Facing Iowa for what feels like the tenth straight season, the Irish used a strong second half to knock off the Hawkeyes 92-78. Although it got ugly at times, it’s tough to complain too much about a double-digit win in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. As will be the case quite a few times this season, the Irish big four (yes, four) led the way. Bonzie Colson, Steve Vasturia, VJ Beachem, and Matt Farrell all had 15+ points. Martinas Geben also made his presence felt with nine rebounds in 11 minutes before fouling out. Outside of the starters, Rex Pflueger a solid logged 24 minutes while no other bench player reached double digits minutes.
Good Bonzie and Bad Bonzie
Checking the box score, Bonzie’s stat line immediately jumps off the page. The junior recorded 24 points, a career high 17 boards, and three blocks. He was also a perfect 12/12 from the stripe. Colson did miss all three of his long range attempts (one was a heave at the end of the shot clock), and a couple bunnies in traffic. Despite these, it was a fantastic offensive night for Bonzie in 37 minutes of action. For as good as he was on offense, however, Colson was frequently horrible defensively. It got so bad that comparisons to James Harden were made in the 18stripes hoops chat. He allowed Iowa forward Cordell Pemsl (backup to injured starter Tyler Cook) to go off for 18 points on 8/9 shooting. Colson also picked up at least one dumb foul, and he was baited into a stupid double tech early in the second half. With both Geben and Austin Torres in foul trouble, Bonzie really put ND in a really tough spot. Obviously we got more good than bad with Bonzie, but you’d like to see him clean up some of the mental mistakes and show more effort on the defensive end.
Irish Blow Double-Digit Lead (Again)
Like in the Northwestern and Colorado games, the Irish allowed a double digit lead to disappear. The stretch from roughly the five minute mark of the first half to the under 16:00 timeout of the second were the worst ND’s looked all year. The Irish allowed Iowa to finish the first half on a 13-0 run cutting a 15 point lead to just two. On the other side of the half, the Hawkeyes grabbed a two point lead before the Irish flipped the switch for the final 15 minutes. There were some very troubling signs for the Irish offense. Uncharacteristic of a Mike Brey team, ND had more turnovers (11) than assists (5) in the first half. The ball movement slowed, and there was way too much standing around instead of cutting and screening off the ball. Iowa deserves some credit for pressuring Irish ball screens which prevented Vasturia and Farrell from turning the corner and finding rolling big men or open shooters. Thankfully for ND fans, the Irish dominated the other 30 minutes of game time and still won by a comfortable margin.
Good Shooting Solves Lots of Problems
Having multiple shooters on the floor at all times makes playing offense a lot easier. Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon had a huge night beyond the arc (7/15), but the rest of the Hawkeyes struggled. Peter Jok, Iowa’s most talented player, was ice cold from deep (2/11). Jok and Bohannon were the only two Hawkeyes to make more than one bomb, and Iowa finished at 34.3% while taking over 30 threes. Meanwhile, ND shot over 40% from deep with three players (Vasturia, Beachem, and Farrell) making multiple threes. Pflueger made his only three point attempt, too. Only Bonzie had an off night from deep, and ND finished a healthy 10/23 from downtown. Outside shooting also led to five more points when Matt Ryan and TJ Gibbs drew fouls shooting threes.
Almost Perfect at the Stripe
The best Irish shooting performance, however, came from the free throw line. Notre Dame shot 90.9% on foul shots (30/33). Geben missed both of his freebies, and TJ Gibbs missed one of three. Otherwise the Irish were perfect. In addition to Bonzie’s 12, Vasturia made seven, and Farrell drained four. Coming into the game, ND was fourth in the nation in FT%. If the Irish keep it up, the ice cold nerves from the line will help ND win more than their share of tight games come ACC play.
Looking Ahead
ND hosts two low major opponents before facing Villanova a week from Saturday. Sunday’s opponent, North Carolina A&T is the third worst team in the nation per KenPom. The Irish should have no trouble blowing them out while getting lots of run for the bench guys. Fort Wayne (formerly known as IPFW) is a different story. The Mastadons knocked off Indiana in OT last week 71-68. KenPom ranks them ahead of numerous P5 squads (cough*Boston College*cough) at 120th in the nation. Hopefully the result of the Hoosier game will stop anyone from looking past Fort Wayne to Nova. If the Irish take care of business, they should be 9-0 heading into a showdown with the defending champs. For a more in depth run down of the Irish schedule, check out Joe’s post from Sunday.
Happy with the result, but seeing that lead disappear was very troubling. Iowa does not look like a good team. They will probably beat a couple of quality Big 10 teams this year if Jok goes off and someone else gets hot from 3, but I don’t see them sniffing the tournament.
Guards were very sloppy with the ball. Farrell’s 5 turnovers were bad, but Gibb’s 2 were horrendous. Against an excellent defensive team in Villanova, they are going to struggle mightily to stay under 15 turnovers.
I want to see Beachem be more assertive. Guy can score from anywhere, he needs to be playing with the (slightly irrational) confidence that Farrell has right now.
Geben was fighting and looked pretty good defensively. Needs to eliminate the defensive fouls because we will need him against a team like Purdue with legit post players.
Vasturia and Colson played their old man games perfectly tonight. Like you said, Colson needs to step it up defensively.
Rex gets a lot of credit on Jok, frustrated him mightily when he was out there.
At this point, I think the most likely scenario is having one loss entering ACC play, with a win over a top 15 team (Purdue/Nova) and 2 wins over tournament bubbly teams (Colorado, Northwestern). Not too shabby at all.
How are we not ranked? We finish in Elite Eight last year, almost Final Four…have a good recruiting year…win the tourney last week…stay undefeated…what does it take?
I wouldn’t worry too much about the ranking stuff. We were second in the “also receiving votes” category of both polls, and Maryland, Syracuse, and Rhode Island (all in the 20-26 range) picked up losses Monday or Tuesday night. West Virginia (19/25) will also be an underdog at Virginia this weekend. We should pass all of them if WVU loses, and we blowout NC A&T on Sunday. If we take care of business and are still outside the top 25 come next Monday, we’ll have some legitimate gripes.
I wasn’t worried about the ranking, itself. I just have no idea why we are so poorly thought of that we started the year apparently WAY out of the perceived top 25. What was it that made the voters think that DJ and Auguste leaving would decimate the program? Will that perceived weakness hurt us come time for NCAAs?
It honestly reminds me a lot of last season. I remember predicting that we could do some damage, but when people see “lost 2 NBA guys” and “not a traditional powerhouse/no huge recruiting class,” I think we’re just automatically underestimated.
That being said, I don’t think it’s a huge deal, and we should be ranked next week. But I guess, in the national view, our success in the past two seasons is still generally chalked up to having fantastic talent those years rather than being a consistently top program. Hopefully we can prove that wrong, still plenty of work to do.
Challenge accepted.
I’ll start with the fact that Iowa is terrible and just found out before the game that they lost their 2nd best player. They might threaten Penn State and Rutgers for the B1G bottom-of-the-barrel.
The turnovers were just infuriating. Wildly sloppy, mostly unforced. This was a home game against a terrible defensive team. What are we going to do in New Jersey and Indy against two of the best, let alone the ACC? Gives me a lot of pause about this team’s offensive ceiling.
Maybe even worse, 11 assists (on 26 FGs)? Seriously? For about 20-25 minutes of the game (even during some good offensive stretches), there was no meaningful movement at all. It was all one-on-one, or maybe a screener that was no threat to receive the ball. At least last year’s team had a go-to two-man game when they needed to get back into the swing of things. What is this year’s version of that? The problem with having a “Big 4” is that each of the 4 gets their turn, especially when things aren’t going well. That can be a recipe for maddening inconsistency.
And where has all the “depth” gone? TJ did some good things, then two bad things (1 was pretty innocuous but the other was unbelievably bad), so he can’t play the rest of the game? C’mon. Let the guy work through it. This game couldn’t have used more Matt Ryan, while we were struggling offensively against a team that’s terrible defending the arc? We’re still doing the whole Torres thing rather than Burns or Mooney? We’re gonna need this bench this season, and we’re doing very little to actually prepare it for ACC play.
I don’t have too many complaints defensively. Some of the Bohannon 3s were contested or wildly deep. The run that Pensl had in the mid-2nd half was annoying, but Geben halted it pretty quickly, which was nice to see and shows that he can at least be called upon to serve a role.
There is a LOT to like about this team, and maybe I’m just guilty of moving the goalposts too early before the two real tests against Nova and Purdue, but I think each of the three P5 games so far give me real cause for concern that we’ll be able to make it through the ACC schedule as much more than a bubble team. Our best opponent so far is 44th right now. We have 13 games remaining against more difficult opponents than that, and plenty others right around there.
I’m thrilled that we’re 7-0. It’s well-deserved and shouldn’t be taken for granted. There is also a lot of room for improvement that I think will be necessary to really follow through on a successful season, whatever that means to you.
I promise if we split against Nova and Purdue, I’ll stop complaining. For awhile at least.
