Tag: Matt Allocco

Notre Dame men’s basketball crushes Georgetown in Washington matinee

Terrific afternoon for the Irish.

Even with both teams in similar situation, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team’s game against Georgetown figured to be a real test. After all, the Irish frequently played the Hoyas when they were in the Big East, and this was their first opponent this season from a power conference.

Instead, the Irish came into Washington and did whatever they wanted on this Saturday afternoon en route to an 84-63 victory. It was easily their most complete game of the young season.

The Irish (3-0) went on a 13-0 run early in the first half and never looked back. Although the Hoyas (2-1) cut a 12-point Irish lead to four during that half, it proved to be a minor setback as more Irish runs would occur throughout the rest of the game. The offense was in sync throughout.

Not only did the Irish play tight defense, but they benefited from poor Hoyas shooting from the field at 31.4%. So it should come as no surprise that the Irish pulled away by shooting 59.3% from the floor:

[autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag], who didn’t shoot a single field goal in the Irish’s win over Buffalo, scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the first half, making four 3-pointers during that time. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] scored 16 points, which included making all eight of his free throws, and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] flirted with a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added nine points, and Lehigh transfer [autotag]Burke Chebuhar [/autotag]scored nine off the bench by making all three of his 3-point attempts.

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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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On3 names Notre Dame’s Matt Allocco among top 20 ACC impact transfers

How do you expect him to contribute this season?

Unlike most other ACC teams, Notre Dame didn’t dip its toes very deep into the transfer portal this past offseason. In fact, the Irish joined North Carolina, Florida State and Pittsburgh as the only schools in the conference to add three or fewer players via the transfer portal. That fell below the conference average of 4.6 transfers a team.

But one of them figures to contribute mightily to the Irish this this upcoming season. On3’s Jamie Shaw has named [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] one of 20 impact transfers in the ACC for the 2024-25 season.

Allocco came over to the Irish from Princeton and is coming off career-high averages in both scoring (12.7) and assists (3.3). That netted him his second straight Second Team All-Ivy League honor, and he now will see how well his game translates in a power conference.

Shaw described Allocco this way:

“Matt Allocco is another connector for [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s team. The 6-foot-4 senior is comfortable moving the ball or knocking down shots. He brings a winning pedigree (70-21 in college) and will provide a veteran presence beside [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], someone who compliments his game and is able to take some pressure off his duties.”

Irish fans will be watch Allocco every step of the way. He’ll be crucial to any success this still-young team has.

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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 gets Lehigh transfer forward Burke Chebuhar

The 2024-25 Irish officially are assembled.

When most college basketball fans hear Leigh, they might think of the program’s 2012 NCAA Tournament victory over Duke. Now, for at least one season, Notre Dame fans will think about one of the players. Forward [autotag]Burke Chebuhar[/autotag] made the announcement that he will use his remaining college eligibility by transferring to Notre Dame:

https://www.instagram.com/burke.chebuhar/p/C7Cm1zgOmmI/?hl=en&img_index=1

With this addition, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s 2024-25 roster is complete. Over the past month, the Irish added two other transfers: Princeton guard [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] and [autotag]Monmouth center Nikita Konstantynovskyi[/autotag]. The one thing all three transfers have in common is that they’re coming off career-best seasons.

After playing 11 games apiece in his first seasons with the Mountain Hawks with minimal contributions both times, Chebuhar broke out last season. He started 22 of 32 games and set career highs of 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a game. He got a taste of ACC action with road games against North Carolina and Boston College. Now, we’ll see how his game really translates from the Patriot League.

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Notre Dame gets transfer center Nikita Konstantynovskyi from Monmouth

We’ll see how he does for the Irish.

Notre Dame always could use some depth down low as it seems like most of its production comes from the guard position. Concerns about height undoubtedly increased after Carey Booth transferred to Illinois. Now, the Irish seem to have at least attempted to the solve that problem after transfer center and Ukraine native [autotag]Nikita Konstantynovskyi[/autotag] announced he was coming to the program:

https://www.instagram.com/konstyk_n12/p/C69IHoRtGh2/

Konstantynovskyi, the first European player for the Irish since Lithuania native [autotag]Martinas Geben[/autotag] left in 2018, has had a long journey and not only geographically. He began his collegiate career with two seasons at community college Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. That was followed by two seasons at Tulsa before spending last year with Monmouth, where he averaged career highs of 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

Konstantynovskyi is the second player the Irish have added via the transfer portal this offseason after [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag]. They are allowed to add one more player to the roster, so the question now is how [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and his staff want to use it. Stay tuned.

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Notre Dame to host Michigan transfer forward Terrance Williams II

Hope he comes to the Irish.

With former Princeton guard [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] now at Notre Dame, the Irish have two scholarships available for transfers. It’s hard to say at this point who will get those scholarships. One possibility is former Michigan forward Terrance Williams II, who has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Irish are set to host Williams next week. Like Allocco, this would be a nice get for the program. Last season, Williams more than doubled his scoring average from the season before by putting up 12.4 points a game. He also averaged a career high 1.5 assists a game. During the 2022-23 season, his 8.8 rebounds a game ranked among the best in the Big Ten.

It will take a little time before the Irish can develop more of their own scorers from within. Until that time, high-scoring veterans from the transfer portal will do. Hopefully though, more homegrown talent will become the norm before too long.

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Photos of Notre Dame transfer guard Matt Allocco from Princeton days

A look back at the new Irish guard’s days with his previous team.

Notre Dame has landed its first transfer of the offseason, and it’s a big one. After three years with Princeton that included a Sweet 16 berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, guard [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] is heading to to South Bend. He already blows any transfer [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] got in his first season with the Irish out of the water. Granted, that isn’t a high bar to clear, but still.

Had Allocco played for the 2023-24 Irish, he would have been their top shooter from both the field (.508) and the free-throw line (.909). He also would have been second behind [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] in both scoring (12.7) and assists (3.3). The Irish definitely would have won a few more games with him.

Make no mistake. The Irish still have a long road to travel to where they want to go. But having a veteran like Allocco will help the younger players in ways we all will see soon enough. For now, those players can refer to their new teammate’s days with the Tigers like so:

Notre Dame basketball lands its first transfer of the cycle

The Irish have added an elite shooter for next season

There has been plenty of transfer movement for Notre Dame basketball this week and it continued on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Irish saw Carey Booth finding his new home at Illinois, but the roles were reversed on Wednesday. Notre Dame landed Princeton transfer guard [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag], giving them their first commit of this cycle.

The 6-foot, 4-inch and almost 200-pound guard was a big time player for the Tigers over the past three seasons. Last year Allocco showed elite shooting tendencies, as he shot 42.7% from three, 50.8% from the field and 90.9% from the free throw line. There aren’t many who can match that kind of efficiency across the country.

The Irish now have seen three players enter the portal and just one come in, so expect more movement in the coming weeks.

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