Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 89 MEN'S BASKETBALL That decision was not revealed by Brey until tip-off against the Tar Heels, though the results weren't much better. Torres finished with no points and two rebounds in five min- utes, while Geben scored two points and had two rebounds in eight min- utes. That lack of production severely hurt Notre Dame in the rebounding battle. UNC outrebounded the Irish 44-25 and scored 40 of its 83 points in the paint. The Irish went with their smaller lineup for much of the North Caro- lina game. Sophomore guard Rex Pflueger had six points in 23 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard T.J. Gibbs played 18 minutes and had four points. "Playing small was the only way we were going to have a chance," Brey said. Prior to the game, Brey also kicked around the idea of getting fresh- man forward John Mooney, who can stretch the floor with his shooting, more minutes. Mooney, however, did not enter the UNC game while the result was in doubt. Time will tell whether Brey makes any additional tweaks to the lineup. V.J. BEACHEM SURGES, WHILE STEVE VASTURIA SLUMPS Senior wing V.J. Beachem entered the Syracuse game Jan. 21 averag- ing 10.2 points per game in league play. He followed a two-point ef- fort against Louisville Jan. 2 with 22 points against Clemson three days later. The 6-8, 201-pounder had 13 points against Miami Jan. 12, then just four at Virginia Tech Jan. 14. Beachem had 14 points in a road loss Florida State Jan. 18 and took his game to another level against the Orange. He erupted for a career- high 30 points against Syracuse's 2-3 zone. After a three-point performance against Virginia, Beachem got back on track, scoring 23 against Georgia Tech, 20 against Duke and 20 against North Carolina. During the time Beachem has surged, senior guard Steve Vasturia has slumped. He scored a combined 21 points in losses to the Yellow Jackets, Blue Devils and Tar Heels, and did not score in double figures in any of those games. "I know that myself playing well is going to help this team win," Vas- turia said before the UNC game. For the Irish to make major noise again in March, both of the seniors must be in peak form. ✦ 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^ L, 86-81 Dec. 19 Colgate W, 77-62 Dec. 28 St. Peter's W, 63-55 Dec. 31 at Pittsburgh* W, 78-77 (OT) Jan. 4 Louisville* W, 77-70 Jan. 7 Clemson* W, 75-70 Jan. 12 at Miami* W, 67-62 Jan. 14 at Virginia Tech* W, 76-71 Jan. 18 at Florida State* L, 83-80 Jan. 21 Syracuse* W, 84-66 Jan. 24 Virginia* L, 71-54 Jan. 28 at Georgia Tech* L, 62-60 Jan. 30 Duke* L, 84-74 Feb. 5 at North Carolina* L, 83-76 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 Among the most recent talking points sur- rounding the Irish are the recent free throw shooting slump, the inside play of junior forward Martinas Geben and the team's offensive woes. Here are some thoughts on the three most discussed topics: • Free Throw Regression: Though the Irish remained No. 1 in the country in free throw percentage at 80.7 as of Feb. 6, Brey's team went through a slight slump in late January. The Irish went 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) against Virginia, 7 of 11 (63.6 percent) at Georgia Tech and 19 of 28 (67.9 percent) versus Duke. They bounced back at North Carolina, making 17 of 20 attempts (85.0 percent). As of Feb. 6, Steve Vasturia was ranked 10th in the country at 91.0 percent from the line. • More Production Needed From Marti- nas Geben: The junior forward from Lithu- ania never seemed to find his way in the rotation and was removed from the starting lineup against North Carolina. Through 24 games, the 6-10 Geben was averaging 3.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.9 minutes a game. • Offensive Woes: During Notre Dame's four-game losing streak, the Irish were be- low their season offensive efficiency rating in each game, according to KenPom.com. The worst effort came against Virginia's Pack Line defense, which held Notre Dame to 54 points and an 85.9 efficiency rating. — Matt Jones Junior forward Martinas Geben was averaging just 3.8 points and 4.1 rebounds through 24 games. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND