Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’07-08 Irish Win Title vs. ’06-07 Team

The Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament was filled with close games and come-from-behind wins.

The Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament was filled with close games and come-from-behind wins. It only seemed fitting that the championship feature both of those. The 2007-08 Irish won the tournament title after defeating the 2006-07 Irish, 85-81, in a game they had to fight for.

The ’07-08 Irish coughed up a six-point first-half lead and trailed by three at the break. The ’06-07 Irish led by as much as 12 midway through the second half and still held a nine-point lead with six-and-a-half minutes left. That’s when the ’07-08 Irish went on a 13-2 run to take a two-point lead. From there, the teams battled back and forth until it came down to the final minute, which the ’06-07 Irish entered with a 78-76 lead.

With 38 seconds left, Luke Zeller hit a 3 on a nice pass from Jonathan Peoples to give the ’07-08 Irish a 79-78 lead. Colin Falls was unable to answer with his own 3, and Rob Kurz got the rebound before being fouled and hitting two free throws to make it 81-78. After the ’06-07 iteration of Kurz missed a shot, the ’07-08 Zach Hillesland cleared the rebound and got it to Zeller, who made two more free throws to put his team up five and ice the game. The points scored in the final 12 seconds made no difference.

The ’07-08 Luke Harangody wrapped up the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor with his best performance yet of 27 points and 19 rebounds. In three games, he averaged 22.3 points and 16.3 boards. Kyle McAlarney scored 25 points, including five 3-pointers, to wrap up an equally impressive tournament in which he had a 22.0 scoring average. Kurz scored 10 and joined Harangody and McAlarney in accounting for 19 of the ’07-08 Irish’s 25 free-throw attempts, all of which they made.

Falls and Kurz scored 19 points apiece to pace the ’06-07 Irish. Russell Carter achieved a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Tory Jackson scored 10, and their iteration of Harangody grabbed 10 boards off the bench.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’06-07 Irish Topple ’14-15 Irish

In a Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament that’s had some surprises, perhaps the biggest one just happened.

In a Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament that’s had some surprises, perhaps the biggest one just happened. That surprise is the field’s top seed won’t play in the final. The fourth-seeded 2006-07 Irish convincingly upset the 2014-15 Irish, 97-83, in the first semifinal.

After falling behind by six early in the first half, the ’06-07 Irish went on a 10-0 and never trailed again. That first half saw the ’14-15 Irish cut a nine-point deficit to two before the ’06-07 Irish built their lead back up to 14, though they had to settle for an 11-point halftime lead after Jerian Grant hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. In the second half, they led by as much as 19, and the ’14-15 Irish never got closer than nine. To say the least, this game played out in a way few could have expected not only in terms of the outcome, but also how it happened.

Russell Carter led all scorers and the ’06-07 Irish with 20 points. Luke Harangody had another quality game off the bench and scored 18 while shooting 8 of 11 from the field. Rob Kurz was 5 of 7 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line to score 16. Colin Falls scored 12, and Kyle McAlarney had 10 off the bench.

Demetrius Jackson paced the ’14-15 Irish with 19 points. Grant was close behind with 17 points while also dishing out a game-high eight assists. Steve Vasturia had 12, and Zach Auguste came close to a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Pat Connaughton was held in check with only nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’07-08 Irish Squeak Past ’13-14 Irish

We no longer have a double-digit seed in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, but oh Lord, was the last quarterfinal game exciting.

We no longer have a double-digit seed in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, but oh Lord, was the last quarterfinal game exciting. There’s nothing more exciting than a Cinderella team giving a superior team all it can handle. In the end, the third-seeded 2007-08 Irish barely defeated the 14th-seeded 2013-14 Irish, 87-86, with a buzzer beater.

