Tag: J.R. Konieczny

Notre Dame has shocking blowout of Virginia in ACC home opener

Did anybody expect this?

Notre Dame began its real ACC schedule at home Saturday against Virginia, a program that has been receiving Top 25 votes. You would have been forgiven had you chosen to opt out of viewing this game. But if you had, you would have missed the Irish’s biggest win of the season. They never trailed in a 76-54 upset victory.

The Irish (6-7, 1-1) scored the game’s first 13 points, and nearly five minutes passed before the Cavaliers (10-3, 1-1) got on the board. From there, it was a perfect display of offensive and defensive execution. The Irish got good looks when they had the ball and frustrated the Cavaliers by staying in front of the ball and taking care of it when it was up for grabs. At halftime, they were shooting an obscene 69.6% from the field.

The second half began with the Cavaliers scoring seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 10. After [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] called a timeout, the Irish got back on track and never allowed the game to get any closer than that. By the time they increased their lead to 20 with less than nine minutes to go, it was clear that there would be no collapse on their part.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] scored all 17 of his points in the first half, making all six of his field-goal attempts, including four from 3-point range, during that time. He was kept out of the scoring column in the second half but grabbed seven of his eight rebounds in that frame.

[autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] also scored 17 and came within a rebound of a double-double. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] also flirted with a double-double by picking up 15 points and a game-high eight assists. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] had 10 points and six boards. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] briefly exited with an injury but returned to the game to record five rebounds and make his only shot attempt.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Micah Shrewsberry’s fiery news conference after gutless Notre Dame loss

You wanted a coach that shows emotion? How does this work for you?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – You longtime Notre Dame basketball fans who have wanted a fiery and emotional coach might have gotten your wish. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] took his postgame news conference after the Irish lost to The Citadel, 65-45, and turned it into a platform to say everything he and his team did in the game was completely wrong. And he held nothing back.

Fighting Irish Wire was among the outlets in the room as it happened. When we began a question by (admittedly somewhat ignorantly) pointing out that [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] was the team’s 3-point specialist, the elder Shrewsberry snapped back, “He’s not,” citing his son’s recent struggles from that distance, which includes an 0-for-6 showing in this game.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg as to what Shrewsberry had to say. He spread blame around but also put blame on himself. While that’s typical of coaches after a loss, he did it in a way that even reporters who have covered this program for years couldn’t remember seeing anything like that from a Notre Dame coach.

The news conference was too good to leave out, so here it is in its entirety:

J.R. Konieczny, Matt Zona speak after Notre Dame loss to The Citadel

Read the players’ perspectives on the loss.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] is one of the few Notre Dame players who had Elijah Morgan as one of his teammates. He probably didn’t count on seeing Morgan go off when The Citadel came to Purcell Pavilion. Sure enough, that’s what happened as Morgan scored a game-high 19 points in a 65-45 Bulldogs win over the Irish.

Zona grabbed four rebounds but was held out of the scoring column. Most of the Irish’s production came from [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. It looked for a while like Konieczny was going to carry his team to victory. Instead, the Bulldogs took over in the second half after allowing six unanswered points to start.

Zona and Konieczny were the two players selected to speak to the media after the loss under the watchful eye of [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] (more on him later). Konieczny looked emotional as he took his seat, and Zona looked like he was just trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. Here’s what they had to say:

Former Notre Dame player Morgan gets revenge in win for The Citadel

Nothing worse than an old friend haunting you.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In 27 games for Notre Dame from 2019 to 2022, Elijah Morgan never scored more than six points. Since joining The Citadel, he has looked like a completely different player. He showed that and then some as he haunted his old team in a 65-45 Bulldogs win over the Irish.

The first half featured two teams battling closing as neither team could grab momentum or lead by more than four points. The second half began with the Irish (4-7) scoring six unanswered, and the Bulldogs (7-5) called a timeout.

From there, the visitors seized control and ultimately extended the lead to double digits as the Irish simply couldn’t respond. After that Bulldogs timeout, they outscored the Irish, 33-10, the rest of the way.

Whether the game’s location made it coincidental or not, Morgan was the man for the Bulldogs, scoring 15 of his game-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and recording four steals. Irish fans in attendance as well as the few remaining players from Morgan’s time with the Irish had no choice but to endure the sight of him celebrating with his teammates, which included a bench that was vocal all night long.

Of course, Morgan didn’t do it all by himself for the Bulldogs. Madison Durr and Quentin Millora-Brown scored 15 points apiece on a combined 11-of-16 shooting from the field. AJ Smith briefly went back to the locker room after getting banged up early in the first half but returned to score 13 points.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] was the Irish’s top player with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] had 13 points but also a game-high five turnovers.

While the other Irish players struggled across the board, none did so more than [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag]. Starting in place of the injured [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag], he missed all eight of his field-goal attempts, six of them coming from beyond the arc. It was part of a night in which the Irish shot only 26.6 % from the field.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Two Notre Dame guards out with injuries against The Citadel

Hope this only is a minor setback.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – You never want to be down bodies no matter who your opponent is. Yet that’s exactly the situation Notre Dame finds itself in with two of its guards against The Citadel. Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune tweeted the following regarding [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag]:

Roper’s absence is significant in that the transfer from Northwestern has started every game so far this season and is by far one of the most polished players on this young Irish team. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring (8.9 points a game) and third in rebounds 5.2 a game.

