigan, Oregon, San Diego State, St. John's, Syracuse, Tennessee and UNLV); ^ ACC/ SEC Challenge; * ACC Game