Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 28, 2016 49 MEN'S BASKETBALL BY MATT JONES W ithout a dominant post presence this season, Notre Dame's men's basketball team could be looking for a large chunk of its offense to come from the outside. And with a handful of dangerous shooters in senior guard Steve Vas- turia, senior wing V.J. Beachem, junior point guard Matt Farrell and sopho- more wing Matt Ryan, it might not be a bad plan. Notre Dame flashed that potential in its second game, against Seattle Nov. 16, shooting 34 three-pointers in a 92-49 blowout at the Joyce Center. The Irish made 15 of their threes, the most since hitting 20 in a 93-72 win over Villanova on Feb. 28, 2011. "We can shoot. We can definitely shoot," Farrell said with a grin. "That's something we've always been able to do." The Irish began the game on a tear from behind the arc, connecting on 10 of their 18 attempts in the first half. Taking advantage of Seattle's 1-2-2 zone defense, Notre Dame built a massive first-half lead with its marks- manship. Beachem finished 3 of 6, Farrell 3 of 7, Vasturia 3 of 4, Ryan 3 of 8 and sophomore guard Rex Pflueger 2 of 3. Freshman point guard T.J. Gibbs also hit one. "If people are going to zone us, it helps when we get in there and at- tack and kick it out," Farrell said. "If we're taking good shots and people are wide open, there's a good chance it's going to go in." Farrell especially was a bright spot from behind the arc. He missed both of his attempts from three in the opener against Bryant and said he wanted to come out shooting against the Redhawks. "I've been getting extra reps and I wanted to come out [shooting]," Farrell said. "Everyone's been telling me, 'Shoot it, shoot it,' so I wanted to come out and shoot the ball with confidence." Beachem, as well as the Notre Dame coaches, have been pleading with Far- rell to show off his shooting touch. "It's something that Coach Brey and the rest of us have always talked to him about," Beachem said of Farrell. "If he's open, just step up and shoot it. We trust him and we trust his shot. I know he was worried about it a bit after the first game, but we kept talking to him and he really stepped up tonight and knocked down some shots for us." Last season, Notre Dame finished 46th in the country in three-point field goal percentage, making 37.4 percent of its attempts. In 2014-15, the Irish hit on 39.0 percent of attempts, 24th in the nation. As Notre Dame's schedule toughens, 17th-year head coach Mike Brey said he expects the shooting to still be there. "That'll be interesting to watch," Brey said of his team's shooting touch. "I always hang my hat on, we know what a good shot is and we pass and move and screen for each other. We know how to play on that end of the floor. We're going to have to work harder against better teams to get good shots, but I'm confident we can get good shots against teams. "Many teams will come out and re- ally play us and take away the three, and we have the ability to put it on the floor. Like the first game, we put it on the floor, got hand checked and got to the foul line a lot. You're ready to adjust as the game goes." Notre Dame's two departures to the NBA after last season — point guard Demetrius Jackson and forward Zach Auguste — were not deadly three- point threats. Jackson hit 54 of his 163 attempts (33.1 percent) in 2015-16. Their minutes are now going to Far- rell, Ryan and Pflueger, which gives the Irish more shooting, though less athleticism and inside game. Notre Dame is again expected to be a good ball movement team — it assisted on 38 of its 62 made field goals through two games. "We're sharing the ball well offen- sively, which is always great for our program," Beachem said. "It was a great sign to see us shoot the ball the way we did [against Seattle], which is going to be huge for us throughout the season." ✦ Junior point guard Matt Farrell connected on three of Notre Dame's 15 three-pointers in its 92-49 victory over Seattle Nov. 16. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Notre Dame Routs Loyola (Md.) 83-48 It was the V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson show Nov. 18, with the duo combining to score 40 points to lead Notre Dame (3-0) to an 83-48 blowout victory over Loyola (Md.) (1-3). Beachem, a senior wing, led all scorers with 21 points while Colson, a junior forward, added 19 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Senior guard Steve Vasturia contributed nine points and four assists, while junior point guard Matt Farrell added eight points and three assists. Junior big man Martinas Geben finished with his best game of the season, scoring four points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Irish shot 48.6 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range. On defense, Notre Dame held Loyola (Md.) to 29.6 percent shooting (16 of 54) and didn't allow a double-digit scorer. — Corey Bodden Perimeter Power Irish show shooting touch in early season games