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Notre Dame Basketball: Who Showed and Who Didn’t Against Princeton

By Noah Strackbein

Mar 16, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Matt Farrell (5) passes the ball against Princeton Tigers guard Devin Cannady (3) in the first half during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Matt Farrell (5) passes the ball against Princeton Tigers guard Devin Cannady (3) in the first half during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
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Not everyone showed up for Notre Dame basketball in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

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In a game that could have very easily been taken away from Notre Dame, the Irish used everything they had left to push out the last second win against Princeton. Their first round performance isn’t one they hope to carry into the round of 32.

Not everyone seemed to be there for the Irish. Out of the nine players who saw the court, three or four were real factors towards the win. Looking back, this game could’ve been an easy win if the rest of team decided to contribute.

For starters, the two players who have led this team all season showed up once again. Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson were the stars for Notre Dame, contributing a combined 34 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Farrell led the backcourt by dropping 16 points, two steals, four assists and four rebounds. Nailing three shots from deep, Farrell gave the Irish a boost a few times throughout this game. Late in the second half, he was the go-to man when Notre Dame needed to keep the lead secure.

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Alongside him was Steve Vasturia. Despite only scoring 10 points, the senior guard helped in the paint by leading the team with eight rebounds. Playing a sound 37 minutes, Vasturia was a quiet factor, but a beneficial one for Notre Dame.

In the backcourt, these two were the only ones to give Notre Dame that extra boost. For the rest of their guards, though, it seemed that they weren’t even a part of what the Irish were doing. Princeton did play a strong defensive game, but if two players could still find ways to produce, the other three guards should have been able to do something productive.

Those who didn’t show were a little surprising. After two NCAA Tournament runs, many figured that V.J. Beachem would be the star of this team come March. But his two points and six rebounds beg to differ.

Beachem was nowhere to be found in this game. For large chunks at a time, it didn’t even feel like he was on the court. As the second-leading scorer for this team, disappearing isn’t something that can happen during the biggest games of the season.

Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs didn’t help much either. Yes, Pflueger went down early in the first half and had to get stitches in his forehead, but when he came back, he looked to be at the same level of play. Only adding four points and two rebounds to Notre Dame’s totals didn’t do much to help this team. With Gibbs adding two points and two rebounds, these two underclassmen were not big factors for the Irish.

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You can say that their lack of experience is going to affect them at this point in the season, which is will. This game, you can give them a break, but West Virginia and the rest of the tournament are games they need to step up in. Otherwise, they could be looking at an early exit.

In the frontcourt, it was the Bonzie Colson show once again. His 18 points and seven rebounds were a major contributor to the win, but it wasn’t what he did with the ball that helped the most. During most of the first half, whenever Colson had the ball in the paint, Princeton would send a second defender, leaving someone on Notre Dame wide open.

The Irish may not have taken advantage of this every time down the floor, but it did give guys plenty of open looks early in the game. Notre Dame only hit four of their 11 threes, but if they could find the basket from deep more, Colson could’ve finished this game with a double-double in assists.

Matt Ryan was the other big man to shine in this one. During his nine minutes, he threw down two emphatic jams, added six points to the total and snagged two rebounds. For a player who saw the court for only a small amount of time, he made use of his opportunities.

No one expected Martinas Geben and Austin Torres to do much, to begin with, so when they finished with two points and two rebounds total, people were just happy they did anything in this matchup.

There were plenty of take aways in this opening game. When you come a missed three-pointer away from losing, you tend to look at what went wrong. For Notre Dame, it isn’t that they were outmatched, but that they didn’t show up.

Next: How Notre Dame Dominates the West Region

Against West Virginia, the Irish need to bring more than four players to the game. If they don’t, it could get ugly fast. As they’ve proven all year, though, this is a team that will surprise you in both good and bad ways.