Tag: Kebba Njie

Notre Dame battles from behind against Georgia Tech, then wins

The Irish finally made their move towards the end.

Notre Dame never quit against Georgia Tech, even as its inability to go in front undoubtedly was frustrating. Still, the Irish fans who came to Purcell Pavilion for the late tipoff had to think a happy ending was in store. That was the case as the Irish completed a come-from-behind victory, 71-68.

The Irish trailed the Yellow Jackets for almost 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, but they never faced more than a seven-point deficit, the last of which came with 5:35 left. But that’s when they got their chance with the Jackets starting a lengthy scoring drought.

After a [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] 3-pointer, more than three minutes passed before anymore points were scored. Then, within 36 seconds, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] made back-to-back 3s to give the Irish their first lead.

A short time later after Shrewsberry missed the front of a one-and-one, [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] got the rebound but had the ball swatted out and was ruled to have touched it last after a replay review. It didn’t matter because the Yellow Jackets were whistled for a five-second violation:

[autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] put the nail in the coffin with a layup as he was fouled. Though he missed the subsequent free throw, Davis made two free throws on the next possession to complete a 13-0 Irish run.

Burton led all scorers with 26 points and four 3s. He also paced the Irish with three steals. Shrewsberry scored 15 points.

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Notre Dame snaps losing streak with big second half vs. Boston College

Back in the win column.

(This story has been updated to add a video.)

Notre Dame had lost all four games since they began their full-time ACC schedule. With luck, the skid wouldn’t have lasted that long, but the Irish instead had to try to get back on track against Boston College. This they did to the tune of a 78-60 victory.

Up until the midway point of the second half, the Irish (8-9, 2-4) and Eagles (9-8, 1-4) were locked in a tight battle where offense was at a premium at times. All signs pointed to this game coming down to the wire. That turned out not to be the case.

With the game tied at 48, [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored five consecutive points, [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] hit two free throws, and the Eagles didn’t get much closer the rest of the way. That’s because the Irish played aggressively on offense and made often impressive stops on defense. They held a 30-12 scoring advantage over the final 10:08.

Davis was the man of the hour, throwing down four of his game-high 26 points on two impressive dunks that greatly impressed the Purcell Pavilion crowd. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] scored 20 points and collected four steals:

Allocco scored 13 points, and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] nearly completed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, not to mention overcoming a second-half ankle injury. Both players also had three steals.

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Notre Dame falls to NC State in second straight tough defeat

Another win that should have been.

After Notre Dame lost in heartbreaking fashion to North Carolina at home, it hoped for a better outcome on the road at NC State. If these past two games are any indication though, Irish fans are going to experience a lot of pain during the ACC schedule.

The Irish held a 10-point lead late in the first half and a seven-point lead with 3:39 remaining. They stopped scoring field goals after that though, and the Wolfpack mounted their largest comeback win of the season, 66-65.

[autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] made two free throws with 2:06 left to give the Irish (7-8, 1-3) a 65-61 lead. But the Wolfpack (9-6, 2-2) cracked down defensively and shined in both the full-court and half-court offense until they tied the game up and then had a chance to take the lead after [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] fouled Ben Middlebrooks.

Middlebrooks split a pair of free throws, so a one-point game meant the Irish had a chance to salvage the victory. Out of a timeout with 8.3 seconds remaining [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] fired a shot that hit the room shortly before the clock hit zero and left the Irish wondering what could have been.

All five Irish starters scored in double figures, led by Burton with 15 points. Davis had 14 points and six assists, and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. That should have been enough to top the Wolfpack, who saw Marcus Hill score 15 points to lead four starters with double figures. And somehow, it wasn’t.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Irish, who now have to go to Duke after seeing two straight winnable games slip away. This season could get ugly fast if they let things spiral further.

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Notre Dame defeats Buffalo for second victory in as many games

The Irish gave the right amount of effort in the win.

(This story has been updated to correct a typo.)

A less experienced Notre Dame team might have panicked when a mid-major opponent was making a run. For a while, Buffalo was doing just that at Purcell Pavilion. But the Irish stayed strong, retook control and held onto it just long enough in an 86-77 win.

The Irish (2-0) saw their eight-point lead turn into a seven-point deficit in the first half. A Ryan Sabol 3-pointer in the final seconds gave the Bulls (2-1) a two-point lead going into halftime.

The Irish moved the ball much better at the start of the second half and tightened up their defense, going on a 24-2 run to begin the frame. But the Bulls whittled that 20-point lead down to seven more than once, so this game’s outcome was in doubt up until the final minute.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] capped his career-high 27-point night with four clutch free throws to create enough distance and ensure the victory, one in which the Irish couldn’t take their eyes off the Bulls for very long except for the hot start to the second half. Davis made 12 of 13 free throws during the game.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He also registered a game-high three steals.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] also scored 19 points and was the only Irish player to make two 3s on a night the team made only five of 20 attempts from beyond the arc. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] had 12 points with four of his five field goals coming on dunks.

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Notre Dame earns opening-night victory over sister school Stonehill

Great way to start the year.

(This story was updated to add new information).

The Notre Dame men’s basketball team opened its season against sister school Stonehill. Both Notre Dame and Stonehill were founded by the Congregation of the Holy Cross over a century apart, so it was natural they would face each other at some point.

While the Irish are a mainstay in college athletics though, the Skyhawks only are in their third season at the Division I level. Talent likely would have decided this game anyway though as the Irish won, 89-60.

The Irish (1-0) trailed the Skyhawks (1-1) for only the first 100 seconds of the game, then dominated in all aspects soon afterwards, at least once their lead reached double figures in the first half. Though they fell three points short of matching their first-half scoring output (46) in the second half, there were times when the latter frame felt more dominant.

