Notre Dame improved to 9-0 on the 2016-17 season on Tuesday night with an 87-72 victory over Fort Wayne. The Irish jumped out to a big first lead leading 41-23 at half time. Fort Wayne actually outscored the Irish in the second half, however, as Notre Dame held on for the 15 point victory.
Reigning ACC Player of the Week Bonzie Colson notched another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds while adding 5 assists. Steve Vasturia led Notre Dame with 21 points. VJ Beachem and Matt Farrell also reached double digits for the Irish with 14 and 12 points respectively. Bechem had a rough night from the field though hitting on just two of 11 three point attempts.
This was Notre Dame’s first game since cracking the top 25 for the first time this season earlier this week.
The 9-0 start for Notre Dame is the best start of the Mike Brey era at Notre Dame and keeps the Irish as the only undefeated team in the ACC on the season.
Notre Dame heads into their Saturday showdown with #1 ranked Villanova – the reigning NCAA Tournament champions setting up a showdown of unbeatens. The Wildcats and Irish will travel to Newark, NJ for a noon tip-off on Saturday on CBS.
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
Can’t wait to see Rex Pfleuger turned loose!
I was a little concerned they let Fort Wayne get close in the 2nd half. They were up by as many as 27 at one point, then slowly they allowed Fort Wayne to cut that to 9. Against Fort Wayne, that’s not really fatal. I think they just let up on the gas a bit. But they are going to have to be on their best game on Saturday against Villanova.
ND is fun to watch on the basketball court though. They are phenomenal whenever they have the basketball in their hands. All the starters are capable of posting double digits and they are almost perfect at the free throw line. If they can get a lead in the last 2 minutes, they are hard to overcome.
Twice they beat ucla number 1
Twicevthey beat duke the national champs last year
They best number Syracuse
AT HOME
Go irishhhhhhh