It’s fitting we look at Rex Pflueger’s fifth season with Notre Dame on the fourth anniversary of his game-winning tip-in against Stephen F. Austin in the 2016 NCAA tournament. That was a while ago, and the ACL tear that cost him almost all of 2018-19 made it seem even further away. But his drive to come back paid off as he started all 31 contests he played and set the program record for most games played in a career (141). To say he was a valuable part of this season’s Irish would be an understatement.
Though Pflueger averaged only 5.2 points a game on 33.6-percent shooting from the field, he led the Irish in steals (43), and a few of those came at opportune times. Two of his career-high six steals Nov. 21 vs. Toledo came in the final two minutes of regulation in a comeback win. Another steal led to a half-court bucket at the first-half buzzer of a one-point victory over Boston College on Feb. 26. The man had a knack for being clutch.