Tag: Big East

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton named ACC Rookie of the Year

Congrats, Markus!

Notre Dame has a brighter future than it did a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. The freshman “from next door in Mishawaka” as he’s introduced before home games now has some serious hardware. Burton has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

This is the first time a first-year Notre Dame player has earned this honor in the ACC. The Irish had two Big East Rookies of the Year in [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] (2002) and [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag] (1999), the latter of whom just had his program rookie freshman scoring record broken by Burton (535).

Burton also tied with Duke’s Jared McCain for the most votes on the ACC All-Rookie Team. This is the third straight year a Notre Dame freshman has been so honored after JJ Starling in 2023 and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] in 2022.

Burton, who is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game, also made the All-ACC Third Team. This marks the Irish’s return to the all-conference team after being shut out from it a year ago.

Here are some images from Burton’s impressive freshman campaign:

Top 10 scorers in Notre Dame women’s basketball history

Here are some Irish legends.

The sports world is abuzz with Caitlin Clark becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball. She hasn’t even gone professional yet, and many already are crowning her the GOAT. That label gets tossed around very liberally these days, but it’s hard to picture many athletes who have transcended their sport the way she has.

Despite what our site editor Nick Shepkowski might have said about me, Caitlin Clark is not my sister. Athleticism is not in my immediate family’s gene pool, or I would have kept following my NBA dreams years ago. Alas, the closest I can get to organized basketball these days is to write about it and create listicles about it.

I would like to demonstrate that ability right now by assembling a listicle of the top 10 scorers in Notre Dame women’s basketball history. It’s a great way to celebrate the new scoring queen in women’s college hoops, and the timing couldn’t be more appropriate:

Game of the year? Creighton defeats Seton Hall in triple overtime

The Creighton Blue Jays defeated the Seton Hall Pirates, 97-94, in triple-overtime on Saturday in another instant classic Big East basketball game.

The Big East has a rich history of incredible conference battles. From the infamous ‘sweater game’ in 1985 between Georgetown and St. John’s, to the six overtime battle between Syracuse and UConn in 2009, this conference is never lacking in entertainment value.

That proved true yet again on Saturday when Creighton went to Seton Hall and escaped with a 97-94 victory in triple-overtime thanks to a monster performance from center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had 28 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

The game was close more or less from the opening tip, and when Blue Jays guard Steven Ashworth forced overtime with a lay-in to end regulation, it was clear this was a game folks would be discussing for a long time.

Creighton moves to 5-3 in the Big East and helped erase the sting of losing to UConn on the road earlier in the week. Meanwhile the Pirates see their six game winning streak snap and fall to 6-2 in league play. They had previously picked up wins over UConn, Marquette, Providence, and St. John’s, and had plenty of chances to collect another win over a ranked team.

However, Kadary Richmond, who posted a triple-double in regulation and finished with 21 points, missed quite a few shots in overtime and Seton Hall struggled to slow down Kalkbrenner on the block, resulting in the heartbreaking loss.

The Pirates will get a chance to restart their winning streak on Wednesday when they host Providence, while Creighton will host Xavier on Tuesday.

If we are lucky, more regulation games will rival this one in a Big East that is loaded with talent and physicality this year.

Hannah Hidalgo breaks Notre Dame conference rookie award record

She is just incredible.

For the seventh time this season, Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has been named the ACC’s rookie of the week. This came after two solid games for her against Pittsburgh and North Carolina that the Irish split. She posted averages of 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals a game.

With this honor, Hidalgo now is the Irish’s all-time leader in conference rookie of the week honors. The previous record of six stretched back to the program’s Big East days and was shared by [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag], [autotag]Jacqueline Batteast[/autotag], [autotag]Alicia Ratay[/autotag] and current Hidalgo teammate [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]. Hidalgo needs three more such honors to match the ACC record set by Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson a season ago.

The Irish are not even halfway through their regular-season schedule, and one only can imagine what else Hidalgo will do as conference play continues. There are many more bars in front of her waiting to be cleared, and it would not be shocking if she cleared all of them or at least the ones that are attainable this season.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Under the radar Providence team has opportunity for major upset against Marquette

The Providence Friars could use a big win to add to their resume, and a chance to face Marquette at home to open up Big East play is the perfect opportunity.

