Tag: Marcus Hammond

Notre Dame wins over teams at least eight games above .500 since 2018

The Irish haven’t had many recent wins like the one against Virginia.

In a season that figures to have few true highlights, Notre Dame had one Saturday. Virginia entered Purcell Pavilion with a 10-2 record and having received votes in the most recent Top 25 poll. That didn’t matter to the young Irish because they crushed the Cavaliers, 76-54. If anyone tells you they saw that coming, they’re lying.

This wasn’t only an upset against a quality program and Micah Shrewsberry’s first ACC win. It represented a rarity for Notre Dame in recent years. The Cavaliers’ record coming into this game meant they were eight games above .500. Since the Irish last made consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2015 to 2017, they have beaten opponents who were at least eight games above .500 coming in only seven times.

So forgive the Irish if they go a little over the top in celebrating this latest such instance. This doesn’t happen to them very much these days, so they definitely are cause for celebration every time. Here are the most recent of these occurrences:

Thirteen Notre Dame players make ACC All-Academic Team

These players knew to hit the books before they hit the court.

Generally speaking, Notre Dame basketball is a very mixed bag right now. The women are coming off their second straight Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After a historically bad season, the men have a new coach and need to somehow figure out how to fill up a roster with many gaps. The one thing both programs have in common is they have some very intelligent players.

As a reflection of Notre Dame’s high classroom standards, 13 basketball players have made their respective ACC All-Academic Teams. Specifically, seven women and six men were so honored. It’s the latest example of the university refusing to compromise its values if it means accepting student-athletes who won’t take their studies seriously. With this latest news, that stubbornness won’t change anytime soon.

Take a look at the players who are as good in the classroom as they are on the court. Maybe this can serve as an inspiration to a young person who is struggling with grades. If you are one of them, don’t give up because these men and women sure don’t. It’s the first ACC All-Academic selection for all players unless noted:

Photos of Notre Dame’s regular-season game against Miami

You probably watched the Gator Bowl instead of this.

Chances are you missed Notre Dame’s 76-65 loss to Miami during the regular season. That’s because it was happening at the same time the football team was playing in the Gator Bowl. Only the diehard fans of the basketball program and friends and family of players likely were in Purcell Pavilion that afternoon. The media interest was low, too, as evidenced by this tweet from Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune:

All of that said, it simply was another forgettable game in a forgettable season for the Irish. The only reason it’s being brought back into the limelight is because the Hurricanes are in their first Final Four. The Irish should be honored they had a chance to play one of the remaining national championship contenders in South Bend. If the Hurricanes win it all, that honor will be even greater.

[autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] led the Irish with 15 points. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] scored 14, and [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] had 12 off the bench. [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] came very close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] also grabbed nine boards and had five assists.

Here are the images of a game that would have been more forgettable had the Hurricanes been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament sooner:

Mike Brey, Cormac Ryan, Marcus Hammond speak after Notre Dame loss

Read some final words summing up the season and a whole era of Irish basketball.

Notre Dame’s 67-64 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament signaled the end of an era. Yes, it means [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s days as Irish coach are over, but it also means the end for many players on the roster, especially rotational players. Two of them are [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] and [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], players who didn’t begin their collegiate careers with the Irish but were the most impactful in Brey’s final game for the program. That allowed them to come out with Brey for the season’s last postgame news conference.

Hammond and Ryan sat next to Brey as he, among other things, called out the officials for a late lengthy review that ultimately resulted in a dead-ball technical for [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] that might have affected the game’s outcome. This came as the Irish were about to shoot their own free throws in a close contest. Brey has called out ACC officials before, and he apparently decided to do it one more time on his way out.

Here is what the Irish trio said after the game:

Notre Dame drops tight one vs. Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament

So close to a bright spot in an awful season, but at least it’s all over.

Notre Dame fans were just waiting to be put out of their misery for this season. However, none of them could have anticipated an ACC Tournament first-round game with Virginia Tech that came down to the very end.

But like so many other times this season, the Irish just could not close the deal. A frustrating 2022-23 campaign came to an end with a 67-64 loss that gave the Hokies a second-round date with NC State.

The Irish (11-21), who finished the season tied for the most losses in program history, turned a 12-point first-half deficit into a five-point lead with 5:35 remaining. They were up four with 2:08 left, but the Hokies (19-13) scored five unanswered points to retake the lead going into the final minute.

