Fighting Irish Ride Bonzie Colson's 33 Points To 84-72 Win Over Florida State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, February 11, 2017

Less than a month ago, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had won seven straight, their 16-2 record had them high in the national rankings and their 5-0 ACC record led the conference.

That was before a spate of five losses (and just two wins) dropped the Irish out of the Top 25 and down in the conference standings. The Irish lost to Florida State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Duke and North Carolina, while defeating just Syracuse and Wake Forest.

Saturday may have been the start of what could be called the Irish Revenge Tour as Notre Dame hosted #14 Florida State and handed them an 84-72 defeat at South Bend.

Leading the charge was junior forward Bonzie Colson, who hung a career-high 33 points on the Seminoles and improved his conference-best double-double tally to 16 with 13 rebounds.

The win moved Notre Dame to 8-5 in conference play, tied with Syracuse in fifth place, but only 1 1/2 games behind ACC leader, North Carolina.

Colson, a 6'5" match-up nightmare out of Detroit, made 12 of 18 shots from the field including a three-pointer and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

With the win, the Fighting Irish may have turned their season back into a sure invite to the NCAA tournament. At 19-7, the Irish have an excellent shot at being one of the six or seven teams out of the ACC to go to the big dance, They have games remaining against Louisville, Georgia Tech, Boston College (twice, home and away) and NC State prior to the ACC tournament.

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Regional Semi-Final Thursday Night Previews, Looks Like Wildcat Night

Sweet 16 Regional Semi-Final Previews

Midwest Region
7:15 pm (7) Wichita State (30-4) vs (3) Notre Dame (31-5) CBS - This is likely to be the most entertaining game of the evening, as both teams like to get up and down the floor and can really light it up from beyond the arc.

The Irish are quite a dangerous commodity, presently, having beaten Duke and North Carolina to win the ACC tournament, and gutting out close wins over Northeastern (69-65) and Butler, beating the Bulldogs in overtime, 67-64.
Wichita State downed Indiana in their tourney opener and then stunned the region's #2 seed, Kansas, with a 78-65 whipping. The Shockers were fortunate to receive a seeding that kept them on the underside of the Kentucky bracket and there is little doubt that they can match up quite well with Notre Dame.

9:45 pm (5) West Virginia (25-9) vs (1) Kentucky (36-0) CBS - Knocked out of the Big 12 tournament in the first round by Baylor, Bob Huggins' Mountaineers may be the tournament's poster boys for overachievement, knocking off Buffalo, 68-62, and then Maryland, 69-59, to get to this game against the Wildcats.

The chances of West Virginia pulling off the upset over the nation's #1 team? Slim. Kentucky has too much size on the front line and too much skill in the back court, which can involve as many as four guards, including the twins, Andrew and Aaron Harrison. Since LSU nearly ended Kentucky's undefeated run on February 10 in a 71-69 loss, the closest any team has come to beating the Wildcats is Georgia, which lost, at home, 72-64. In the SEC tournament, won by 13, 24 and 15 points, and their average magin of victory in the NCAA tourney has been 18 points.

West Region
7:47 pm (4) North Carolina (26-11) vs (1) Wisconsin (33-3) TBS - A real heavyweight battle here between two teams that are perennial tournament participants. Wisconsin has been to the tourney 17 straight seasons and are likely to be moving forward here. Frank Kaminsky leads a veteran group that is notorious for closing out opponents. The Tar Heels have had a successful season up to this point, but they've often wilted in late stages of games. It will be noteworthy to watch what happens at about the seven-minute mark of the second half. That should be about the time the teams will either show up or give in to pressure.

10:17 pm (6) Xavier (23-13) vs (2) Arizona (33-3) TBS - Viewers on the East coast haven't likely seen much of the Wildcats, but they're about to get an eyeful from this well-balanced and very dangerous team. Arizona has won 13 straight, their last loss an 81-78 defeat at in-state rival Arizona State on February 7. That's history, and the Wildcats steamrolled through the PAC-12 tourney with wins of 22, 14, and 28 points, slaughtering Oregon, 80-52 in the final. A 93-72 win over Texas Southern in their first toruney game and a ho-hum, 73-58 rout of Ohio State has them here.

Xavier hasn't met much competition in the tourney, beating Ole Miss in their opener and handling upstart Georgia State (a 14 seed) in the next round. Teams from the Big East have a 5-5 record in the tournament through the last round, while the PAC-12 boasts a 7-1 mark.

Tomorrow: Friday games previewed.

Field Filling Out as More Conference Champs Crowned; Jerian Grant Powers Fighting Irish to ACC Crown

Conference Champions and College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 14, 2015

America East
Albany 51 Stony Brook 50 - A stunner started the day's action, as the Great Danes came back to win the conference title on Peter Hooley's three-pointer - their only made three of the game - with 1.6 seconds remaining.

Conference USA
UAB 73 Middle Tennessee 60 - It was no contest for the C-USA title, as UAB shot a blistering 52% for the game (27-52) to eliminate the Blue Raiders.

Ivy
Harvard 53 Yale 51 - After losing to Yale just a week ago and thinking their season was over, Harvard, thanks to Dartmouth beating Yale last Saturday, forced this one-game playoff and fashioned a win, taking the Ivy championship for the fourth straight season.

Mid-Eastern
Hampton 82 Delaware St. 61 - Brian Darden and Reginald Johnson each score 20 points, to propel the Pirates to the Mid-Easter championship. Hampton, which went through the MEAC schedule at 8-8, receives the dubious distinction of being the only team with a won-loss record under .500 (16-17) to garner an invitation to the NCAA tourney.

Big 12
Iowa State 70 Kansas 66 - The Cyclones may have pulled off the upset of the day, dusting Kansas to capture the Big 12 championship. Georges Naing led four Iowa State players in double figures, with 19. The Jayhawks' Wayne Seldon Jr. led all scorers with 25 points.

Mountain West
Wyoming 45 San Diego St. 43 - A shock to some, the Cowboys took the Mountain West championship behind 14 points and six boards from Larry Nance Jr.

Mid-American
Buffalo 89 Central Michigan 84 - In what turned out to be the highest-scoring game of the day, the Bulls from chilly Buffalo prevailed for the MAC title.

Southwest Athletic
Texas Southern 62 Southern U. 58 - The Tigers made 17 of 24 from the stripe, compared to 11-for-19 for Southern, helping themselves to the SWAC championship.

Big East
Villanova 61 Xavier 43 - The #4 team nationally, Villanova easily cruised past Xavier to the Big East championship and a possible #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Xavier was dead from bayond the arc, making just two of 15 three-pointers.

ACC
Notre Dame 90 North Carolina 82 - Jerian Grant made a living at the foul line, making 15 of 18 en route to sharing game high honors with the Tar Heels' Marcus Paige. Grant had 10 assists, helping to get all of the starting five into double figures.

The game turned midway through the second half. Just as it appear the Tar Heels would pull away, leading 64-56, Demetrius Jackson canned a three with 9:01 left and started the Irish on a 24-2 run that put the game out of reach at 80-66 with 2:55 remaining.

Big Sky
Eastern Washington 69 Montana 65 - Montana got 23 points and 17 rebouds out of their mountain man, Martin Breunig, but his effort was not enough to hold off the Eagles. Tyler Harvey, the nation's leading scorer, scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, erasing an 11-point Montana lead. The win was the first ever for the Eagles over the Grizzlies in the conference tournament and earned them a piece of March Madness.

Big West
UC Irvine 67 Hawaii 58 - There will be Anteaters in the NCAA tourney, as UC Irvine shook off a 33-29 half time deficit and rolled to the Big West championship.

Southland
Stephen F. Austin 83 Sam Houston 70 - The Lumberjacks will be returning to the NCAA tourney as champions of the Southland conference. Last season they chopped down VCU in the opening round and will be looking for more March magic next week. Stephen F. Austin went on a 13-2 run to close out the first half with a commanding 37-27 lead and never looked back.

PAC-12
Arizona 80 Oregon 52 - Oregon led early, but after Gabe York's three-pointer with 12:26 left in the first half put Arizona up 13-10, it was all Wildcats for the blowout win and the conference crown.

Western Athletic (WAC)
New Mexico State 80 Seattle U. 61 - As expected, New Mexico State, which tore through the WAC with a 15-1 mark, pounded Seattle, taking the conference title and the automatic bid.

