Tag: ACC

Notre Dame women’s basketball gets third easy win vs. James Madison

The Irish continue to prove how deep they are.

The early part of Notre Dame’s schedule was set up in such a way that it seemingly wouldn’t be challenged early on. So far, that has proved to be the case. After cruising to easy wins over Mercyhurst and Purdue, the Irish continued that trend with a 92-46 victory over James Madison.

For the third time in as many games this season, the Irish (3-0) proved to have far more talent than their opponent, even with injuries tightening their rotation at the moment. That rotation might be tightened further after a hard knock to the floor caused [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] to leave the game early in the fourth quarter with a head injury. Hopefully, she won’t be lost for very long if at all.

The Dukes (3-1) took their lone lead on a 3-pointer early in the first quarter. Most of the time though, the Irish had double the points of the Dukes or close to it. While the Irish were their usual strong selves on both ends, the Dukes did themselves no favors by making only 15 field goals and shooting a putrid 21.7% from the floor:

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had a typical game of 24 points, six rebounds and four steals. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] also played typically with 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

[autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] quickly is becoming an early contender for ACC Rookie of the Year. A night in which she had a line of 14 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks will do that.

King scored 11 points before she went out, and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] also had 11 points to go with seven boards off the bench.

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Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles one of five national players of the week

Another honor for her.

Notre Dame guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] already was named the ACC Player of the Week for the first week of the season. That only proved to be the beginning though.

Miles has been named one of five national players of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Joining her are Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, Rutgers’ Destiny Adams, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Norfolk State’s Diamond Johnson.

To say Miles has wasted no time announcing her return after missing all of last season with a knee injury is an understatement. She achieved a triple-double in the season opener against Mercyhurst and scored 17 points against Purdue, three of them coming on a shot from beyond half-court at the third-quarter buzzer.

In this young season, Miles is averaging 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game. She will have a chance to improve on those numbers in the Irish’s next game Wednesday against James Madison. That will be followed by a contest Sunday against Lafayette.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball clobbers Purdue on road for second win

Make that two blowout wins to start the season.

If an opponent isn’t contending for an ACC or national championship, Notre Dame is likely to run it out of the gym. That’s exactly what happened during the Irish’s first road game of the season against Purdue. Much like with the football team less than two months earlier, this game was never close as the Irish won, 102-58.

The Irish (2-0) scored the game’s first nine points before jumping out to an 18-3 lead and never looking back. Every time the Boilermakers (1-1) got any sort of momentum going, the Irish answered and often expanded their lead. They gave themselves more scoring chances with plays on both ends of the floor and took full advantage.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had a trademark night with 28 points and six steals. [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] did a tall player’s impression of Hidalgo, scoring 18 points and recording four steals. She also achieved a double-double with 15 rebounds.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] scored 17 points, which included this ridiculous shot from beyond half-court as time expired on the third quarter:

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] added 14 points in her season debut after missing the opener with an injury, and [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] grabbed 10 rebounds while coming within two-points of a double-double.

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Notre Dame football will host SMU in 2026, replacing Virginia

This time, the Mustangs won’t be fresh off the death penalty.

Notre Dame football plays five ACC opponents every season in exchange for retaining its independence. While we are told who the Irish will play well into the next decade, that opponents list can change anytime. We just got an example of that.

The ACC has announced that the Irish will host SMU during the 2026 season on a date yet to be determined. This game will replace the one against Virginia that was scheduled for Oct. 17 of that season. This will allow the Cavaliers to play the first of two games they have scheduled against West Virginia, a series that was concurrently announced.

This will be the first time the Irish and Mustangs have met since the Irish earned a crushing 59-6 victory in 1989. At that time, the Irish were the top team in the country and fresh off their most recent national championship. The Mustangs, meanwhile, were fresh off the death penalty sidelining them for two years.

The playing field should be a little more even this time. That should at least make this game more competitive.

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Duke receiver Sahmir Hagans makes Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week in Week 10

Blue Devils wide receiver Sahmir Hagans was named to Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week for his 139-yard performance against Miami.

Week 10 of the college football regular season saw Duke fall to the Miami Hurricanes in a 53-31 shootout. However, despite the loss, wide receiver [autotag]Sahmir Hagans[/autotag] still worked his way to some national acclaim.

After a strong performance against the Hurricanes, Hagans earned one of two wide receiver spots on the Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week alongside Miami star Xavier Restrepo, who torched the Blue Devils’ defense all day long.

Hagans caught nine passes for 139 yards and one touchdown for the day, taking a 27-yard catch-and-run to the end zone that tied the game early in the second quarter.

The redshirt junior now has 32 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns on the season, third on the team in each category. Only Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol have been more productive.

Restrepo, on the other sideline, finished with eight receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns.

No other Blue Devils made the PFF team of the week, but running back Peyton Jones put together a strong day with 12 carries for 71 yards and one touchdown, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles introduced before exhibition game

Welcome back, Liv!

