If you enjoy watching offense, Palo Alto was not the place to be on Tuesday night.
Notre Dame (10-4, 1-0) held off Stanford (11-3, 0-1) 47-40 to earn its first ACC win of the year, but it was an ugly game on the offensive end.
The contest featured just two players in double figures. Jalen Haralson led the Irish with 13 points, while Chisom Okpara scored 13 for the Cardinal.
Stanford shot just 23 percent from the field, including an incredible 4-for-30 (13 percent) from three-point range. The Fighting Irish weren’t too much better as Micah Shrewsberry’s squad finished 32 percent from the field and 19 percent from deep.
“That’s how we need to play because if we shoot it well, if we don't shoot it well, if we guard that way, we've got a chance to win every night,” Shresbery said following the game.
If the three-point shooting wasn’t ugly enough, both teams also struggled at the rim. Stanford finished just 7-of-21 on layups, while Notre Dame went 7-of-20.
Notre Dame won the game on key runs to start each half. The first was a 12-2 run in the opening 20 minutes to take a 14-10 lead after Stanford started hot.
The Irish then used a quick 10-0 run to push the lead to 31-20 with 13 minutes to go in the game.
Freshman Brady Koehler scored seven straight points to extend the lead to 38-22 with just under 11 minutes to play, but Stanford slowly chipped away. The Cardinal cut the deficit to 39-35 before sophomore Garrett Sundra answered with back-to-back threes to push Notre Dame’s lead to 45-38 at the 4:14 mark.
Notre Dame ultimately won the game on the glass, outrebounding Stanford 48-36 and scoring 12 points off 16 offensive rebounds. The Irish bench also outscored Stanford 16-13, and Notre Dame held a 30-18 edge in points in the paint.
“We've got to be a physical team,” stated Shrewsberry. “Knowing how good they are as a rebounding a team, that's what we wanted to hang our hat on. I thought we did it on both ends of the court, really hitting the glass.”
Carson Towt finished the night with eight points and 10 rebounds for the Irish.
FLOW
The Irish struggled to find any real flow offensively in Palo Alto. Stanford played solid defense, but not enough to justify holding Notre Dame to 47 points. The same could be said on the other end, as Stanford’s shot selection was more than questionable throughout the night.
That said, Notre Dame has to find a way to get into sets on the offensive end. Jalen Haralson appears to be the only player who can create his own opportunities, which puts Notre Dame into a familiar bind.
Markus Burton has been in a similar spot the last two seasons, but he’s always found a way to score – even if it’s taking 20 shots. Haralson shot just 4-of-15 from the field, but his eight turnovers are inexcusable in ACC play.
Yes, Haralson will have growing pains, especially with so much being put on his plate, but he also has 14 turnovers combined in the last two games. That’s not going to get it done in the ACC.
Shrewsberry has to find a way to keep him involved, put some of the load on other offensive players, or get Haralson into a few more favorable situations.
GOOD
Stanford hurt itself with the poor shots. The Cardinal were awful from deep and kept taking deeper threes, which I’m not sure was caused by the Irish defense.
What Notre Dame did do was slow down one of the nation’s premier guards. Ekuba Okorie entered the game averaging 22.8 ppg and the Irish held him to just seven points on the night. Okorie was 3-of-14 from the field and 0-for-6 from three.
Shrewsberry had an answer for Okorie all night as the Irish defense made life very difficult in the halfcourt.
“We are a full-team defense,” said Shrewsberry. “We talk about we versus Okorie. I thought Logan Imes did a great job of guarding, standing in front of him, challenging every shot. I thought the other guys were really helpful in gaps, being there, not allowing him to see a lot of space when he wanted to drive it.”
Koehler and Sundra also likely got a confidence boost with key buckets on the road. Both have flashed at times this season, but if they can deliver on a more consistent basis, then there is plenty of playing time available for them.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will stay on the West Coast and head across the bay for a Friday night game with Cal. Tip is set for 11:00 PM ET on ESPN2.
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