The Fighting Irish proved, yet again, why they are a team to be reckoned with. Notre Dame defeated #15 Marquette in a crucial Big East match-up. The Irish led by as many as 20, as they go on to beat the Golden Eagles, 76-59.
Player of the game:
Freshman guard Pat Connaughton had 23 points and 11 rebounds earlier today. He was a clear winner of the player for the game. What made him stand out was his shooting behind the 3-point line. He made 5 out of 8 attempts and contributed to the team total of 11-23 behind the arc. Leading the team with some clutch shots made him the clear winner of the Player Of The Game.
Here’s the box score from the game.
| Marquette Golden Eagles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Jamil Wilson, F | 21 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Jae Crowder, F | 35 | 2-7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Junior Cadougan, G | 32 | 4-8 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Darius Johnson-Odom, G | 33 | 5-11 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Vander Blue, G | 30 | 5-14 | 0-3 | 2-3 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Jamail Jones, F | 19 | 4-9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Juan Anderson, F | 4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Todd Mayo, G | 18 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Derrick Wilson, G | 8 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 25-64 | 2-13 | 7-9 | 8 | 26 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 59 | ||
| 39.1% | 15.4% | 77.8% | ||||||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | ||||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Jack Cooley, F | 24 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Pat Connaughton, G-F | 37 | 9-12 | 5-8 | 0-1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Scott Martin, G | 40 | 5-9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Eric Atkins, G | 39 | 5-9 | 3-4 | 5-5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| Jerian Grant, G | 39 | 5-13 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Joey Brooks, G | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Knight, F | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Dragicevich, G | 19 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 28-56 | 11-23 | 9-11 | 7 | 32 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 76 | ||
| 50.0% | 47.8% | 81.8% |
Notre Dame’s maturity seems to grow every game. Head Coach Mike Brey saw that maturity shine today.
"“I told them in one of the last media timeouts, ‘I feel like I’m coaching men today.’ I thought today we took another step and kind of played like men.” –Mike Brey"
This team is great to watch, many people aren’t aware of this Irish team and the abilities they have to upset teams. Hopefully, they can continue this momentum into the next few weeks so they can lock up a spot in the March Madness tournament. I know its early, but I have this weird feeling about this Notre Dame team and the success they may have this year.
The Irish move to 7-3 in the Big East as the Golden Eagles fall to 8-3. Notre Dame plays next on Wednesday against West Virginia.