In the first game of our Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament in which no player was on both teams, the 2013-14 Irish made it a clean sweep for lower seeds in the first round, beating the 2017-18 Irish, 78-66. This was the first game in the tournament that was void of any drama. As a result, we’ll get our second game in this tournament featuring teams from back-to-back years when the victors in this game play the 2012-13 Irish in the second round.
The only lead for the ’17-18 Irish came when the score was 4-2. After it was tied at 6, the ’13-14 Irish scored 12 unanswered points and never relinquished the lead. The ’17-18 Irish never got closer than six the rest of the first half, and the deficit was double digits for most of the second.
Garrick Sherman dominated this game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, adding to the six double-doubles he achieved during the ’13-14 season. Pat Connaughton came within a couple of boards of joining him with 13 and eight. Zach Auguste scored 10 points, and Eric Atkins was balanced across the stats sheet with seven points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
Bonzie Colson was similarly dominant for the ’17-18 Irish as he achieved a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds. T.J. Gibbs scored 13 points to go with six assists, and Rex Pflueger scored 12. However, the bench let the team down as it was outscored, 26-9.
