As if it wasn’t hard enough for Notre Dame to play last night without star center Bonzie Colson, things got even harder for the Irish when they lost Matt Farrell to an ankle injury in the first against NC State. It didn’t matter. Notre Dame won 88-58 over the Wolf Pack at Purcell Pavillion to give Mike Brey win #394 with Notre Dame breaking Digger Phelps program record in the process.
Without Colson and then Farrell, Notre Dame needed someone to step up last night. Four players rose to the occasion. Freshman DJ Harvey got the start with Colson out and responded with a career high 17 points. TJ Gibbs chipped in a game high 22 and Rex Pflueger scored 16. Martinas Geben posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Prior to suffering his ankle injury, Matt Farrell was off to a torrid start. In 15 minutes of action he already had 9 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals with all 9 coming on three pointers.
In their first game since we learned that Bonzie Colson broke his foot and would be out for 8 weeks, Notre Dame played as well as anyone could have hoped – especially considering they lost Farrell. Speaking of Farrell, Mike Brey said after the game that Farrell is doubtful to play this weekend at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. Notre Dame has had their struggled against the Orange on their home court making Saturday a daunting task.
Down two stars, the Irish bend was much more active than it normally is as well with four different reserves playing more than 10 minutes. Senior Austin Torres specifically played well of the bench with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Torres figures to get even more playing time on Saturday against the Orange given Farrell’s status and TJ Gibbs ability to play the point in Farrell’s absence.
Getting DJ Harvey going last night was a huge plus for the Irish and will ne a necessity for Notre Dame to weather the Colson-less stretch of ACC games and still make the NCAA Tournament. The freshman had been struggling the last few weeks and played just five minutes against Georgia Tech last weekend before logging a career high 30 last night. With Harvey in the lineup, the Irish were technically starting four guards thought Harvey and Pflueger both bring some size at 6’6″ each.
Game time on Saturday is 3:15 with the game broadcast on ESPN2.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
A good dominant win. And for once a fast start. They came out punching. I was happy to see so many players step up. Even when Farrell left the game, they just kept pouring it on.
It’ll be interesting to see how the season goes at this point. I don’t see them being able to make a deep run come March Madness time, but for the time being I’ll keep an open mind. How they play against their ACC foes should give us some idea of what kind of team they will be.
Go Irish!
Congratulations Mike Brey. Now you can lay Digger to rest. Hope the Irish get a NCAA bid