The ’13-14 Irish led by as much as 10 in the first half before the ’07-08 Irish bounced back and took a one-point halftime lead on a Luke Zeller 3-pointer at the buzzer. With just under seven minutes left in regulation, the ’07-08 Irish had built that lead up to 11, but a 15-3 run by the ’13-14 Irish put them up one with two-and-a-half minutes to go. They briefly lost the lead before going up four. A Kyle McAlarney 3 cut the lead to 82-81 going into the final minute.

Pat Connaughton got to the free-throw line with 18 seconds left and made two shots to give the ’13-14 Irish an 84-81 lead. Rob Kurz quickly tied it at 84 with a 3-pointer five seconds later. Connaughton put his team up two with an open fadeaway jumper with two seconds left. That was just enough time for Ryan Ayers to hit his only field goal of the game: a buzzer-beating 3 to send the ’07-08 Irish to the semifinals.

McAlarney led the ’07-08 Irish with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and four steals. Kurz was just behind with 20 points while shooting 6 of 12 from the field and making all five of his free throws. Luke Harangody did his part with a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Eric Atkins had 19 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists for the ’13-14 Irish. Jerian Grant came off the bench and scored 18 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Connaughton scored 14, and Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste had 10 apiece.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’06-07 Irish Defeat ’05-06 Irish

The first of our two Cinderella teams in the quarterfinals of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament and the oldest in the field has fallen.

The first of our two Cinderella teams in the quarterfinals of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament and the oldest in the field has fallen. It had to happen against a heavy hitter sooner or later. Though the 13th-seeded 2005-06 Irish didn’t go down without a fight, it was the 2006-07 Irish that emerged victorious, 87-78.

The ’06-07 Irish got off to a fast start and were up by as much as 11 in the first half, but the ’05-06 Irish roared back and took their first lead right before halftime on a 3-pointer from their iteration of Colin Falls. The second half was close almost throughout with the ’06-07 Irish leading most of the time until the game was tied at 70 with four minutes to go. Then, led by their iteration of Rob Kurz, the ’06-07 Irish went on a 9-1 run that put the game out of reach with a minute-and-a-half left. All the ’05-06 Irish could do from there was keep the deficit close to where it was at that moment.

Kurz was the hero for the ’06-07 Irish with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. Luke Harangody came off the bench to score 14 points and have himself an 8-of-10 showing at the free-throw line. Russell Carter scored 12 despite shooting 4 of 15 from the field, and Falls added 11 before fouling out. Tory Jackson also fouled out, but not before scoring 10 points and dishing out seven assists.

Chris Quinn led the ’05-06 Irish with 22 points and seven assists. Torin Francis wasn’t far behind with 20 points and six rebounds, but he fouled out before he could catch Quinn on the scoresheet. Carter scored 12 points, and Falls added 10.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’14-15 Irish Oust ’09-10 Irish

The top four seeds have been waiting around for a bit to get going in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament.

The top four seeds have been waiting around for a bit to get going in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament. The time to do so finally has arrived. The top-seeded 2014-15 Irish got the quarterfinals going with a come-from-behind 92-83 victory over the eighth-seeded 2009-10 Irish.

The ’09-10 Irish were in front for most of the first half, doing so by as many as eight points with two minutes left before settling on a six-point halftime lead. Midway through the second half, they still led by five, but the ’14-15 Irish went on a 7-0 run to take a two-point lead. The teams battled closely for a little longer until the game was tied at 74 with five minutes to go. V.J. Beachem then scored nine unanswered points on back-to-back 3-pointers and a three-point play, and the ’09-10 Irish never got closer than four points after that.

Jerian Grant was efficient and unselfish in leading the ’14-15 Irish with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from 3-point range, as well as a game-high seven assists. Pat Connaughton scored 17 points and had a game-high four blocks. Thanks to his late charge, Beachem ended with 12 points in nine minutes played. Zach Auguste scored 11 and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The ’09-10 Irish played only seven players, and that almost was enough. Tim Abromaitis paced them with a game-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds. Tyrone Nash scored 19, and Ben Hansbrough added 11.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 3 Seed – 2007-08 Irish

We round out our profiles for the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament field with a look at the 2007-08 Irish.