I think it will be good over the long haul to have that 13-0 run on tape and make guys watch it. Perfect correlation between standing around on offense and the ensuing results. Hopefully, it is a great teaching tool.
Calling this team anything more than a bubble team is somewhat moving the goalposts anyways, no? The B-2-B E8’s are awesome, but also punching well above our weight class with edge NBA talent on the roster. For all our hopefulness that VJ would turn in to an NBA level wing and Steve would end a great ND career in a blaze of glory, there is the reality that this isn’t a top-10 level roster. We’re entirely reliant on the whole being greater than the sum of the parts to even get to .500 in the ACC. So far, we’ve seen good signs.
You can only play who you have on your schedule, and so far, it has produced 7-0 with nearly every win exceeding the KenPom score projection. Have there been cracks/concerns? SURE, but there have also been moments of great promise where the prayers are being answered. Guys have been stepping up here and there, and there are certainly moments of gorgeous team basketball on both ends.
My hope for this team is to play wonderful basketball, get to .500 in the ACC, get a win or two in Brooklyn and have a below-average stressful Selection Sunday. Right now, they’re on track, and if they can finish the non-conference schedule at 11-2, that would be fine with me – even if we struggle to stay in the Nova or Purdue games.
We scored 89 against Colorado, a KenPom top 40 defense. I’ll forgive one sloppy night (where we still scored 92 points). I’m far from worried about the offense (as long as Farrell doesn’t keep playing too fast and loose with the ball).
Defensively, Steve and Rex are incredible. The rest of the team needs work. I think we will be ok against teams with only 1 outside scoring threat; but the squads who have a wing who can score plus a guard who can penetrate are going to cause us a lot of trouble.
All this being said, I’ve kind of assumed that the bubble would likely be where we would spend most of the season, with a movement off of it during the end of February stretch run. So I think we’re ahead of my expectations at this point. No bad losses yet, which isn’t something we’ve been able to say about too many ND squads in recent memory.
Great write up! There’s a ton of stuff to dig in to on this game. One of the things I found most interesting was the number of times Brey set up the offense with Steve initiating so that he could run floppy for Farrell (see this old OFD post for a primer on the floppy motion). I’m not in love with that decision because I like Steve and VJ coming off those down screens, but it did buy at least one open look for VJ on the screen-then-step-out action. The offense is evolving about as I thought it would, although there’s still a lot of #AnnouncerNarrative around ball screens. They’re still screening for the ball, but it is less of the overall offense than the last 2 years. This might be a worth a post of its own, but I’ve got to stop traveling so much first. Welcome to the party Marty! This was a big game for his confidence and despite the hockey-goon like fouls per minute rate, the rebounds per minute are even better. There are going to be teams where we need some beef underneath to match up, and getting Geben confident is important. This is the best opponent he’s played well against. That’s a very promising sign. He’s going to be called upon to finish defensive possessions by securing rebounds, and he did that wonderfully vs. Iowa. My biggest concern with him is that if we’re ahead and he’s in to secure defensive boards, I’d foul him every time. No point in letting us burn and score at the end of shot clocks at 1.16ppp when you can save time and send him to the line for 1.0ppp or less. At one point, it was Farrell and Geben sparking the run that won the game. Raise your hand if you ever thought you’d type or read those words. OK, nobody? Moving on… You nailed it on the root cause of the lull that ended the 1st and carried over into the 2nd. Too much standing around. This is a team (and a coach) that loves to see offensive efficiency. When the ball is going through the rim, the energy level is up and both ends of the floor work better. When the ball is moving, guys are making great passes, and shooters are knocking down shots, the Irish get a little more pep in their defensive step. That bad stretch was brought on by guys on the perimeter getting way too static and watching Bonzie go 1v1 in the post. If you watch the broadcast, you can hear Brey bellow “Move!” to his team regularly in these stretches. When the ball goes on the block, you want at least 1 perimeter player back-cutting to create some spacing and movement. The other perimeter players should be exchanging and screening to give the post player a strong side corner 3, a weak side 3 on the diagonal, and a pressure release at the point. Too often, the Irish get in those spots,… Read more »
One more thing… I’m crushed that we’re abandoning our depth as things get interesting. Bonzie clearly looked gassed late in this one and VJ just doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy that can go 35+. I also don’t want to see us wear Steve and Farrell to a nub trying to get us through. We need to roll bodies throughout the game. Brey is just too tight, and it worries me.
How dare you call the loosest coach in America tight!
It just doesn’t seem to be in Brey’s nature to trust his bench once the quality of opponents improves. TJ, Rex and Ryan all need to be logging double digit minutes per game. They are too skilled to keep off the floor and like you said the starters are looking too gassed near the end.
