Notre Dame (6-3) started fast and finished strong on Tuesday night, holding off previously unbeaten Missouri (8-1) for a 76-71 win.
Slow starts have been all too common under Micah Shrewsberry, but Notre Dame jumed out to 10-4 lead following back-to-back threes from Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry.
The Tigers quickly answered as Missouri built a 26-19 lead over the next seven minutes and it was due to Notre Dame turnovers. In fact, there was a stretch where Logan Imes turned the ball over twice in about 10 seconds and it led to two Missouri dunks and then a third turnover led to a three for a quick 7-0 run.
There was no panic in the Irish. Maybe it was a lesson learned from last week, but Notre Dame didn’t flinch.
‘I just thought they stayed kind of calm and in the moment throughout the game,” said Shrewsberry. “I thought we started well. I thought they went on a run when we started turning the ball over and went up.”
Notre Dame jumped Missouri out of halftime as freshman Jalen Haralson scored a quick seven points and the Irish overcame a seven point halftime deficit to take a 48-46 lead with 13:22 remaining in the game.
Missouri forward Mark Mitchell had killed Notre Dame when he was at Duke and he did much the same on Tuesday. Mitchell scored a game high 26 points and pulled down five boards on the night, including 13 points in the second half.
But that wasn’t enough as Notre Dame learned from its bumpy road to better in Las Vegas. Cole Certa hit a three with 17 seconds left to break 69-69 tie and then the Irish hit four key free throws in the final seconds to get a significant home win.
Burton led the Irish with 18 points, five rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Certa added 14, while Haralson scored 13 points before fouling out. Shrewsberry chipped in 11 points on the night.
BIG SHOTS
On Monday, Shrewsberry told the local media he made it a point to tell his team about the lack of making the extra pass last week in Vegas. The Irish appeared to get the message for the most part as Notre Dame had 16 assists on 25 field goals, which is a far cry from the normal stat sheet.
Now, there were some deep threes and even logo threes taken, but for the most part, the Irish were looking to move the ball. Burton showed maturity on the game-winning bucket as he didn’t force a shot and found Certa for an open three. That’s growth.
Notre Dame needs Burton to attack and remain aggressive in hunting his shot, but they also need him to start to be a playmaker. Shrewsberry has filled the roster with shooters and Burton can have a similar stat line most nights if he shares the rock.
“I thought he was really looking for those guys,” explained Shrewsberry. “It's a delicate balance because if you don't drive to score, they're not going to help. You've got to drive to score to cause help and to kick it.
“You've got to pick and choose how you do it. I thought he was really aggressive driving to score, but I thought when people came over to help, he made the right play each time.”
Tuesday was also big for Certa. The sophomore guard opened the year by scoring 22 points and hitting 6-of-9 from deep. Since then, Certa has been just 5-for-31 from the field.
The Illinois native not only hit the go-ahead bucket, but he made three other clutch threes on the night. It’s a game that he can not only gain confidence from, but it also can open up the floor for others as defenses will have to game plan for him.
On the night, Notre Dame went 11-of-33 from three, while holding Missouri to 6-of-21. That will win you games.
FIGHTING
Missouri entered the game with a much bigger lineup, which is something Notre Dame experienced in Vegas last week. Houston was more physical on both ends of the floor, while Kansas simply had more playmakers and athletes.
Notre Dame didn’t appeared bothered by Missouri’s length and size, which is another sign of growth. The Tigers basically forced Burton to shoot from the perimeter or the elbow as they made it a point not to let him attack the rim.
Haralson did get to the rim and finished, which was a turning point in the game.
“I thought Jalen's physicality and getting to the basket and to the rim really got us off to a positive start,” Shrewsberry stated. “And then you just got contributions from different guys at different times.”
It paid off as Burton shot just 6-of-15 from the field, but the Irish also did much of the same on the defensive end. They didn’t allow Missouri to dominate the glass or get a ton of offensive rebounds.
For the game, Notre Dame held the edge on the boards 33-31, while Missouri won the offensive glass 9-7. The good news is the Tigers only scored eight second chance points.
“We did a great job, even playing small for long stretches in the second half of just hitting bodies and going and getting rebounds,” Shrewsberry said.
Carson Towt led the Irish with nine rebounds on the night. Kebba Njie didn’t record a rebound, but he was extremely active on the defensive end and even scored six points.
TURNOVERS
The most significant correction Notre Dame needs to make following Tuesday’s win is cutting down the turnovers. Notre Dame had 13 for the game, which is fine, but eight came in the first half.
The back-to-back-back turnovers simply can’t happen. Notre Dame doesn’t have a young backcourt anymore so that excuse is no longer acceptable.
Missouri scored 23 points of turnovers and it allowed them to control the first half and stay in the game at points.
Many teams will win games by only turning it over 13 times, but the turnovers in spurts must stop if this team wants to make a serious run in the ACC.
The Irish had just three turnovers in the second half and outscored Missouri by 12. Proof in the pudding.
“Our guys earned it by doing things the right way,” Shrewsberry said. “I thought in the second half, we took care of the basketball. We turned it over. We kept them in the half court. They didn't get a bunch of transition points.
“I thought that really spurred our defense. So playing good offense led to good defense. I thought this was the first time we've kind of put both together in that way, in stretches when we needed them.”
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will travel to TCU for an 8:00 PM ET tip on Friday night. TCU is fresh off wins against No. 10 Florida and Wisconsin.
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