Big East conference play gets underway on Wednesday with a pair of games, including an exciting nightcap between the No. 6 ranked Golden Eagles of Marquette and the Providence Friars, a battle between a pair of 9-2 programs.

Marquette has drawn a ton of media attention as a borderline Top 5 team and with massive wins over then No. 1 Kansas and Texas.

However, Providence has quietly had an excellent season under new head coach Kim English, who came over from George Mason to replace Ed Cooley after he left for Georgetown.

The Friars may have the same record as Marquette, but outside of a big win over Wisconsin, their resume doesn’t carry a ton of weight, with an overtime loss to a struggling Kansas State squad and a blowout loss on the road at Oklahoma.

Still, Providence is a team that is flying more under the radar than they probably should be, and it’s thanks in large part to their stellar work on the defensive end of the floor.

The Friars are 21st in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom, and third in the Big East behind UConn and Marquette. Guard Devin Carter is a big reason why, averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals along with 15.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as one of the best stat stuffers in all of college basketball.

Coach English’s defensive focused club looks capable of beating just about anyone, and while they haven’t had many chances to prove themselves it would not be a surprise to see them give Marquette all sorts of trouble on Wednesday at home.

A matchup between Carter and All-American point guard Tyler Kolek will be the headliner, but this game could be won on the block between Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and Providence’s Josh Oduro, who are both having stellar seasons.

The Big East is always chalk full of high level competition, and getting the season started with this matchup sets the table for another fantastic season.

Notre Dame opens six-game homestand with overtime loss to Georgetown

This one slipped away.

Notre Dame likely won’t have many more wins this season, so any close loss will feel like a missed opportunity. Beginning a six-game homestand against former Big East rival Georgetown, the Irish had a few opportunities for the game to end in their favor. Instead, it was the Hoyas celebrating a 72-68 victory in overtime.

A game in which both the Irish (4-6) and Hoyas (7-4) had earlier nine-point leads was tied at 60 in the final minute of the second half. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] made a go-ahead layup with 8.7 seconds left, but that was enough time for Rowan Brumbaugh to make a basket with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Burton nearly made one of the most incredible buzzer beaters of all time from three-quarter court, but instead, free basketball was needed to decide this one:

An Ismael Massoud 3-pointer with 1:16 left put the Hoyas up, 70-68. Burton was fouled on the next possession but missed two free throws. The Irish made a defensive stop on the other end and called a timeout with nine seconds left to try and either tie or win the game.

Burton drove and dished out to [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag], whose game-winning 3-point attempt was blocked by Supreme Cook. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] was forced to foul Brumbaugh with 0.4 seconds on the clock, and Brumbaugh made two free throws to ice it for the Hoyas.

Drew Fielder came off the bench to lead the Hoyas with 16 points, most of which came on four 3-pointers. Brumbaugh scored 15 while making all six of his free throws, and Massoud had 13 points. Jay Heath and Dontrez Styles scored 10 points apiece

Burton was the game’s high scorer with 17 points despite making only six of 20 field-goal attempts. [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] flirted with a double-double of 13 points and eight rebounds, and [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] had a couple of highlight-reel moments while also scoring 13. Shrewsberry came off the bench to score 10.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Oklahoma Sooners skyrocket in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Oklahoma rose 10 spots in the latest USA Today Sports Coaches Poll and now sits at No. 12.

Oklahoma is on a heck of a run to start the season. The Sooners are stacking wins and building a strong resume that has them on the path to breaking their NCAA Tournament drought.

Oklahoma sits 9-0 and will have two games this week to continue building an impressive resume as the nonconference slate starts to wind down. The rest of the nation notices what Porter Moser is doing with his basketball team in Norman.

On Monday, the newest edition of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released, and the Sooners had the most significant rise of any team in the top 25 moving from No. 22 to No. 12.

That 10-spot jump comes on the heels of Oklahoma dominating two Power Five opponents from two of the best basketball conferences in the country in Providence from the Big East and Arkansas from the SEC.

Oklahoma remains one of seven teams in Division 1 basketball that is unbeaten.

Arizona is the No. 1 team after they dismantled Wisconsin. The standard bearer of the Big 12, Kansas, is ranked second, while the newest Big 12 member, Houston, led by former Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson, comes in at third.