Conference Championship Scoreboard

Date/Conf. Champ.	Champion (record, defeated, final score)
March 7
Ohio Valley	Belmont (22-10, Murray State, 88-87)
March 8
Big South	Coastal Carolina (24-9, Winthop, 81-70)
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa (29-3, Illinois, St., 69-60)
Atlantic Sun	North Florida (23-11, USC Upstate, 63-57)
March 9
Colonial	Northeastern (23-11, William & Mary, 73-61)
Metro Atlantic	Manhattan (19-13, Iona, 79-69)
Southern	Wofford (28-6, Furman, 67-64)
March 10
Horizon	Valparaiso (28-5, Green Bay, 54-44)
Northeast	Robert Morris (19-14, St. Francis BRK, 66-63)
Summit League	N. Dakota St. (23-9, S. Dakota St., 57-56)
West Coast	Gonzaga (33-2, BYU, 91-75)
March 11
Patriot League	Lafayette (20-9, American, 65-63)
March 14
America East	Albany (24-8, Stony Brook, 51-50)
Conference USA	UAB (19-15, Middle Tenn., 73-60)
Ivy	Harvard (22-7, Yale, 53-51)
Mid-Eastern	Hampton (16-17, Delaware St., 82-61)
Big 12	Iowa State (25-8, Kansas, 70-66)
Mountain West	Wyoming (25-9, San Diego St., 45-43)
Mid-American	Buffalo (23-9, Cent. Michigan, 89-84)
Southwest Athletic	Texas Southern (22-12, Southern U., 62-58)
Big East	Villanova (31-2, Xavier, 61-43)
ACC	Notre Dame (29-5, N. Carolina, 90-82)
Big Sky	E. Washington (26-8, Montana, 69-65)
Big West	UC Irvine (21-12, Hawaii, 67-58)
Southland	Stephen F. Austin (25-8, Sam Houston, 83-70)
PAC-12	Arizona (31-3, Oregon, 80-52)
Western Athletic	New Mexico St. (23-10, Seattle U., 80-61)

Notre Dame Stuns #7 Duke, 79-77, Behind 19 Points, 11 Assists from Eric Atkins

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 4, 2014

Duke's Rodney Hood scored a game-high 27 points and Quinn Cook added 22, but Eric Atkins led Notre Dame with 19 points and 11 assists as the Fighting Irish knocked off #7 Duke, Saturday at South Bend, Indiana.

The game was the first for Notre Dame as a member of the ACC, the conference long dominated by the Blue Devils and Tar Heels of North Carolina, and the Irish proved worthy, taking the lead at 65-64 with 5:31 left on an Atkins free throw and clinging to the slim lead down the stretch for the 79-77 victory.

The Irish led by as many as six points in the late stages of the game, but Duke continued to claw back, cutting the lead to one on several occasions, but with 1:23 left, Atkins scored on a layup to put Notre Dame ahead, 74-71, and, after a pair of Quinn Cook free throws, assisted on a jumper by Garrick Sherman, again putting the Irish up by three.

Atkins, a 6'2" senior guard from Columbia, MD, played 38 minutes for the Irish, hitting seven of 13 shots from the field and five of eight from the foul line. More important than his scoring was his deft ball-handling, as he assisted on 11 Notre Dame baskets.

Normally, it's Duke which shares the ball better, but Atkins helped Notre Dame lead the Blue Devils in assists, 18-8. The Irish defense was also central to the win, blocking six Duke shots and out-rebounding the visitors, 39-30. Notre Dame also out-shot Duke, 53-41%.

Duke fell to 11-3 while Notre Dame improved to 10-4. The Irish continue ACC play with a visit from NC State on Tuesday, January 7.

Jerian Grant Leads Fighting Irish to 7-2 Mark

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, December 9, 2013

Having jumped from the Big East to the ACC, Notre Dame continued tuning up in anticipation of a rugged conference schedule with a 70-59 home win over Bryant, Monday night.

Powered by senior Jerian Grant, who leads the Irish in scoring and assists, Notre Dame improved to 7-2 overall, with a 7-1 mark at home.

