Tag: Julian Roper II

Notre Dame falls short in regular-season finale vs. Virginia Tech

The Irish made it interesting until the end.

After being crushed by North Carolina in its last game, Notre Dame hoped for a better showing at Virginia Tech to close the regular season. That was the case, and the possibility existed that the Irish might steal a second game from the Hokies this season. That wasn’t the case with the Irish losing, 82-76.

While the Irish (12-19, 7-13) never led in the second half, they kept the Hokies (18-13, 10-10) on their toes until the final minute, never trailing by more than seven after halftime. It wasn’t until a layup, steal and then another layup by Sean Padulla in the final minute to put the Hokies up six that this game essentially was decided.

Although [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] brought the Irish within three with a layup and free throw after that, little time remained, and the Hokies only had to make their free throws to with the Irish forced to foul, which they did.

A few things could have made this game turn out differently. The Hokies held a considerable 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and used that to outscore the Irish in second-chance opportunities, 17-8. They also blocked six shots while the Irish got only one of those from [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag]. It was a hard lesson to be learned for sure.

Pedulla led all scorers with 28 points. MJ Collins had the best all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Off the bench, Tyler Nickel scored 15 points.

Burton scored 24 points, giving him 535 for the year and breaking [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag]’s Notre Dame freshman scoring record of 519. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 13 points, which included making all five of his free throws, and grabbed six rebounds. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] scored 11 off the bench, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 10.

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Notre Dame nearly completes 29-point comeback against Syracuse

No shame to be had after this one at all.

No coach in any sport at any level will say a loss was a moral victory. If one exists though, Notre Dame certainly had one against Syracuse. On a day the Orange honored legendary coach Jim Boeheim, the Irish should have been a patsy. Instead, they made the Orange earn every bit of their 88-85 victory.

This one should have been over early when the Irish (10-17, 5-11) trailed the Orange (18-10, 9-8) by 29 points late in the first half. But the Irish ended the half on a 9-0 run, culminating in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag]. It proved to be a precursor to what was to come.

The Irish got hot from the field in the second half and cut the deficit to four with eight minutes left. The Orange built that lead back up to 10, and it looked like that was it. Except it wasn’t.

With the deficit still at nine and 2:11 to go, [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] and Roper hit back-to-back 3s to bring the Irish within three. Burton rebounded an Orange miss, and the Irish called a timeout to draw up a play that would tie the game.

A Shrewsberry 3 was short off the rim, and Chris Bell got the rebound and was fouled before hitting two free throws to put the Orange up five. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] then made a layup, and after Quadir Copeland missed a one-and-one, Burton had one more chance to send the game to overtime but missed a long 3. That ended a valiant comeback attempt in which the Irish scored 56 second-half points.

All five Orange starters scored in double figures with Judah Mintz’s 21 points leading the way. Bell scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and former Irish guard JJ Starling had 14 along with Maliq Brown.

Burton had perhaps his best collegiate game with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting along with eight assists. Shrewsberry scored all 18 of his points in the second half on six 3-pointers, and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] had 12 points and seven rebounds.

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Notre Dame’s OT win at Georgia Tech first true road win in 23 months

The Irish haven’t had this type of victory in a while.

Notre Dame knows it could have beaten Duke and should have beaten NC State. There’s nothing to do but soldier on though, and that includes facing the next opponent. In this case, it was a road meeting at Georgia Tech, and it turned out successfully.

The Irish beat the Yellow Jackets in overtime, 75-68, for their first true road victory since defeating Clemson in February 2022, during which the only active Irish player who played in that game and only for 46 seconds was [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag].

A game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes meant this could have gone either way. Overtime was needed after [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] missed a shot at the end of regulation that could have broken a 66-all tie.

The free basketball turned out to be just what the Irish (7-9, 2-3) needed. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag]’s 3-pointer was the Irish’s only field goal in the frame, but it was enough as the value of that basket was only one more point than the Yellow Jackets (8-7, 1-3) scored during that time.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] was the Irish’s best player as he scored 25 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from 3-point range and making all six of his free throws. Burton scored 12 and dished out seven assists. The Irish got double-doubles from [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] (10 points, 11 rebounds) and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] (10 points, 10 rebounds).

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Notre Dame drops heartbreaker to NC State after leading throughout

The epitome of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Notre Dame appeared to be headed for another wire-to-wire win, this time against NC State. But youth means inexperience, and that includes in closing out games. The Irish trailed only once in this contest, but it was when it really counted. D.J. Burns Jr. made a layup with 0.6 seconds left, the last of his team-leading 13 points, to give the Wolfpack a stunning 54-52 win at Purcell Pavilion.