Either way, this looked like a team that knew how to play together throughout. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] was able to empty his bench at the end, which was a sure sign of a good night.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] tied for the game high with 18 points each with Burton also tallying five assists. Princeton transfer [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] scored 10 in his first Irish game. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] scored all nine of his points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

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Jon Rothstein projects Notre Dame to finish 12th in ACC in 2024-25

Is this a fair ranking?

College basketball is a few months away, but that doesn’t mean predictions can’t be made now. Jon Rothstein has taken this to heart and written an early preview for how he things the new-look ACC will shape up during the 2024-25 season. With 18 teams to rank, Rothstein has the Irish finishing 12th, or the tail end of the conference’s middle tier.

Rothstein also highlights a couple of Irish players to watch. He lists [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag], who came over from Princeton, as one of 15 under-the-radar transfers. He also has picked [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] as one of 10 breakout players with the stipulation that players who previously have averaged double figures in scoring are not eligible to be considered breakout players.

Both Allocco and Davis are projected to be starters on the Irish alongside returnees [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag]. You won’t get much of an argument with that starting lineup right now. We’ll see how much, if at all, that changes once we’re through training camp.

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Notre Dame’s Carey Booth enters transfer portal but could return

Hopefully, he comes back.

When a player enters the transfer portal, they generally don’t go back to where they came from. Not so fast in the case of Notre Dame forward [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag]. In an Instagram story and in speaking to On3’s Joe Tipton, Booth announced his that he’s entering the transfer portal. However, he has not ruled out coming back to the Irish as indicated in the following statement:

“I’m beyond thankful for getting to wear the blue and gold this year. I’m especially thankful to Coach Shrewsberry and his staff for believing in me and bringing me to South Bend. With that being said, I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to keep all of my options open – including a return to Notre Dame.”

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Booth, the highest-rated player in Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class on 247Sports, played all 33 games for the Irish this past season, starting 19 of them. In his first collegiate season, he averaged 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.6 blocks a game.

At 6-foot-10, Booth was tied with [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] for the tallest player on the team, and it’s possible he felt he couldn’t compete with Njie for a starting spot going forward. Whatever the case, hopefully, he isn’t gone for good.

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Notre Dame beats Virginia Tech to end seven-game losing streak

A victory!

Notre Dame hadn’t lost eight consecutive games since the 1965-66 season. This season has been bad enough that it wouldn’t have been surprising for the Irish to tie that mark Saturday against Virginia Tech. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case as the Irish beat the Hokies, 74-66, snapping their seven-game skid.

The Irish (8-16, 3-10) trailed by nine late in the first half before turning the tables on the Hokies (13-10, 5-7). They scored 14 unanswered points to take a five-point lead early in the second half.

The Hokies later tied it at 51, and the Irish responded with a 9-0 run. They never led by less than six the rest of the way. While the outcome still was in doubt during the game’s final minute, the Irish made the plays they needed to on both ends to close it out, something they’ve struggled with this year.

In 35 minutes, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led the Irish with 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting, but that only was the beginning. He dished out eight assists to tie his career high, which came during the Irish’s last home victory against Virginia. He also had six steals to not only set his career high but also tie the Irish record for steals in an ACC game, which first was reached by [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] in 2016.

All of [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s 12 points came on four 3-pointers. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

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Notre Dame drops another close contest to Boston College

The Irish still can’t win a close game with the Eagles.

When Notre Dame lost a close road contest to Boston College over a week-and-a-half ago, much of it had to do with Quinten Post getting hot. When the teams met again Saturday in South Bend, Post scored 10 points before fouling out with 4:03 left.

Despite losing Post for the stretch run, the Eagles had their biggest lead at seven, and it proved to be just enough to deal the Irish a 61-58 loss. Devin McGlockton led the Eagles with 15 points.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, but when points started coming more frequently in the second half, the Irish (7-13, 2-7) simply didn’t score enough. Although they only trailed, 57-55, in the final minute, Jaeden Zackery made a close shot with 30 seconds left to put the Eagles (12-8, 3-6) up four. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] missed a 3, and Zackery got the rebound before being fouled by [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] and making two free throws.

Surprisingly, that didn’t end the game. A Shrewsberry 3 cut the Eagles’ six-point lead in half with barely any time remaining. The Eagles then couldn’t inbound the ball cleanly, and a replay review gave the Irish a chance to send the game to overtime with 0.8 seconds left. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] got an open look from 3-point range at the very top of the key, but he missed at the buzzer.

Konieczny flirted with a double-double by virtue of 15 points (13 in the first half) and eight rebounds. Shrewsberry scored all of his 14 points in the second half with 12 of them coming on four 3-pointers. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] had 10 points (eight in the second half) and a game-high seven assists, but he also committed a game-high five turnovers.

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Micah Shrewsberry speaks after Notre Dame loses to Florida State

Here a few thoughts from the head man.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – If there’s one thing Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry doesn’t do, it’s deflect blame. He understands that whenever his team loses, it falls back to him. He isn’t going to change that mindset anytime soon.

The Irish lost to Florida State, 67-58, and Shrewsberry wasn’t about to throw his players under the bus in his postgame news conference. If anything, he partially blamed not having [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] available because of a sprained ankle he suffered in practice the day before. He said it took all of the energy and emotion out of his team. It always is hard to soldier on when one of your players suddenly isn’t available, but Davis’ absence really seemed to bother Shrewsberry.

It’s unknown if Davis will be available Monday at Boston College in a quick turnaround for the Irish. What is known though is that Shrewsberry wasn’t short on words after this home defeat to the Seminoles. Here’s his opening statement and his answers to the questions asked by Fighting Irish Wire: