The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team got off a nice start on Sunday morning. After trailing most of the way in the season opener against Villanova, head coach Micah Shrewsberry's squad mounted a furious rally to take a 1-0 record home from Rome.
As Notre Dame trailed 68-67, Gonzaga transfer Braeden Smith stole the ball with 1:29 to go. Smith slowed the pace down after pushing it into Villanova's half and found a wide-open Logan Duncomb at the top of the key. The senior big man wasn't afraid to shoot and buried the go-ahead three-point jumper. After Villanova missed a shot, Smith buried two more free throws to give the Fighting Irish a two-possession lead with 24 seconds to go.
Smith and Brady Koehler each scored 16 points for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, while Villanova's Tyler Perkins scored 18. Smith also had four steals as Villanova committed 20 turnovers. Those steals helped Notre Dame win despite shooting 35% from the field. Shrewsberry's squad will next play Mercyhurst in South Bend on Thursday night at 7 pm.
Notre Dame women's basketball gives Fighting Irish a clean sweep
The men's team isn't the only basketball team in South Bend to start the year with a win. Hannah Hidalgo and the women's team also beat Villanova in Rome, though they didn't need a comeback to secure the win.
Hidalgo, last season's National Defensive Player of the Year, scored 32 points and also logged 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals for the Irish, who begin the year ranked No. 13 in USA TODAY Sports’ preseason Coaches Poll. The win over the Wildcats marked the 20th time in her career that she scored at least 30 points in a single game.
Notre Dame also got a boost from sophomore forward Leah Macy, who scored 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds in her collegiate debut. Macy, a 6-foot-2 forward from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, didn’t play as a freshman while she recovered from an injury she suffered in high school. She was ranked as the 26th-best recruit in the nation by ESPN for the 2025 class.
More Notre Dame Fighting Irish news
- The new AP Top 25 released Sunday moved the Notre Dame Fighting Irish up to No. 4 in the country. That means Saturday's showdown with the Miami Hurricanes will be a Top 5 game, adding extra incentive and a resume boost for the winner.
- After a week of Notre Dame coaches talking about improving the wide receiver rotation, it looked like they'd do anything but do so early in the game against Navy, until Jerome Bettis Jr. came in after Micah Gilbert left with an apparent injury. Bettis had a breakout game against the Midshipmen, hauling in 6 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost Drayk Bowen early in the game against Navy, and while head coach Marcus Freeman hasn't offered an update yet, sources inside the program told USA Today that it's likely the two-time captain and star linebacker will be out until at least the College Football Playoff.
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