Notre Dame Basketball: 3 Things Learned From Maui Championship
By Andrew Hall
The Notre Dame basketball team scratched and clawed their way to a Maui Championship with a victory over Wichita State, 67-66. Mike Brey and the Notre Dame basketball program continue to impress and demonstrate they are Final Four caliber. Here are three things learned from Notre Dame’s Maui Championship.
Notre Dame Can Defend Their Way To Victories
Year after year, Mike Brey and the Irish players claim that their team is much better defensively. However, for the vast majority of Brey’s tenure, the Irish have primarily won with their offense.
After Notre Dame’s second half against Wichita State, it is fair to believe that the Irish are a solid defensive team. Brey’s unit held the Shockers to 29 points in the second half. For vast stretches of the second half, the Irish held Wichita State scoreless.
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Going forward, the Irish should be able to defend their way to victory. This will be important as the Irish look to win the ACC and head to the Final Four.
Notre Dame’s Bench Benched
One of the issues that Notre Dame might face during the season is the lack of scoring from the bench. Against Wichita State, the Irish bench only scored 4 points. When Notre Dame has been an exceptional basketball team, they have players available to chip in off the bench. During their ACC tournament run, Freshman Bonzie Colson was that guy.
Who is that guy on Notre Dame’s bench? DJ Harvey is the player with the most potential. If he can begin to score on a more regular basis, he can propel the Irish further and deeper into March.
Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson Are Winners
Simply put, the Irish Seniors Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson are winners. Against Wichita State, Colson scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. He showed why many believe that he is the player of the year.
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Farrell chipped in 15 points and 4 assists. He added 3 steals; one of them was extremely important as the Irish were down 3 points late in the game. He quickly dished the ball off to Colson who cut the lead to only 1.