Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2017 39 MEN'S BASKETBALL driving a little more. We talk about it, let's starting driving it. We had a couple key free throws on just strong rebounds where they reacted and kind of hit our guys. "It's a heck of a way to build in a game where maybe you're not shoot- ing it as well [from the field]." Beachem — who has converted 83.3 percent of his 36 attempts — has made a significant improvement over last season. He hit just 57.4 percent of his free throws in 2015-16. "Last year, I just got off to a slow start and it just stuck in my head, like, 'Wow, I'm actually missing free throws,'" Beachem said. "My entire life I've been a pretty good free throw shooter, so it just got into my head a little last year and this year I've started off shooting pretty well. It's a lot different in my mind." The performance against Iowa would have been more impressive if not for two misses by junior forward Martinas Geben — he is now 3 of 6 this year. Beachem said the team's perfor- mance from the free throw line will carry throughout the season. "That's one thing you can take on the road with you," Beachem said. "Your defense and your free throw shooting. They're free and easy points, and we've been doing a great job of capitalizing on them so far and that's something we'll continue to do." RESERVES FINDING ROLES When head coach Mike Brey goes to his bench — typically about six minutes into a game — his options are potentially the best he's had in 17 seasons in South Bend. Freshman point guard T.J. Gibbs, sophomore wing Rex Pflueger and se- nior forward Austin Torres provided the Irish a lift off the bench during their 9-1 start, particularly on the de- fensive end. "When you take a T.J., Torres and Pflueger, they give you such a lift defensively," Brey said. "They fly around. They kind of wear a team down, and wear maybe other good players down." And while Notre Dame's bench doesn't have a big-time potential scorer outside sophomore wing Matt Ryan, Brey relies on them for energy. "You come off with Rex and T.J. and the edge that they're playing with right now," Brey said. "Torres gives you that, too. Even Matt Ryan. We know he can shoot it, but he sticks his nose in there and rebounds and flies around a little bit. "Rex, T.J. and Torres, they give you a great energy boost and defensive boost when they're in there." Pflueger is perhaps Notre Dame's best individual defender. He lim- ited Iowa star senior Peter Jok to just 4-of-20 shooting in November. Gibbs, meanwhile, has proved capable in place of Farrell off the bench. "They come in the game and bring a lot of energy," Vasturia said of Gibbs and Pflueger in the backcourt. "They can guard guys 94 feet. They can score the ball and they're a great boost off the bench." ✦ 2016-17 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 1 Mercy! W, 119-58 Nov. 7 Catholic! W, 103-48 Nov. 12 Bryant W, 89-64 Nov. 16 Seattle W, 92-49 Nov. 18 Loyola (Md.) W, 83-48 Nov. 21 vs. Colorado# W, 89-83 Nov. 22 vs. Northwestern# W, 70-66 Nov. 26 Chicago State W, 91-60 Nov. 29 Iowa& W, 92-78 Dec. 4 North Carolina A&T W, 107-53 Dec. 6 IPFW W, 87-72 Dec. 10 vs. Villanova% L, 74-66 Dec. 17 vs. Purdue^ (ESPN2) 2 p.m. Dec. 19 Colgate 7 p.m. Dec. 28 St. Peter's 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Jan. 4 Louisville* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Jan. 7 Clemson* (ACCN) 3 p.m. Jan. 12 at Miami* (ESPN/2) 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Jan. 18 at Florida State* (RSN) 7 p.m. Jan. 21 Syracuse* (ESPN/2) 12 p.m. Jan. 24 Virginia* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Jan. 28 at Georgia Tech* (ESPNU) 12 p.m. Jan. 30 Duke* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at North Carolina* (ESPN/2) TBA Feb. 7 Wake Forest* (ESPNEWS) 7 p.m. Feb. 11 Florida State* (ESPN/2) 2 p.m. Feb. 14 at Boston College* (ESPNU) 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at NC State* (ESPN/2) 12 p.m. Feb. 26 Georgia Tech* (ESPNU) 6:30 p.m. Mar. 1 Boston College* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Mar. 4 at Louisville* (CBS) 2 p.m. Mar. 7-11 ACC Tournament$ TBA ! Exhibition; # Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.; & ACC-Big Ten Challenge; % Never Forget Tribute Classic in Newark, N.J.; ^ Crossroads Classic in In- dianapolis; * ACC game; $ at Brooklyn, N.Y.; ACCN — ACC Network; RSN — Regional Sports Network Three-Point Play Here's three things to watch as the Irish enter ACC play, which begins Dec. 31 at Pittsburgh: 1. ACC's strength: As of Dec. 12, No. 23 Notre Dame was one of five ranked teams in the ACC, joining No. 5 Duke, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 11 Louisville and No. 14 Virginia. In the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the ACC won 9-5. The Big Ten went 0-7 on the road, including Iowa's defeat at Purcell Pavil- ion. Among the most impressive victories were Pittsburgh's 73-59 win over Maryland — the Terrapins are 0-3 in the challenge since chang- ing sides from the ACC to the Big Ten — and Virginia Tech's 73-70 win at Michigan, which featured a 15-point comeback. Until further notice, the ACC is still the pre- mier league in the country. 2. Colson's hot start: Though his double-dou- ble streak was snapped at six in the loss to Vil- lanova, junior forward Bonzie Colson has been a revelation early in the season for the Irish. In Notre Dame's win over Fort Wayne (which had upset Big Ten power Indiana), Colson fin- ished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, proving to be a difficult matchup on both ends of the floor. "He's a special guy," head coach Mike Brey said. "He's just really confident. He's got a swagger." Through 10 games, Colson was averaging 16.5 points and a team-high 10.8 rebounds per contest. He was named ACC Player of the Week Dec. 5 and has been a catalyst for Notre Dame. "It starts with my teammates giving me con- fidence," Colson said. "I'm just trying my best to do it on both sides of the floor rebounding, if I have an open lane, looking every shot in. I have great teammates who give me confi- dence, and that's what it comes down to. "[I am] just trying to be consistent, and on the defensive end just digging in and trying to get every rebound and communicate." 3. Beachem's struggles: While Colson has thrived to start the season and junior point guard Matt Farrell and senior guard Steve Vas- turia have been consistently good, senior wing V.J. Beachem — perhaps Notre Dame's best pro prospect — has been more sporadic. In Notre Dame's loss to Villanova, Beachem tallied just four points and struggled on both ends of the floor. After making 50.0 percent of his shots against Chicago State (6 of 12), Iowa (5 of 10) and North Carolina A&T (7 of 14), the senior captain was 6-of-25 shooting (24.0 percent) in games against Fort Wayne and Villanova. Against the Wildcats, Beachem attempted five three-pointers and missed them all. He also grabbed just five rebounds. Getting him on track as the Irish enter confer- ence play will be critical. — Matt Jones