Purdue and Connecticut round out the top five. Another undefeated Big 12 team, Baylor, ranks sixth, while Marquette and Creighton rank 7th and 8th.

Oklahoma will take on the now No. 9 UNC Tarheels in a massive matchup on Saturday. Tennessee and Clemson round out the schools right in front of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has a chance to make a significant splash this week with a win in Charlotte, North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational against a talented UNC squad led by Hubert Davis. A win there, and the Sooners could be on the cusp of a top-five ranking by the time the calendar turns to 2024.

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Micah Shrewsberry speaks after Notre Dame loss to Marquette

Here from the coach after the Irish were blown out.

MILWAUKEE – [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] knew Notre Dame had its work cut out for it against Marquette. That doesn’t make the Irish’s 78-59 road loss to the eighth-ranked team in the country any easier to take. While he certainly acknowledges that the Eagles are far and away better than the Irish, there has to be a feeling in the back of his mind that things could and should have gone better.

The competition doesn’t get any easier with former Big East foe Georgetown coming to South Bend right after final exams at Notre Dame are over. A little bit further out is the beginning of ACC play, and that’s when things really could get dicey. This game might have served as a dreary preview of what’s to come.

Fighting Irish Wire was on site for this game, and Shrewsberry spoke to the assembled media, which included other folks who cover the team regularly that made the trip to Milwaukee. Here is Shrewsberry’s opening statement and his answers to the two questions we asked him:

Sooners use explosive second half run in 72-51 win over Providence

Oklahoma used a massive run in the second half to secure a comfortable 21 point win over the Providence Friars.

Oklahoma may have something special brewing on the hardwood. After Thursday’s  win over the Providence Friars, the Sooners are now 8-0 for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.

Oklahoma came out, firing on all cylinders, and jumped out to an early 12-0 lead. Their first run of the game was spearheaded by the Sooners forcing three turnovers.

After the initial onslaught, the Sooners and Friars exchanged jabs for the remainder of the first half. Oklahoma went into the intermission up by four, led by 13 first-half points from guard Javian McCollum.

McCollum was a menace as he relentlessly attacked the paint and used his mid-range game to terrorize the Providence defense to get into the teeth of the defense. He also showcased his ability to shoot from range when defenders sagged off him or went under ball screens. He finished the game with 19 points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals to complete an excellent two-way effort.

In the first six minutes after halftime. the Friars looked ready to stage an upset as they took their first lead of the game at 40-39. From then on, the Sooners hit the same switch they showed in the Iowa game.

Oklahoma went on a 15-6 run to take an 54-47 lead into the under-eight media timeout. Coming out of the media timeout, the Sooners went on an 11-0 run, putting a dagger in any chance Providence had of upsetting the 22nd-ranked Sooners (No. 19 in AP Poll).

Oklahoma suffocated Providence from beyond the arc, limiting them to just 5-23 shooting from distance. The Sooners also held All-Big East first teamer Bryce Hopkins to just 8 points, forcing him into a team-leading four turnovers.

Milos Uzan finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Godwin added 12 points and four rebounds, Otega Oweh finished with 13 points, and Pitt transfer John Hugley chipped in six points off the bench.

Oklahoma’s next game will be at the BOK Center in Tulsa as they take on future conference opponent Arkansas in a rematch of a game they played last year.

Tip-off between the Sooners and the Razorbacks is slated for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Watch: Notre Dame gets big win over UConn in 2010

Remember this game?

Notre Dame’s season is about to begin, and it probably is going to be a rough one. So the only thing to do in this situation is look back on better times. In this case, let’s watch ESPN’s highlights of the Irish’s 58-50 victory over UConn in 2010, even though much of the clip talks about the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament bubble possibly bursting:

Indeed, the Irish’s victory in this Big East matchup was a big blow to the Huskies. More importantly, it improved the Irish’s NCAA Tournament resume, and they indeed made the Big Dance while the Huskies had to settle for the NIT.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the game is that the Irish won it without the injured [autotag]Luke Harangody[/autotag]. Instead, [autotag]Tory Jackson[/autotag] scored all but two of his 22 points in the second half to lead the way.

Even though it’s been 10 years since the Irish left the Big East, do you still miss it? This clip definitely might make you.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89