Tag: Matt Farrell

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:

Notre Dame to participate in 2023 Legends Classic

Pack your bags for Brooklyn.

If you still are stinging over Notre Dame’s loss to St. Bonaventure this season, a shot at revenge could come next season. The Irish and Bonnies are two of four teams that have been selected to take part in the 2023 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Those two programs will be familiar with each other, but the Irish never have faced Auburn or Oklahoma State, the other participants in this tournament.

The Irish are no strangers to the Legends Classic. Their only previous appearance came when they won the whole thing in 2016 with [autotag]Matt Farrell[/autotag] earning tournament MVP honors. They originally were scheduled to take part in the COVID-revamped 2020 event, which became a showcase instead of a tournament, but they pulled out and were replaced by BYU.

With so many familiar names figuring to be gone a year from now, the Irish in the 2023 tournament will have a vastly different look from now. Whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.

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Caleb Swanigan leads Purdue past Notre Dame in 2016 Crossroads Classic

RIP to a terrific player.

The basketball world is stunned by the news that former Purdue All-American and NBA player Caleb Swanigan is dead at 25. In two seasons with the Boilermakers, Swanigan averaged 19.7 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. He was a 2017 first-round selection of the Portland Trail Blazers and played 65 games for them over three seasons. He also was a Sacramento King for 10 games in between.

Swanigan played one game against Notre Dame. That occurred during the 2016 edition of the now-defunct Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis. Facing an Irish team that was coming off back-to-back Elite Eights, Swanigan was the straw that stirred the Boilermakers that day as he had a game-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds in an 86-81 win. Meanwhile, the Irish got 23 points from [autotag]Bonzie Colson[/autotag] and 22 from [autotag]Matt Farrell[/autotag].

Our thoughts and prayers go to the Swanigan family during this difficult time. He might only have faced the Irish once, but his mark on basketball in Indiana never will be forgotten.

2015 ACC Champion Irish Have Twitch Reunion

In this time of quarantine, it can feel a little lonely.

In this time of quarantine, it can feel a little lonely. But when you were part of a championship-winning team, that loneliness has potential to go away for a bit. On Saturday afternoon, the 2014-15 Notre Dame men’s basketball team did just that.

The ’14-15 Irish, who won the ACC championship and were one last-second 3-pointer away from getting to the Final Four, got together on Twitch to reminisce about their team, arguably the best team Mike Brey has coached in his time in South Bend. Never mind that this team got bounced in the semifinals of our Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament. This is the team people think of first when it comes to recent Notre Dame men’s basketball.

Hosted by Demetrius Jackson’s channel and co-hosted by associate athletic communications director Alan Wasielewski, the ’14-15 Irish were well-represented, so there were plenty of stories to be shared. Besides Jackson, the players on the chat were Jerian Grant, Zach Auguste, Pat Connaughton, Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem, Bonzie Colson, Austin Torres, Austin Burgett, Martinas Geben, Eric Kantenda and Matt Gregory, whose father crashed the chat at one point. Incredibly, Matt Farrell was the only player absent. Also joining them were team chaplain and Notre Dame’s Director of Campus Ministry, the Rev. Peter M. McCormick.

There were nothing but positive vibes all-around. In the great scheme of things, five years removed from a memorable event is not a long time. Still, it had the feel of a 20-year college reunion. These boys became men together, so they all see each other as brothers.

At the time of this writing, the reunion still was going on, so you might still be able to check it out if you hurry. It’s clear they all still love each other. That’s the glimmer of light we need in these dark times.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’05-06 Irish Take Out ’16-17 Irish

The slipper still fits for the 13th-seeded 2005-06 Irish in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament.

The slipper still fits for the 13th-seeded 2005-06 Irish in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament. This time, they recorded a 95-85 win over the 2016-17 Irish, who had the highest seed of any team in the field with a first-round bye at fifth. As the clock kept winding down, it appeared this game would go the other way. Then, the unexpected happened.

After the teams went back and forth in the first half, the ’16-17 Irish went up 10 five minutes into the second. With seven minutes to go, the lead was at six. The ’05-06 Irish came back to hold a slim lead for most of the next few minutes, during which the ’16-17 Irish tied it back up and even briefly retook the lead. But Chris Quinn hit a dagger 3-pointer with 54 seconds left to put the ’05-06 Irish up six, and the ’16-17 Irish sealed their fate when they couldn’t score again.

Colin Falls led all scorers with 22 points and created a lethal duo with Quinn, who had a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists. Falls and Quinn made all 10 of their collective free throws, and they were a combined 8 of 14 from 3-point range. Russell Carter scored 14 points, and Torin Francis nearly achieved a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Luke Zeller scored 11 off the bench.

Steve Vasturia led the ’16-17 Irish with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Bonzie Colson had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Matt Farrell came close to one of his own with nine points and 10 assists. V.J. Beachem scored 16, and Rex Pflueger had 11.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 5 Seed – 2016-17 Irish

The most recent Notre Dame team to make the NCAA tournament played during the 2016-17 season.

The most recent Notre Dame team to make the NCAA tournament played during the 2016-17 season. It was clear this team was special when it got off to a 9-0 start, which including winning the Legends Classic. The Irish split the final four nonconference games to finish that part of the schedule 11-2.

The goodness continued when the Irish won six of their first seven ACC games. After that, they followed a four-game skid with a six-game winning streak. Ultimately, they finished in a three-way tie for second in the conference at 12-6, got to the title game in the conference tournament and defeated Princeton in the first round of the Big Dance before falling to West Virginia in the second. A 26-10 season was one to be proud.

Notre Dame’s top four scorers all reached double figures, and all of them started every game. Bonzie Colson averaged a double-double of 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds a game and also led the team in blocks (1.4). Matt Farrell had 14.1 points and a team-high 5.4 assists a game. Steve Vasturia attributed part of his 13.1 points a game to a whopping 91-percent shooting from the free-throw line, and V.J. Beachem provided additional scoring at 14.5 points a game.

Though the Irish ranked near the bottom overall in free-throw attempts (611), their .800 shooting percentage from the charity stripe was the best in the country, so opponents were wise to avoid fouling them whenever possible.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 11 Seed – 2017-18 Irish

Notre Dame had reason to believe the 2017-18 season would build on the success of the recent past.

Notre Dame had reason to believe the 2017-18 season would build on the success of the recent past, which included six NCAA tournaments in the previous seven years. It was ranked 14th in the preseason poll, and in the early part of the schedule, it upset No. 6 Wichita State to win the Maui Invitational. Ultimately, the Irish went 10-3 in nonconference play, ascending their ranking to as high as fifth.

The Irish won their first three ACC games, but by the time conference play had begun, they were out of the rankings, perhaps as an omen of things to come. After that 3-0 start to ACC play, they lost seven straight, and the wins that followed ultimately were too little, too late. In spite of this, they remained a bubble team for the NCAA tournament until the end, and it earned them a top seed in the NIT. After defeating Hampton in the first round, they lost to Penn State in the second to finish 21-15.

Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell were the senior leaders for this group. Colson averaged a double-double of 19.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, while Farrell ended up with 16.3 points and a team-high 5.5 assists a game. T.J. Gibbs and Martinas Geben rounded out the top scorers with respective scoring averages of 15.3 and 11.1.