The Irish (6-8, 1-2) led by as much as 12 in the first half and had a pair of 11-point leads in the second. But they combined with the Wolfpack (10-3, 2-0) to shoot 15 of 58 (25.9%) in that second half and got their clock cleaned on offensive rebounds throughout the game, 17-5. It came back to haunt the Irish as after a [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] bucket with 2:10 left put them up, 52-46, they never scored again.

Nursing a two-point lead in the final minute, Konieczny was called for a travel thanks to intense defensive pressure from the Wolfpack, who called a timeout. The 6-foot-9, 275-pound Burns then found a matchup he liked and got a layup to tie the game at 52.

With only seven team fouls, the Wolfpack intentionally fouled [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag], a 58.3% free-throw shooter entering the game. Roper missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Michael O’Connell got the last of his team-high seven rebounds, enabling the Wolfpack to call a timeout and set up Burns’ heroics. A last-second long inbound pass went nowhere for the Irish, and the Wolfpack had stolen one in South Bend.

The Irish wasted a solid effort from [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week who had a game-high 18 points along with four assists. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] grabbed 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

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Notre Dame’s Julian Roper II cleared for all basketball activities

That’s definitely a relief.

Notre Dame’s 2023-24 roster was brought together practically on the fly. As soon as he was hired, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] had to string together a group of transfers and his 2023 Penn State recruiting class.

One transfer, [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] from Northwestern, was coming off an ankle injury. Fortunately, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting that that’s no longer a concern:

Roper’s injury kept him from participating in the final month and a half of the Wildcats’ surprising run to the NCAA Tournament, only the second berth in that program’s history. He undoubtedly is looking for a new start after last season ended in disappointment. Most importantly, he’ll be available to start the new season.

The Irish will get their first look at opposing competition when they participate in a secret scrimmage Sunday at Xavier. They’ll play an exhibition Nov. 1 against Hanover, and the season starts when they welcome Niagara to Purcell Pavilion on Nov. 6.

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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.

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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.

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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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Notre Dame not nearly competitive against Marquette

Not a good night to say the least.

MILWAUKEE – Notre Dame knew it had its toughest test of the season in playing Marquette on the road. Sure enough, everything went against the Irish from the moment they stepped onto the Fiserv Forum court. Battling the No. 8 team in the country and a raucous crowd, the Irish merely were foils in a 78-59 loss that was more of a blowout than the final score indicated.

The Eagles (8-2) scored early and often in the first half, putting the game’s first 17 points on the board unanswered. By the time [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] put back his own miss on a layup with 12:53 left in the opening frame, the Irish (4-5) already were too far behind to even make it a contest. While they did outscore the Eagles in the second half, 35-26, it came far too late.

Dominance doesn’t even begin to describe the Eagles’ performance in this game. Factoring in the four shot-clock violations they committed in the first half alone, the Irish were completely annihilated. That includes on fast-break points (26-4), points off turnovers (30-12) and points in the paint (42-16). The eye test also showed that the Eagles are bigger, faster and more coordinated than the Irish, who are just trying to tread water in the middle of a rebuild.

Oso Ighordaro is headed to the NBA after this season, and he showed why with 20 points on six-of-eight shooting and making all eight of his free throws. Tyler Kolek had an impressive line of 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Kam Jones, another NBA draft prospect, contributed 11 points.

Burton was one of the few bright spots for the Irish, scoring 20 points to match Ighordaro and recording a game-high four steals. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] scored all nine of his points on three 3-pointers.

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Tae Davis, Julian Roper II, Braeden Shrewsberry speak after win

Hear from three of the Irish’s key players from their hard-fought victory.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sometimes, things go so well that you just have to have as many people talk about it as possible. That’s not to say Notre Dame’s 86-65 win over Western Michigan was easy. In fact, it took a real effort by the Irish to hold off the Broncos. Still, enough went well, and many players contributed a lot.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] has emerged as a key player lately, and he showed that with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] is the 3-point specialist on the team, and he hit four shots from downtown in a 16-point effort off the bench. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] continues to be a team leader, the latest evidence of which was this 14-point effort.

All three players spoke the media after the victory, and they all definitely earned the right to do so. Here are their answers to the questions posed by Fighting Irish Wire: