Notre Dame basketball may have life.
The Fighting Irish (7-3) traveled to a red-hot TCU (5-3) and left with an impressive 87-85 win in overtime.
A two-point win would have been noteworthy for the Irish program, but Friday night may have been much more significant than that for Micah Shrewsberry’s program.
Notre Dame star Markus Burton went down with an injury with 9:48 remaining in the first half and only returned to the bench in a boot.
It wasn’t pretty for the next nine minutes as TCU took advantage of Burton’s absence and Notre Dame’s shock to take a 45-46 lead into halftime.
When the Irish returned to the floor, whatever Micah Shrewsberry said in the locker room, Notre Dame took to heart. One can only guess the Notre Dame head coach told his team to chuck threes and play defense.
Notre Dame took 26 threes in the game, but 18 came in the second half. The strategy worked as the Irish hit TCU with a quick 8-0 run out of the break, which included two threes from Cole Certa.
Certa was the star of the second half as he scored all 20 points following halftime, including going 5-of-11 from three.
Freshman star Jalen Haralson also came up big when it mattered. The 6-foot-7 forward hit a stepback jumper with 2.3 seconds left to force overtime. Harlason then scored five of Notre Dame's 11 points in overtime to get out of Fort Worth with the win.
Braeden Shrewsberry also had a big night with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Haralson ended the game with 20 points, five rebounds and a game-high nine assists.
The Irish shot 55 percent from the field and out-rebounded TCU 36-28. Carson Towt led the Irish with nine boards, and he also scored 13 points, going 6-of-6 from the field.
Perhaps the most impressive stat of the night was that Notre Dame tallied 27 assists on 33 made field goals. Ball movement has been an issue at times and it could also reflect TCU’s poor defense, but Notre Dame took what the Horned Frogs gave them all night.
Burton finished with six points and five assists in 10 minutes.
FIGHT
It’s not the first time Burton has gone down as he suffered a knee injury in Las Vegas last fall that caused him to miss several weeks.
As one would expect, Notre Dame took time to figure out how to play with Burton not on the floor. In fact, the Irish turned the ball over in the three possessions following Burton’s injury, but once Shrewsberry could settle them down at halftime, Notre Dame looked like a completely different team.
Certa has now put together two big games in a row and his confidence should be sky high. But the sophomore guard provided much more than just hitting six threes in the second half. Certa wanted the ball and wasn’t scared of the moment. It’s a mindset Notre Dame has lacked from its role players during Shrewsberry’s tenure and Certa delivered when his team needed him the most.
Haralson has been a consistent force all year and he adapted well enough to have a large role as a creator in the second half. Six of his nine assists came after halftime when he was asked to handle the ball and simply create offense for the Irish.
The stepback jumper to tie the game at the end of regulation was something we haven’t seen a ton of and then Haralson hit about as deep of a two as you can get, which is rare to see him shoot outside of four feet.
Haralson’s game is just efficient. He went 8-of-12 from the field and knows when to pick his spot to attack the rim. It’s a mature game from him and Haralson appears to be ready to take on more if Burton misses an extended period of time.
Friday night was a statement. TCU was one of the hottest teams in the country with big wins last week against No. 10 Florida and Wisconsin. For Notre Dame to win is big, but pulling it off with Burton could take this team to the next level.
CONCERNS
Notre Dame scoring 87 with Burton having just six is a statement. It shows Shrewsberry has built a deeper roster and that this group will fight.
Free throws almost cost Notre Dame the game tonight as the Irish shot just 9-for-20 from the foul line. Towt missing free throws is something Notre Dame is simply going to have to live with at this point. The graduate transfer is shooting 50.0 percent from the line this season, which is up from a year ago when he shot 37.9 percent.
Haralson went 4-of-7 while Shrewsberry made 2-of-4. Shrewsberry shoots 82.4 percent from the line for his career, so that’s not necessarily a concern, but Haralson will need to find a little more consistency as he’s shooting 67.5 percent.
If Burton misses time, Notre Dame will need every point they can manage and taking advantage of free points could decide games.
The other small negative was Haralson’s five turnovers. Three came in the second half, so part of that is him learning and having the ball more. He’s a freshman, so turnovers are going to happen, especially with more on his plate, but Haralson also has to take care of the ball.
Sophomore Sir Mohammed might be the biggest concern (outside of Burton’s health) for Shrewsberry. The 6-foot-6 guard has scored in double figures just once this season and has played just 23 minutes over the last three games while shooting 1-for-7 from the field with three rebounds and one assist.
Notre Dame needs more from Mohammed, especially if Burton misses time. The Charlotte native can take the ball-handling load off Haralson, but he also needs to be able to make plays. It’s clear Shrewsberry isn’t thrilled with Mohammed, as his 10 minutes against TCU were his highest usage in the last three games.
The Irish don’t play for five days and they have buy games coming, so this could be a vital stretch for Mohammed.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame returns to action on Wednesday as Idaho comes to Purcell Pavilion for a 7:00 PM ET tip on ACC Network Extra.
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