Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 JANUARY 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY MATT JONES N otre Dame narrowly missed a huge opportunity to get a NCAA Tournament résumé win Dec. 10, falling to No. 1-ranked Villanova 74-66 at the Pru- dential Center in Newark, N.J. The loss dropped the Irish to 9-1 through 10 games, still the best start in head coach Mike Brey's 17 seasons at Notre Dame. "That was a heck of a game for Dec. 10," Brey said. "… I loved our fight. I love who we are. We were ready to play, ready to compete. "We're disappointed we didn't win, I felt we matched up well with them. Our guys are kind of disappointed, but I love my group and what we've seen early out of them." The loss was especially disappoint- ing considering Notre Dame's strong start. The 23rd-ranked Irish — a 5.5-point underdog according to Ve- gas Insider — were in control during an impressive first half, taking a 41-36 halftime advantage after leading by as many as 11 points. The Irish shot 51.5 percent in the first half while get- ting 12 points from junior point guard Matt Farrell and 10 from senior guard Steve Vasturia, both New Jersey na- tives. In the second half, though, Vil- lanova senior guard Josh Hart took over. Hart scored a career-high 37 points and was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 on three-pointers, and made all 14 of his free throw attempts. Villanova took its first lead with 9:07 remaining in the second half on a Jalen Brunson layup. The Wildcats were tenacious on the defensive end in the second half, holding the Irish to just 25 points after halftime. Farrell and Vasturia finished with 18 points apiece, while senior wing V.J. Beachem tallied just four points on 2-of-11 shooting. "It's a long season, and we wanted to win this game; it was a great bat- tle," Vasturia said. "There's obviously a lot of things we can learn from it. Just trying to find ways to get better, and that's one thing we've always preached here is that it's a long road all the way through the season. "You're going to take your punches, and this group is going to be able to bounce back and we will." FREE THROW LINE A MAJOR WEAPON Get to the free throw line. Make the shot. For Notre Dame, it has been a huge recipe for success early this season. It was a major reason the Irish out- lasted Iowa Nov. 29. Notre Dame made 30 of 33 free throw attempts against the Hawkeyes in the 92-78 victory. Against Fort Wayne Dec. 6, the Irish went 20 of 23 from the line. And against Villanova, Notre Dame was a perfect 6 of 6. "It's an unbelievable weapon, it re- ally is," head coach Mike Brey said af- ter the Iowa game. Notre Dame ranks first in the coun- try in free throw percentage, making 86.4 percent of its attempts during the 9-1 start. Though that number is likely to come down some as the Irish enter tough road environments in Atlantic Coast Conference play, it's still likely to be one of the best marks in Brey's 17 seasons in South Bend. The past two seasons have trended in this direction. In 2014-15, Notre Dame made 74.2 percent of its 756 attempts, which ranked 27th in the country. Last season the Irish were 34th, also making 74.2 percent of their 671 attempts. Junior point guard Matt Farrell has not missed this year at the line, starting the season 24 of 24. Senior guard Steve Vasturia is 32 of 33 (97.0 percent), good for third in Di- vision I. Farrell would be first, but he does not have the minimum require- ment of 2.5 makes per game. Junior forward Bonzie Colson is ranked 25th at 91.8 percent (45 of 49). "We've just realized how much of a key it can be for us. Not only down the stretch in games and winning games, but just a great weapon for us," senior wing V.J. Beachem said. "To get to that line a lot and to knock them down is free and easy points for us. We've got to try and make the most of them." Brey said the key is that his players know when to attack and get to the free throw line. "The thing is we get there, too," Brey said. "We have a feel for the game, when we get to the bonus, we start Junior forward Bonzie Colson has had a terrific start to the season, averaging 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game through Dec. 12. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Taking a Punch Irish fall to No. 1 Villanova, but are still off to their best start in Mike Brey's 17 seasons