Grant was just 5-for-12 from the floor (two of three from three-point range), but made hay at the foul line, canning 11 of 13 freebies for a game-high 23 points. He also doled out nine of Notre Dame's 17 assists as the Irish took a 12-point lead into the half and maintained their edge over the final 20 minutes. Rounding out his game, Grant finished with two rebounds, four steals and a couple of blocked shots in 38 minutes of playing time.

The schedule soon will get a lot tougher, even prior to conference play, very soon for the Fighting Irish. After a sate with North Dakota State, Wednesday, they have home games with Indiana and Ohio State on the 14th and 21st. They open ACC play on January 4th, hosting the Duke Blue Devils.

Jack Cooley Leads 12-1 Notre Dame to Easy, 89-67, Win over Niagara

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, December 21, 2012

When Notre Dame's Jack Cooley finds his groove, the result is usually pretty obvious. Cooley gets a ton of points on easy layups and dunks and hustles down a boatload of rebounds.

Such was the case as an unguardable Cooley took his skills to the paint against Niagara University Friday night, pumping in a game high 24 points to go with 15 boards in an 89-67 Irish win, their tenth straight.

So dominant was Cooley's performance that he only had to be on the court for 25 minutes, going 9-for-12 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line. It was Cooley's ninth double-double (which he averages: 15.2, 11.3) in 13 games.

For good measure, the 6'9" forward dished out three assists and blocked a pair of shots as the Irish easily took the measure of the Purple Eagles, taking a 42-34 lead into the break before blowing the game open with 47 second half points.

The 22nd-ranked, 12-1 Fighting Irish haven't ventured off campus yet this season, where they are averaging 76.4 points per game. Their 89 in Friday's contest was the second-highest point total of the season, behind only the 82-65 beating they put on Chicago State back in November.

This is the last game the Irish play before opening their Big East schedule on January 5th, when they host Seton Hall. Their first road game of the season is January 7, when they travel to Cincinnati to play the 11th-ranked, 11-0 Bearcats, currently one of eight undefeated teams in the nation.

Jack Cooley Leads Irish over Providence with 27 Points and 17 Boards

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 2, 2012

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame assured themselves of a double bye in the upcoming Big East tournament with a timely, 75-69, win on the road at Providence in their final regular season game.

Finishing with a regular season mark of 13-5 in the conference (21-10 overall), the Irish are in third place, with Georgetown and South Florida a half game back. The Hoyas and Bulls both play Saturday, but the Irish and Hoyas get the tie-breaker in case both teams win as they've both beaten South Florida during the regular season.

If South Florida wins their noon game vs. West Virginia and the Hoyas lose at Marquette, the Bulls would finish fourth and receive the automatic double bye.

For #20 Notre Dame, the win was essential after dropping back-to-back road games last week at St. John's and Georgetown, capping a remarkable mid-season turnaround. The Irish were just 3-3 in Big East games before embarking on a nine-game winning streak which included handing #2 Syracuse their only loss of the season.

In Friday's victory, center Jack Cooley was the unstoppable force in the middle, scoring 27 points with 17 rebounds, his tenth double-double of the season and a career high in scoring. Cooley was 10-for-15 from the field and 7-9 from the foul line. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

NOTABLE: Conference tournaments got underway in many of the smaller conferences Friday. The Horizon, Colonial, West Coast, Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley and Southern conferences all had opening round battles. Three ranked teams - Murray State, Creighton and Wichita State - each advanced in their respective tourneys.

Saturday offers a loaded slate of games, with more conferences starting tournaments and many ranked teams playing in their final regular season contests. The most-anticipated games will be at Syracuse, where the Orange host #19 Louisville at 4:00 pm ET, and at Durham, NC, where the #4 Duke Blue Devils host the #6 North Carolina Tar Heels, the winner to take possession of the ACC regular season title and a #1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Opening tip is 7:00 pm ET.

Jack Cooley Dominates Paint in 71-53 Irish Win over Rutgers

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Notre Dame won its seventh straight game, topping Rutgers, 71-53, to run their record to 18-8 and 10-3 in the Big East, tying Marquette for second place in the conference behind 13-1 Syracuse (26-1 overall).