I fear that’s the one thing that can hold this team back.
Rex is gonna get minutes. I’m quite sure of that. After that, I worry. I think you need to roll with Ryan, TJ, and 2 bigs in the rotation. Ryan can spell VJ and play stretch 4 when Bonzie is in the middle. TJ can spell Farrell and Steve in either guard spot. Whether it is Torres, Mooney, or Burns, you’re going to have to roll with some time for at least 2 of them. This won’t be Geben’s only foul-fest, and Bonzie can’t really go 35+ consistently. If it were me, I’d get Burns and Mooney ready and have Torres in the “break glass in case of disaster” spot.
What bugs me is that Brey typically is forced to “find” a guy late, but it turns out that guy was probably pretty good all along. Neither Burns nor Mooney have had a chance to get out there and impact a game vs. top-tier competition. I think either/both can hang. I also think Ryan’s leash gets too short vs. top teams, when even if he’s not exactly 100% of what we need at the moment, the dividends of resting a starter are worth giving him more time.
Don’t tell their head coach, but he actually has a deep team. It is harder work to keep guys rolling through the line-up and tracking everything, but the returns are worth it vs. just grinding down your best 6.
I’m a bit disappointed in the rotation too, but I’m not particularly worried about VJ getting a lot of minutes. Last night he scored 11 of his 16 points and grabbed 3 of his 5 rebounds after the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half. The 2nd day of the back to back in Brooklyn left a lot to be desired, but he won’t have to face that scenario again until the ACC Tournament.
Rex Pflueger owned Peter Jok pretty much every minute the former was on the floor. That was a fantastic defensive performance. Jok was “ice cold” as the recap suggested, but a big part of that was that the majority of shots he got up were awful ones. Big testament to the lockdown efforts of Rex and Steve.
I definitely should have mentioned Rex and Steve’s defense being the cause of lots of Jok’s misses. Rex in particular is flat out awesome on D, and he seems to be almost unscreenable. If I have time this weekend, I want to do a quick “defensive fundamentals” film post on him. The possession I had in mind was from the end of the Northwestern game where he seemed to do everything perfect through the entire shot clock, and forced a tough shot that Northwestern player missed.
You might even say Rex was right up in his Jok
Say we’re up 1 with 15 seconds left, and the other team has possession and calls timeout. I’ve definitely come around on Joe’s old theory that we should foul immediately against many teams and take our chances on the offensive end.
But assuming this doesn’t happen, what defensive lineup do you run out there against a team that uses a traditional lineup? Gibbs, Pflueger, Vasturia, Beachem, Geben? That looks like a fairly solid defensive lineup, assuming the opponent doesn’t have a bruiser at the 4.
Don’t laugh me out of town, but I think you consider Colson for Beachem in that scenario. Both are sneaky good shot-blockers, but if you need to secure the rebound to secure the win, my money is on Colson pulling it in. As long as their 4 isn’t a threat off the bounce, I’d go with Bonzie. He doesn’t get in a good stance and doesn’t contain the ball well, but he rotates early and is a greatly improved physical rebounder.
I’ll possibly amend my foul up 1 strategy this year depending on the opponent. If you have a poor foul shooter to get, it seems like a no brainer for a team that gives up > 1ppp regularly. However, with the ability to put that 5 out there and work their asses off, I actually would take my chances trying to get a stop much more frequently than the last few years.
I think that’s a pretty reasonable swap. Depending on the matchup, I could see plenty of scenarios where Bonzie would be the better fit.
Against the bad teams this year, Gibbs has looked phenomenal defensively. Against the better teams, I haven’t spent much time focusing solely on his defense, because the games have been tight and I don’t want to miss the action. In your eyes, has Gibbs looked good defensively (in the few minutes he’s gotten) against the 3 major conference teams we’ve played?
Here’s an example of his “unscreenability” https://twitter.com/SSS_pnoles/status/803806899175034880
This is a very, very good article on Colson. Some national pub for our guy. I wrote on some of this stuff when he committed to ND, but there is some really good stuff here, including the passage below:
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/11/30/notre-dame-fighting-irish-acc-bonzie-colson?xid=socialflow_twitter_si
This was a great article-thanks for the link!
Thank you for the writeup.
I agree we need to expand our rotation. I know TJ looked bad, but with his ceiling I would prefer more minutes prior to conference play.
I would be satisfied with a split of Nova/Purdue. I think we have a better shot at Nova. I can see Haas and Swanigan being a matchup problem.
As mentioned above, I am not concerned about our current ranking, but I do find it baffling for an Elite 8 team with 3 returning starters.