We round out our profiles for the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament field with a look at the 2007-08 Irish. They went 10-2 in nonconference play with their only two losses coming in the Paradise Jam Tournament just before Thanksgiving. The goodness continued during a 14-4 Big East showing, which tied them for second in the conference and left them one game back for the title. They also ran the table for the conference home schedule, becoming the first Big East team to do so in back-to-back years, and it helped Mike Brey defend his conference coach of the year award.

The Irish were one-and-done in the Big East tournament, but they still earned a fifth seed in the NCAA tourney. At that time, they were their season-high ranking of 14th. March Madness didn’t go how they had hoped as they cruised over George Mason in the first round before getting blown out by Washington State in the second. They ultimately finished 15th in the final poll.

Luke Harangody was named Big East Player of the Year after averaging a double-double of 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. Kyle McAlarney joined Harangody on the all-conference first team thanks to 15.1 points a game. Rob Kurz averaged 12.5 points and 1.5 blocks a game, and Tory Jackson paced the team in assists with 5.8 a game.

As a team, the Irish ranked eighth nationally in 3-point percentage (.405) and ninth in assists (608).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 2 Seed – 2010-11 Irish

One of the purposes of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament is to give disappointing teams a shot at redemption.

One of the purposes of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament is to give disappointing teams a shot at redemption. That’s not to say the 2010-11 Irish were a letdown given their 27-7 record. Still, you have to wonder what would have happened if a few things had gone differently.

The Irish took care of business early on with an Old Spice Classic championship and an 11-1 nonconference record, their only loss coming against a ranked Kentucky team. Then, after splitting their first six Big East games, they went 11-1 the rest of the regular season. One of those wins came on the road against Pittsburgh, then ranked second. Though the Panthers ultimately finished one game better than Notre Dame’s 14-4 conference record to win the Big East title, Mike Brey had impressed enough voters to be named national coach of the year.

Though the Irish, then ranked fourth, lost in overtime to Louisville in the Big East semifinals, their resume still netted them a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Playing their first set of games in Chicago should have given them some of the best crowd support in the first weekend of the tournament, and that should have helped them advance past that, but it wasn’t to be. After taking down 15th-seeded Akron in their first game, the Irish were stunned in a 14-point loss to 10th-seeded Florida State. To be fair, that year’s Final Four had no team seeded higher than third, but that was of little consolation to the Irish, who were fifth in the final ranking.

Big East Player of the Year Ben Hasbrough paced the Irish with 18.4 points and 4.3 assists a game and shot a team-high 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Tim Abromaitis made third-team all-conference after averaging 15.4 points a game. Though he didn’t net any honors, Carleton Scott was well-rounded with an 11.2 scoring averaging and team highs in rebounding (7.4) and free-throw percentage (.889).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 4 Seed – 2006-07 Irish

Towards the end of their nonconference schedule, the 2006-07 Irish had an incident that could have derailed their entire season.

Towards the end of their nonconference schedule, during which they went 12-1 and upset fourth-ranked Alabama, the 2006-07 Irish had an incident that could have derailed their entire season. Hours after a win over Rider, starting point guard Kyle McAlarney was arrested for marijuana possession, and he subsequently was suspended from Notre Dame. Rather than let losing such a prominent player become the turning point, the Irish continued to win games and ultimately finished with a 24-8 record and the 17th spot in the final rankings.

At first, the Irish kept their overall record respectable with a 6-5 start to Big East play. Then, they got hot, winning their final five games of the regular season to earn an 11-5 record in conference play, good for fourth in the standings and enough to make Mike Brey the Big East Coach of the Year. After picking up a win in the Big East tournament, the Irish went to March Madness as a sixth seed. That was as far as they got as they were upended by 11th-seeded Winthrop in the first round.