With 42.5 seconds left, [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] made two free throws to put the Irish back up, but Sean Pedulla also was awarded two free throws after [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] fouled out on a dead ball technical. Pedulla made only one of them, so the game was tied at 64 with the Hokies getting the ball.

Justyn Mutts blew past [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and around a screen for a dunk to put the Hokies in front, the game’s 16th lead change. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] tried to answer with a layup but was blocked by Rodney Rice. [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] was forced to foul Pedulla, who had two free throws to try and ice the game for the Hokies. Pedulla only made one, and the Irish had a chance to tie it with a 3 with 9.8 seconds remaining.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] had the first 3 attempt but was blocked by Mutts, who touched the ball as it went out of bounds. That gave the Irish one last gasp to send the game to overtime with 2.4 seconds on the clock. This time, Laszewski got the ball, and he got the shot off. It didn’t fall, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s tenure as Irish coach was over.

Grant Basile led the Hokies with 20 points, but Mutts was their best player with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Pedulla scored 13, and Hunter Cattoor, the ACC’s co-leader in 3-point shooting, got nine of his 11 points from beyond the arc.

Hammond lead all scorers with a season-high 23 points, and Ryan scored 18. Zona had nine points on a career-high three 3s before fouling out.

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Notre Dame plays spoiler against Pittsburgh in Mike Brey’s home finale

Now that’s the way to close the home season.

Notre Dame’s home finale against Pittsburgh was a picture of what could and should have been this season. On paper, the Irish had all the talent to make a run similar to last year’s team that won twice in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the inability to close out games tumbled them to near the bottom of the ACC, leaving them to play the spoiler role in the regular season’s final week. That they did against the Panthers with an 88-81 victory in [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s final home game.

The Irish (11-19, 3-16) were in control from the beginning on a night when the Panthers (21-9, 14-5) could have clinched a share of the ACC regular-season title. They led by as much as 20 in the second half and stayed in front by double digits until the game almost was at its final minute. The Panthers made it interesting, getting to within five with 38 seconds left, so that big cushion turned out to be very necessary. When there’s a second half with a collective 54 free throws attempted and 43 field goals attempted, you can’t come to any other conclusion.

In their final games at Purcell Pavilion, [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] tied for a game-high 20 points. [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] and [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] scored 14 apiece in their home finales. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] also played his last game in South Bend and scored 12 before fouling out. Even [autotag]Robby Carmody[/autotag] got to play on senior night, bricking two free throws in the last minute and also grabbing one rebound.

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Notre Dame falls victim to Wake Forest 3-point barrage in second half

Aren’t the Irish supposed to be the better team from downtown?

SOUTH BEND – A team like Notre Dame that is built for the perimeter only can succeed if that part of its game works. When it doesn’t, things can get very bad very quickly. What’s worse is when the opposition throws that same game back in the team’s face. That’s what Wake Forest did to defeat the Irish, 81-64.

Initially, the Irish (10-13, 2-10) took advantage of a flurry of turnovers committed by the Demon Deacons (15-9, 7-6) to go up, 16-4. Then, the Deacons worked their way back to take a one-point halftime lead. This had all the makings of a game that would go down to the wire. Then, the second half began.

Paced by the hot shooting hand of Damari Monsanto, the Deacons made five of their first six 3-point attempts in the second half to quickly expand their lead to 13. Monsanto had made three 3s late in the first half to break up a 3-point drought by both teams, so he merely picked up where he left off. He entered this game as the third-best 3-point shooter in the ACC with a percentage of .400.

Meanwhile, the Irish kept missing shots from downtown, ultimately coming up empty on their first 10 3-point attempts. By the time they got anything going from that range, and it still wasn’t much consider they finished 4 of 21 from there, it was too little and far too late.

Monsanto did the most damage for the Deacons, scoring 24 of his career-high 28 points on eight 3-pointers and also grabbing six rebounds. Tyree Appleby, one of the conference’s best passers, flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Bobi Klintman had 10 points off the bench on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting day.

[autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] was well-rounded in the losing effort with 18 points and seven rebounds. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] scored 12, and [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] added 10. Perhaps if [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Eric Atkins[/autotag], who were in attendance for this game, were able to suit up, they could have made the game a little closer.

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Notre Dame battles NC State hard but still winless on road

Still nothing to show for a good effort.

