Irish Pull Away From Crimson Tide To Advance

Notre Dame vs. Alabama Box Score

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (24-10) rode hot shooting senior Cormac Ryan and an increased defensive effort in the second half to pull away from No. 6 seed Alabama (19-14) for a 78-64 victory at Veijas Arena on the campus of San Diego State in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Basketball Championship Friday afternoon.

Less than 48 hours after their thrilling double overtime victory over Rutgers in the First Four in Dayton on Wednesday, the 11th-seeded Irish advanced to face No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday, March 20 at 7:10 ET on TBS. 

Ryan’s career night, which featured a Notre Dame NCAA-record seven three-point field goals led all scorers in the game. Freshman Blake Wesley added 18 points, while Paul Atkinson Jr. chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds. 

Keon Ellis paced Alabama in scoring with 18 points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams started out slow from the field early in the game, combining to miss 11 straight shots over a four minute stretch and went into the first media timeout with the Irish up 3-2 on a Cormac Ryan secondary transition three pointer. 

After that slow start, both teams picked up the scoring to connect on nine of the next 10 shots from the field. Ryan continued his streak of hot shooting, making his first three attempts behind the arc combined with a free throw line pull up. At 11:06 in the first half the teams were tied at 13-13 with Ryan accounting for 11 of the Irish points. 

The Irish would hit six of their next seven shots and Alabama would keep pace. A Crimson Tide three pointer, just their second of the game, provided the No. 6 seed with a one point lead with 7:27 left. Alabama followed up with another three pointer to cap an 8-0 run and take a five point lead. 

Notre Dame answered with a 6-0 run of their own to briefly take a 26-25 lead with 4:40 left. Alabama answered with two free throws, then the teams traded three point field goals on each end, Ryan hitting his fourth on five tries and the teams were tied at 32-32 with 3:07 left. 

Another offensive surge from the Irish earned an eight-point lead, but only for a few seconds. Nate Laszewski hit a three pointer off a great driving feed from Ryan, then Prentiss Hubb found Ryan streaking down the court after a turnover and launched a perfect alley oop pass that Ryan kissed off the backboard for his 18th point of the first half. 

The Crimson Tide came right back to hit a three pointer and cut the lead back to five, which is where it ended up at halftime with the Irish up 41-36 at the break. 

Notre Dame opened the second half with a three pointer off the pick and roll from Laszewski but that was quickly answered by three straight drives from Alabama’s J.D. Davison to cut the Irish lead to two points. 

After a couple of back and forth possessions, with the shot clock running down Ryan crossed over his defender, stepped back and drained his fifth three pointer to put the Irish up 47-42 at the first media timeout of the second half. 

Atkinson Jr. got loose down low for back-to-back buckets with the first off a great find from Wesley for an ‘and-one’ and then Trey Wertz dumping it off to him on a drive to go up 10 points. Alabama answered with a pick and roll dunk, but Ryan continued his torrid shooting with his sixth three pointer of the game to put ND up 11. 

Wesley then took over the game for a three possession stretch, crossing over and driving for a dunk, then posting back-to-back drives to push the Irish up 14 at 61-47 with 8:18 left. The Irish defense started to assert itself a bit during the Wesley run, holding Alabama without a point for over three minutes and shooting 2-for-12 during the stretch. 

Alabama forced three straight turnovers by the Irish to keep themselves in the game and chip away at the lead. They would eventually cut it to seven with five minutes left. 

Once again, Ryan beat the shot clock again for a three pointer to go up eight, but Bama answered right back with one of their own. 

On the next possession, Hubb drove and saw his shot swatted into the corner but while Alabama came down the court in transition, Wesley picked off the pass and took it the distance for a dunk to extend the lead back to 10 points with 3:59 left. 

Soon after Wesley’s big play, Alabama head coach Nate Oats was called for a technical foul and Ryan hit two free throws, essentially ending any hope of a Crimson Tide rally. The Irish would eventually cruise to the end of the game and earn the 78-64 victory. 

NOTES

Cormac Ryan’s career-high 29 points are the most for an Irish men’s basketball player since Adrian Dantley scored 31 in an 80-76 loss to Michian on March 18, 1976 • Cormac Ryan’s 18 first-half points matched Blake Wesley (at Clemson) and Dane Goodwin (Boston College) for the most by an Irish player in the first 20 minutes this season • Ryan finished the game with a career-high 29 points, which is the most for any player in the Mike Brey era in an NCAA game • his seven three pointers are the most by any Notre Dame player in an NCAA game • Irish head coach Mike Brey now has 15 career wins in NCAA tournament play, matching Digger Phelps for the most in school history.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame will face No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday, March 20, 2022, at 7:10 p.m. ET on TBS. 

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