Russell Carter paced the Irish with 17.1 points a game. Colin Falls averaged 15.3 points a game, and Rob Kurz was a threat on both ends with 12.6 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game. Luke Harangody ended with an 11.2 scoring average, and McAlarney’s 5.4 assists a game remained the team high at season’s end, although replacement Tory Jackson wasn’t far off with 4.3.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 1 Seed – 2014-15 Irish

Now, we get to the heavy hitters in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, beginning with the top seed.

Now, we get to the heavy hitters in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, beginning with the top seed. The 2014-15 Irish represented the program’s second season in the ACC, but they made it clear to everyone that they intended to compete in perhaps the best conference in college basketball, not simply lay down for the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse. No one could deny it when this season was over.

En route to a 32-6 record, the program’s best since going 33-7 in 1908-09, the Irish jumped out to a 15-1 start and ended up winning 20 of their first 22 games, including eight of their first nine ACC games. That run ended with a four-point win over the No. 4 Blue Devils, at which point the Irish were ranked eighth, as high as they would get during the season. In spite of their 14-4 conference record, it only netted them a No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament. That didn’t matter, however, because the Irish squeezed out wins over Miami, Duke and North Carolina by an average of 8.3 points to win Mike Brey his first championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The close but meaningful games continued in March Madness. Seeded third in their region, the Irish needed everything to get by 14th-seeded Northeastern in a four-point first-round win, and the second-round win over in-state rival Butler required overtime. They breathed a little easier in an 11-point win over Wichita State in the Sweet Sixteen, setting up an Elite Eight matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker and top-ranked Kentucky. The game was a classic, and the Irish would have made their first Final Four in 37 years had Jerian Grant not air-balled a corner 3 at the buzzer, giving the Wildcats a two-point victory.

Jerian Grant was named to the Consensus All-American First Team alongside Stein, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Frank Kaminsky. He led the Irish with 16.5 points and 6.7 assists a game. Zach Auguste, Pat Connaughton and Demetrius Jackson all had scoring averages in the neighborhood of 12, and Steve Vasturia averaged 10.1 points a game. All of this made the Irish the second-best shooting team in the nation (50.9 percent), the third-best scoring team (2,963 points) and the ninth-best passing team (576).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’13-14 Irish Get By ’12-13 Irish

A second Cinderella team has emerged in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament.

A second Cinderella team has emerged in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament. For the second time in the second round, a lower seed from the first round has advanced to the quarterfinals. In this case, the 14th-seeded 2013-14 Irish defeated the sixth-seeded 2012-13 Irish by the slimmest of margins, 70-69.

An omen made itself known when the ’13-14 Irish started the game 4 of 5 from the field to go up, 9-0. The ’12-13 Irish bounced back to take a five-point halftime lead, but the ’13-14 Irish had their own comeback and led by as much as 10 in the second half. Despite all that effort, they found themselves down, 69-66, with less than 50 seconds left.

Pat Connaughton made a close shot to bring the ’13-14 Irish within one. The ’12-13 version of Eric Atkins then lost the ball to Demetrius Jackson, giving the ’13-14 Irish a chance for the win. Garrick Sherman came up long on a shot, but Jackson got the offensive rebound, and soon after, the ’13-14 version of Atkins hit a pull-up jumper with four seconds left to give his team a one-point lead. After a timeout, the ’12-13 Irish inbounded at half-court got the ball to their version of Sherman, who missed a contested shot from the free-throw line, and that was the end of the closest game of the tournament so far.

Atkins led the ’13-14 Irish with 18 points. Connaughton scored 15, and Sherman came just short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jerian Grant scored 12, and Jackson dished out seven assists.

Atkins also was the leading scorer for the ’12-13 Irish with 17 points, and he also had a game-high eight assists. Jack Cooley had a double-double of 14 and 12, and this team’s version of Sherman scored 12 points off the bench.

Both teams had the exact same field-goal numbers at 28 of 63 (44.4 percent).