To Notre Dame’s credit, it was about as good an effort as it’s shown on the road this season. But like every other game away from Purcell Pavilion, a victory just wasn’t meant to be. This time, it was NC State reaping the benefits, and the Irish will head home after an 85-82 loss.

During the first half, the Irish (9-12, 1-9) turned an 11-point deficit into a seven-point lead. The Wolfpack (16-5, 6-4) cut that lead to three before halftime, then went in front themselves early in the second half, which was a dogfight. While there wasn’t really any one moment that doomed the Irish, they couldn’t convert on a number of good looks or open shots to make a close game even closer or, in some cases, to tie it up. It also did not help that they were crushed in the turnover battle, 15-2.

Jarkel Joiner was the Wolfpack’s big player with 28 points and six rebounds. Terquavion Smith, the ACC’s scoring leader who fresh off a serious injury scare Saturday at North Carolina, had 17 points to go with six assists. D.J. Burns Jr. scored 14, and Casey Morsell added 11.

[autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] paced the Irish with 19 and 18 points, respectively. [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] had a nice stats line of 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] also scored 11, and [autotag]Ven Allen-Lubin[/autotag] added 10 off the bench.

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Syracuse youngsters lead comeback win over Notre Dame veterans

Those young whippersnappers in Central New York done beat those old guys.

Once again, Notre Dame’s mantra of getting and staying old didn’t pay off. In fact, it might have served as a detriment this time. The Irish had Syracuse on the ropes, but Jim Boeheim switched things up, and it changed the game’s momentum. Now, the Irish are left to wonder what could have been after a 78-73 loss.

Thanks largely to a season-high 15 3-pointers, the Irish (9-9, 1-6) led by as much as 12 in the second half. It was then that the Orange (12-6, 5-2) went to a full-court press, and that took the Irish out of their rhythm. In a stretch paced by a four-freshman lineup, the Orange made one timely shot after another while the Irish saw their hot shooting go cold and weren’t able to shake off the Orange’s defense. That big lead shrank until it finally disappeared.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] answered freshman Chris Bell’s go-ahead 3 with one of his own, but that was the last good thing to happen to the Irish. Judah Mintz tied the game at 71 on the Orange’s next possession, which was followed by the last media timeout. When action resumed, the Irish couldn’t inbound the ball cleanly, and the Orange made enough free throws from there to seal the victory. The Irish had opportunities to counter those free throws, but they couldn’t recapture their earlier good shooting from beyond the arc.

Bell set a career-high with 17 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Maliq Brown, another freshman, came off the bench and also hit a career scoring high with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Mintz scored 14, including eight free throws, and dished out a game-high eight assists. Jesse Edwards had a typical game of 13 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.

Hammond was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] was well-rounded with 15 points, six assists and two steals. [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag]’s line included 12 points, seven boards and four dimes.

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Notre Dame thoroughly outplayed by North Carolina

The Irish have slipped to .500.

It’s become increasingly clear that this season is a lost cause for Notre Dame. Perhaps the best evidence of that so far was its trip to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina. Despite initially looking strong out of the gate, the Irish couldn’t keep that going, and their 81-64 loss left them still searching for their first ACC win.

The Irish (8-8, 0-5) appeared ready to give the Tar Heels (11-5, 3-2) a game, taking the lead on [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag]’s tiebreaking 3 near the midway point of the first half. That quickly changed as the Tar Heels cracked down on their defense and won nearly every meaningful rebound battle.

With [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] out with an ankle injury, the already-small Irish badly missed his height as they lost the battles in blocks (6-1) and rebounds (45-32). That undoubtedly kept the game less close than it otherwise might have been.

The Irish were stretched out even further in the second half when [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] was ejected for a flagrant 2 that he committed while being dunked on by Puff Johnson. Tempers briefly flared, but nothing else of consequence happened. Ryan started heading back to the locker room before the call officially was made, indicating that he knew what was about to happen.

Armando Bacot lived up to his billing as the ACC’s leading scorer and rebounder, leading all players with 21 points and 13 boards. He also was one of three Tar Heels with two blocks. Caleb Love, an equally lethal scorer, had 18 points. RJ Davis scored 13 points and stole the ball three times, though the conference’s leading free-throw shooter was held to 1 of 2 from the charity stripe. Johnson totaled 11 points off the bench.

[autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] led the Irish with 17 points and eight rebounds. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] scored 10 points apiece.

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