The Fighting Irish are the only team to have beaten Syracuse this season, taking advantage of the absence of center Fab Melo in a 67-58 home win back on January 21. That win, which ended a two-game losing streak, must have given the Irish confidence, because they haven't lost since and now appear to be a lock for an NCAA invite.

Hard-nosed center, Jack Cooley, led all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, going 6 of 9 from the foul line. While he wasn't putting the ball in the basket, Cooley was rebounding missed shots, pulling down 18, eight of them on the offensive end.

The way they're playing, Notre Dame should cruise into the Big East tourney in the first week of March with a full head of steam. They have only five games remaining on their schedule and just one is against a ranked team, a February 27 visit to #10 Georgetown. The Irish are ranked #23 in the latest poll, but could be moving up if they continue their winning ways.

NOTABLE: In the Top 26 pantheon, there's a new kid on the block. That would be the #24 Wichita State Shockers, the leader in the Missouri Valley conference, at 14-2, with a two-game lead over second place Creighton (12-4). The Shockers improved to 23-4 with a 73-58 road win over Missouri State on Tuesday, their fifth straight win and 13th in their last 14.

In the West, New Mexico dumped #13 San Diego State, 77-67, and #21 St. Mary's fell to Loyola Marymount, 75-60, both ranked teams failing on their home courts. All other ranked teams in action - Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri and Murray State - were victorious.

Ricardo Ratliffe Lifts Mizzou; Syracuse Falls to Notre Dame Behind Jack Cooley's 17 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 21, 2012

There was plenty of college hoops action on Saturday, with 21 of the the Top 25 taking to courts around the country.

One game which involved two of the top five, was won by #5 Missouri, which handed #3 Baylor its second straight loss, 89-88, after opening the season with 17 straight wins.

Ricardo Ratliffe, who leads the nation in shooting percentage at 77%, scored a career high 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting for the Tigers, which improved to 18-1 and 5-1 in the Big 12. Ratliffe also grabbed 8 boards and blocked a pair of shots.

Missouri now holds second place alone in the conference, behind Kansas, a 69-68 winner over the Texas Longhorns.

The Big East was a hotbed of activity, with two of their games going into overtime, but the performance of the day went to the Notre dame Fighting Irish, who took down one of just two remaining unbeaten teams as they topped the Syracuse Orange by a stunning, 67-58 score.

Notre Dame took an quick lead over Syracuse on a 3-point spree in the early moments of the game, and held on bravely, never allowing the Orange closer than XX points. Center Jack Cooley was a cool customer in the lane, scoring a game-high 17 points and ripping down 10 rebounds, helping to end #1 Syracuse's 20-game winning streak.

The Irish win left just one team in Division 1 with an unblemished record, that being the unheralded Murray State Racers, who easily got past SIU Edwardsville, 82-65, improving to 20-0 on the season. The Racers lead the Ohio Valley conference with an 8-0 record and are ranked #12 in the AP Poll.

Fighting Irish Shock and Awe Assault

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 28, 2011

The US military coined the term "shock and awe" to describe what opposing inhabitants would think of our bombing attack, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have successfully transferred the terminology into basketball parlance by bombing Villanova Monday night.

The Irish, undefeated at home this season, bombed the Wildcats, 93-72 in a game that was decidedly one-sided from just about the opening tip. The Irish opened the game with a trio of three-pointers and went on from there, hitting 20 of the 32 shots they took from beyond the painted arc.

Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough both scored 30 points, Abromaitis registering a season high with 9 of his 13 three-point shots falling pure. Hansbrough, being mentioned widely for Big East Player of the Year honors, was 8-for-12 overall, with 7 of 10 threes. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line.

The 20 three-pointers was a Notre Dame record, and the 8th-ranked Irish are also the only team in the Big East to go undefeated at home this season, a perfect 17-0. The win put them 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh (13-3) for the Big East lead, with a 13-4 record and one game left to play, that a Saturday tip at UConn. Pitt plays at South Florida on Wednesday and closes out at home vs. Villanova.

The Wildcats have been skidding, losing five of their last seven games, and a loss at Pitt would put them at 8-8 in the conference, though they are 21-9 overall, their only non-conference loss coming at Tennessee in November.

NOTABLE: Just about the time everybody assumed the Kansas State Wildcats were dead, they came roaring back to life. Over the past two weeks the Wildcats have beaten Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Texas, knocking off the Longhorns, 75-70, Monday night in Austin. The five game win streak, following a loss to Colorado which many were scratching their heads over, was like a Midwest tour de force, and Kansas State once again looks the part of a contender.

As it turns out, the loss to Colorado was no fluke. The Buffs are 7-7, beat Texas on Saturday and are battling for respectability with Nebraska and Baylor. Kansas Stat etook over 4th place in the conference at 9-6 and appear to be a lock for the NCAA tourney.

Hansbrough, Irish Burn #2 Pitt

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, January 24, 2011

On a day in which the Pitt Panthers rose to the #2 team in the national polls, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame invaded the Peterson Events Center and spoiled the fun with a slowdown offense and a big night from senior guard Ben Hansbrough.

What Notre Dame did with its aptly-named Burn offense - which relates to "burning the clock" - was to slow down the pace and use up 25 of the 35 seconds on the shot clock before going into their offense. The tactic worked well enough to keep the Irish within five points (28-23) at the half, after which they turned loose their point guard.

Hansbrough scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, as Notre Dame assumed the lead and kept the Panthers at bay. He scored 13 of the last 18 points for the Irish, mostly on drives to the hoop from the top of the key. The slowdown offense and Hansbrough's deft ball-handling resulted in a huge, 56-51, road win for the 16th-ranked Irish and the end of a 20-game home winning streak for Pitt.

Abromaitis Knocks Down 25 as Irish Dump Georgia, 89-83

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 25, 2010

Notre Dame's Fighting Irish may not be a Big East powerhouse, but for now they're 5-0 and one of the flashiest teams in the nation, scoring an average of 91.6 points per outing after beating a much-improved Georgia team in double overtime, 89-83, Thursday afternoon.

Forward Tim Abromaitis played almost the entire game, logging 46 minutes and leading all scorers with 25 points. The 6'8" senior hit 6 of 11 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 3-pointers and 9-of-12 from the line.

By winning their opening round game in the Old Spice Classic (Kissimmee, FL), the Irish earning the right to play Cal in the next round, on Friday. The Golden Bears knocked off #21 Temple, 57-50.

Notre Dame Seniors Double-Double the Fun in 102-62 Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Here's something you don't often see: three double-doubles by one team in the same game.

That's what happened when Big East powerhouse took on Chicago State, with the Fighting Irish coming away with another easy win - their third of the season, without a loss - topping the Cougars, 102-62.

While Ben Hansbrough led all scorers with 22 points, he did not have a double-double, though he did pull down 5 rebounds and hand out 6 assists.

Tim Abromaitis was next with 21 points. He had 10 rebounds and 7 assists, bordering on a triple-double along with fellow senior Tyler Nash, who had 10 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. Another senior, Carleton Scott, pumped in 17 points and snatched 11 rebounds with 3 assists, a steal and 3 blocked shots, all in just 23 minutes of floor time.

Notable: The Memphis Tigers are sure to make some noise this season in search of their fifth straight Conference-USA championship. They geared up Wednesday night with their third win of the young season, downing Northwestern State, 94-79, with Wesley Witherspoon leading the way hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field, 13 of 14 from the foul line for a game-high 24 points, to go with 12 rebounds.

Harangody Off to Hot Start for Irish

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Luke Harangody missed all three of his three shot attempts, but he did nail half of his shots from the floor (11-22) and drained 7-of-8 from the foul line to post 29 points in Notre Dame's 80-62 romp over Kennesaw State. The 6'8" senior forward also pulled in 15 boards for his second double-double of the season. The Fighting Irish are off to a 5-0 start in which Harangody has scored in double digits every game. His low point was in the season opener, when he only scored 19. In the next four games he put up 27, 29, 32 and 29, for a season average of 27.2.

A four-year starter, Harangody has improved his scoring average in each successive season. Last year he averaged 23.2 and 11.8 rebounds. Playing the majority of his games against Big East opponents, he's a force with which to reckon.

NOTABLE: Texas easily handled Pitt, 78-62, to capture the title game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City. Longhorn senior Damion James led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also grabbed 9 rebounds as the Longhorns improved to 4-0.