Replacing Roper in the starting lineup will be [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], who hasn’t started since doing so in the Irish’s first three games. Rounding out the starting lineup are [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag].

Imes is another key loss in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s rotation. In nine games off the bench, he is averaging 18.1 minutes a game, the most for any Irish player who hasn’t started this season. He has a scoring average 2.1 points a game.

[autotag]Tony Sanders Jr.[/autotag] has played in two games this season and has a single 3-pointer in the scoring column.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame unable to hang with Miami in ACC opener

The Irish drop the first of two straight tough Saturday games.

The schedule makers did Notre Dame no favors for the first two Saturdays of December. It had to open ACC play against No. 8 Miami, which is fresh off a Final Four appearance. Another top-10 program, Marquette, will host the Irish in exactly one week. The first of these tough games ended in a 62-49 loss to the Hurricanes.

In all fairness, the Irish (3-4, 0-1) played like the better team for most of the first half, so that’s something to build on. But the Hurricanes (6-1, 1-0) soon scored 12 unanswered points to go up by double digits, and the Irish never recovered. In the second half, they couldn’t cut the deficit any closer than six and were held scoreless for the final five minutes, missing their last 10 shots.

Matt Cleveland, one of the top shooters in the ACC, showed why he has that distinction by leading the Hurricanes with 14 points while shooting five of sevem from the field. He also had four steals. Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack had 13 points apiece with Omier also grabbing 13 rebounds.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] led the Irish with 14 points, 12 of which came on a game-high four 3-pointers. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] completed the first double-double of his collegiate career with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] had six assists but scored only six points on three-of-11 shooting, which included missing all five of his 3-point attempts.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame goes cold, falls to South Carolina in ACC/SEC Challenge

You can’t win if you can’t keep scoring.

Notre Dame and South Carolina aren’t the fastest teams in the country, so it was appropriate for them to match up in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Most of the game made it seem like the visiting Irish could pull off a win over the undefeated Gamecocks. But the offense stopped coming, and the Irish lost, 65-53.

The majority of the game was competitive, and the Irish (3-3), who scored eight unanswered points at the start, had a 40-38 lead at the 6:14 mark of the second half. Then, they stopped making shots, ad the Gamecocks (6-0) went on a 13-1 run to go up by double digits and didn’t look back. The Irish never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Meechie Johnson led the Gamecocks with 29 points, including four 3-pointers, and had five rebounds. B.J. Mack had 17 points.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] was the Irish’s leader in points (15) and rebounds (eight). [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] contributed 11 points, and [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] added 10. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] dished out five assists but committed a game-high six turnovers, and eight points made it the first time in his young career that he failed to reach double figures in scoring.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame escapes Brooklyn with overtime win over Oklahoma State

That was a little too close.

It was fitting that Notre Dame drew Oklahoma State in the consolation game of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. Both teams are at about the same level as far as turnover from last season. So it was only fitting that they went to overtime. But any Irish fan watching will tell you that it shouldn’t have gotten there despite a 66-64 win.

The Irish (2-2) had a 12-point lead in the second half, but a couple of scoring droughts allowed the Cowboys (1-3) to creep closer and closer. The lead had whittled down to one when Eric Dailey Jr. went to the free-throw line to potentially win it for the Cowboys. He instead split the free throws, and [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] missed a buzzer-beater, necessitating the overtime.

The Irish trailed by as much as four in the extra session, but the game came down to free throws and defense. Both of those worked in the Irish’s favor.

Burton in particular was clutch at the line and was the leader in forcing the Cowboys to make mistakes on offense. Still, he missed one free throw in the final seconds of overtime that allowed John-Michael Wright to shoot a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer that missed.

Burton fittingly led the Irish with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] had 12 points and eight rebounds, while [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] completed his second straight double-double of 11 points and 10 boards in his first career start.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame shoots poorly in loss to Auburn

Man, was that ugly.

Despite the poor prognosis for its season, Notre Dame was one of four teams invited to the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. The Irish drew Auburn as their first opponent, and their next one depended on how they did in that first game. The answer to that question is not great as the Tigers dominated the Irish, 83-59. That means the Irish will face Oklahoma State, another first-time opponent, in the consolation game.

The Irish (1-2) never led in the contest but cut a 15-point deficit down to six before halftime. But the Tigers (2-1) went for the kill out of the break and succeeded with a 15-1 run to begin the second half. The deficit never got smaller than 16 from there, and it didn’t help that the Irish shot only 33.9% from the field, including a paltry 2 of 26 from 3-point range.

Aden Holloway and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 15 points apiece. Jaylin Williams had 11 points, and 10 points apiece came from Chris Moore and Tre Donaldson.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] reached double figures in both scoring and rebounds for the first time in his career with 18 points and 11 boards, leading the Irish in both categories. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored a career-high 13 points, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] scored 12 despite 4-of-20 shooting, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 10 points to go with three steals.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89