Notre Dame men’s hoops moved to 6-1 with a dominant 70-52 win over 20th ranked Michigan State. The Irish closed out the Big Ten/ACC challenge in style, snapping a 3-game losing streak in the competition to end it on a good note and close their account at a respectable 5-5. More importantly, the Irish put forth their first complete effort of the season to grab a resume win and get their rather aimless start to the season back on track.

Huge Night from Cormac Ryan

The star performer Wednesday night was Cormac Ryan, who recaptured the magic of Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament matchup with Alabama last year, going absolutely supernova in the first half en route to 23 points. Ryan hit his first six 3-point attempts of the game, including a barrage in the first half that really put the game out of hand early. Ryan’s heat check three that expanded the lead to 39-16 forced a Michigan State timeout and got the Purcell Pavilion crowd the most excited they’ve been this year.

Ryan had actually been ice cold from 3 heading into the Michigan State game, shooting 22% on the season before Wednesday’s 6-7 performance. Now he’s back up to 37%, consistent with his career average. Ryan has established himself as somewhat of a big-game player for the Irish, capable of huge nights but content to let others run the show against inferior opposition. Mike Brey has raved about Ryan’s commitment to defense and posited that his status as the guy who guards the other team’s best player has affected his offensive output. That may prevent Ryan from ever truly becoming a consistent offensive force, but if he can bring the heat in big games, that can provide the Irish with a game-changing weapon when they need it most. 

 

Among other notable individual performances, JJ Starling managed to be the second-leading Irish scorer with 14 points on 6-14 shooting, 0-7 from deep. It was a disjointed night from Starling, that has been pretty characteristic of his early season performance. He was quite aggressive looking for his shot early on, but his jump shot was off-target all night. His driving ability did put pressure on this Spartan defense, leading to some easy finishes around the rim as well as some creative midrange shotmaking. 

Starling is currently in the unenviable position of being the highest-usage Irish player, but also the player with the lowest Offensive Rating, TS%, and EFG%. Some efficiency struggles are certainly understandable for a heralded freshman playing with a bunch of grad students, but it would be nice to see some of the open 3’s start to fall. Despite the shooting struggles, Starling provided some of the biggest highlights of the night on the defensive end, including a jump-off-your-couch baseline rejection. The guy oozes talent, and he will continue to impact the game more as the season progresses.

Defense Steps Up

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the Irish victory was that it represented by far their best defensive performance of the season. Michigan State shot 39% from the field on the night, often struggling to find easy looks and settling for long twos. Notre Dame just looked way more locked in than they had against inferior opposition, avoiding the usual breakdowns and team rebounding with dedication. 

It sure seems like the Irish have a switch that gets flipped when they know they need to defend to win a game. This can be immensely frustrating, as it makes blowouts like this a rarity, even when ND is much more talented than the competition. On the other hand, it also may suggest that the Irish are saving their legs to some degree for the conference season. Last year’s team improved steadily throughout the season, ending with the 69th ranked AdjD on KenPom, a drastic improvement from 203rd the previous season. Michigan State was down multiple rotation players and certainly didn’t cover themselves in glory with their shot selection, but the knowledge that the Irish have the potential to play this defense is reassuring.

Season Back on Track?

Notre Dame’s loss to St Bonaventure in the Gotham Classic was a low moment that had me reconsidering my expectations for this team. That loss to the Bonnies felt like a culmination of Notre Dame’s sluggish start to the season; while they could escape at home against teams like Radford and Lipscomb, they were soundly beaten by a pretty average midmajor in their first game away from home. 

Heading into the season, I thought this Irish team had the chance to be truly special due to the overwhelming experience of their 5 grad students combined with the talent injection of Starling and Lubin. After the Bonnies loss, I revised my hopes to “approximately the same team as last year” – capable of winning a lot of games in a weak ACC, but not quite good enough to sniff the AP Poll and ultimately somewhere around the bubble.

This victory did a lot to right the ship, and it should provide a huge confidence boost for the Irish roster. It also comes at a good time, with the Irish starting to recover from their early season injury woes. Marcus Hammond is set to return against Syracuse to open the conference slate on Saturday, and Ven-Allen Lubin has been cleared to play without the mask that he opened the season with. Hammond’s return should be huge for the Irish rotation as a whole, allowing the entire Irish core to assume a slightly more manageable minutes load. Also, Trey Wertz has been tasked with running the show for essentially the entire early season; Hammond’s introduction will provide another ball-handler to give defenses new looks.

To completely buy back in would feel a bit hasty given the inconsistent trajectories of recent Irish hoops teams, but this win provides a great foundation to build from. Upcoming opportunities at home against a shoddy Syracuse team and a stronger-than-expected Marquette could allow the Irish to completely shake off their uneven start and look more like the team we thought they could be heading into the year.