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] scored a game-high 13 points in a 76-53 Notre Dame win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 23, 2023. At the time, it was a typical game for her other than the fact that it was the Irish’s final home game of the regular-season.

What we didn’t know was that 615 days would pass before Miles graced the Purcell Pavilion floor during a game again. She injured her knee at Louisville a few days later and wound up missing both the postseason and all of the following season.

Finally, after a lengthy period of setbacks, false hope and transfer rumors, Miles is playing for the Irish again. The moment of truth came when she started her team’s lone exhibition game this season against Davenport.

Irish fans packed Purcell Pavilion, and they were given an opportunity to show how much they loved and missed Miles. Needless to say, those fans did not disappoint when she was announced.

Here’s to a healthy and productive season for the former All-American.

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Duke’s pass defense, the best in the ACC, set to face high-flying Miami Hurricanes

With Miami and Duke set to face off this week, the game will feature the ACC’s best passing offense against the top pass defense.

The Miami Hurricanes (8-0, 4-0) will host the Duke Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2) in Week 10 of the college football season. While it will be a big-time ACC matchup for the records alone, it will also be a showdown between the best Power Four passing offense and top ACC pass defense.

The Hurricanes average 366.8 passing yards per game, second only to North Texas among FBS teams, and lead the country with 560.8 total yards per game. On Duke’s side of things, the Blue Devils have allowed just 166.6 passing yards per game, good enough for 13th in the nation and first in the ACC.

The Miami offense has averaged 46.8 points per game, also the top mark in the nation. Additionally, the Hurricanes are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Cam Ward at quarterback. Through eight games this season, Ward has thrown for 2,746 yards and 24 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also has 186 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on just 42 carries.

The Blue Devils defense, on the other hand, has allowed just 18.6 points per game, tied with the Alabama Crimson Tide for 20th in the FBS. Additionally, Duke’s 5.44 yards allowed per pass attempt are the fifth-fewest in the nation and more than 0.5 yards better than any other ACC team.

The most notable Duke star has been cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag]. Through eight games, he’s recorded 27 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, five pass deflections, and one defensive touchdown. Each of his picks came in the last two weeks, earning ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors after he returned one for a touchdown against the Florida State Seminoles before making the Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week for his performance against SMU.

Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron named to shooting guard award watch list

Good luck, Soni!

For all the talk about [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], there’s a third Notre Dame guard who often gets lost in the shuffle. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] has made both All-ACC and All-ACC Tournament in two consecutive seasons. She was ACC Rookie of the Year two seasons before Hidalgo arrived.

Now, there’s a possibility she could be honored in a different way this season. The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is presented annually to the best female shooting guard in the country. Citron is one of 20 to make this year’s watch list.

Also on the list is defending winner JuJu Watkins of USC, which will face the Irish in nonconference play. If Watkins impresses as she did as a freshman, Citron will have to somehow surpass that level to have a shot at the award. Of course, the Irish will take that version of Citron if only to improve their national championship chances:

Best of luck to Citron in her attempt to dethrone Watkins.

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Notre Dame guard Markus Burton makes ESPN preseason top 100

The Irish have a nice player.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] had quite a freshman season for Notre Dame a season ago. He was the straw that stirred a young Irish team, leading everybody in scoring, assists and steals. For his efforts, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-ACC.

Burton’s opening act for the Irish has meant greater expectations for him as a sophomore, and those haven’t gone unnoticed. He’s been named to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is given to the best male point guard in the country. That alone would make anyone notice.

Now, ESPN has decided he’s worthy of being called one of the best players in college basketball this season. Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf have assembled their list of the top 100 players in the sport entering this season. Not only has Burton cracked the list, but he’s all the way up at No. 40.

Here’s their entry for Burton:

“Burton gave ND fans a reason to smile in a 13-20 season – [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s first year in South Bend. The 5-foot-11 guard, averaged 17.5 points a game as a freshman, finishing with 20 points or more in 11 games. If he can become a consistent threat from the 3-point line (30%), the all-ACC third team pick could mature into one of the expanded conference’s best players.”

We soon will see how accurate these predictions are.

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Notre Dame men’s basketball to wear green jerseys for four home games

Dress appropriately for these games.

A big deal always is made whenever the Notre Dame football team wears green jerseys. Typically, it’s reserved for a special occasion once a year. But the men’s basketball team has decided one game of green jerseys isn’t enough.

In a video released Monday, the Irish announced that they will wear green jerseys four times at Purcell Pavilion during the 2024-25 season. The video showcases [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] being asked which one of the four games his team should sport the jerseys in.

After a moment, Shrewsberry decides that Syracuse, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh all need to see the jerseys when they visit South Bend.

The Irish wore green jerseys once last season, and that was a 73-61 loss to Miami. This year, they’ll stick with them of sporting them against ACC competition.

Also of note is that all of the games will be broadcast on network TV. Three of them will be on The CW, and CBS has the game against the Tar Heels. Clearly, the Irish want to look their best while playing for national audiences.

We’ll find out soon enough whether the green jerseys are lucky for the Irish.

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