Coming off its most lopsided home loss in more than six years, Notre Dame men’s basketball returned to the Purcell Pavilion floor and the win column on Saturday afternoon. The Irish, answering the bell after Wednesday’s 97-73 SMU beatdown, toppled NCAA Tournament hopeful Pittsburgh by a 76-62 score, improving to 12-15 overall and 6-10 in ACC play.
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry, who began the week with a fiery press conference after Sunday’s loss to Louisville, finished it with praise for his players during a mentally challenging stretch.
“[I’m] just proud of our guys for fighting, scratching, clawing [and] kind of doing whatever was needed,” he said after Saturday’s game. “They made a commitment to each other on Thursday, and they were disappointed, and they just said, ‘We want to do whatever it takes, whatever possible to stay together — to scratch, claw, and get the job done.”
They did without two of their starting guards, too. Not only did graduate student Matt Allocco miss his sixth consecutive game (wrist), but sophomore sharpshooter Braeden Shrewsberry joined him on the shelf with an abdomen strain. As a result, freshman Sir Mohammed and senior J.R. Konieczny, two players with a combined five starts on the year entering Saturday, joined prolific sophomore Markus Burton in the backcourt.
Despite the personnel change, Notre Dame had no problem staying with the Panthers early. The Irish, thanks to 21 combined first-half points from Burton and junior Tae Davis, never trailed by more than 5 in the opening 20 minutes and went into halftime in a 30-30 tie.
“This game, we just kind of came out with some more fire,” Konieczny said. “We were able to maintain, we were able to play some defense, get stops when we needed to, and I think that helped us get the win.”
Davis and Burton were as reliable as could be throughout Saturday’s game, steadying an Irish offense that had taken its lumps in recent weeks. Burton tallied 20 points, six rebounds and three assists, drilling a critical 3-pointer to give the Irish a 5-point lead with under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Inside the arc, Burton found renewed success getting to the cup with Davis.
“It's kind of just who we are, honestly,” Burton said. “I feel like the coaches all believe in us. Our teammates all believe in us. So I feel like today was kind of a showing day for both of us, but it was a team effort, and we got the job done today.”
Davis tied Pittsburgh guard Ishmael Leggett for the game high with 21 points. He was more efficient than his counterpart, though, making eight of his 11 field goal attempts.
“He's one guy that, like, you never question like how hard he's gonna play,” Shrewsberry said of Davis. “That's pretty consistent with him.”
Notre Dame, which got 10 players into Saturday’s game even without Allocco and Braeden Shrewsberry, benefitted from new blood in the rotation as well. Freshman guard Cole Certa had a coming-out party, hitting a trio of 3-pointers to post a career-high 12 points.
For the head coach, the top-100 recruit’s breakout game came as no surprise.
“Thursday morning at probably 9 a.m., I get to the office and Cole's down there on the court working. He's shooting,” Shrewsberry recalled. “He's constantly down there.”
“That dude has unwavering confidence,” he said. “... He believes the next shot’s going in, no matter if it goes in or not, and that's what you kind of need.”
Certa, who has been looking for more ways to see minutes and impact the game, did that and more on Saturday. He produced all 12 of his points in the second half, draining three consecutive triples to turn a 42-41 Irish deficit into a 50-46 Irish lead with 10:27 to play. The Certa surge sparked the Purcell Pavilion crowd and added to the already high confidence level surrounding him.
“Every time I check in, the other four dudes on the court always just instill confidence with me,” Certa said. “Same thing with the coaches, and them telling me, ‘Shoot that whenever you're open,’ and that just builds everything up … They contribute a lot to my success.”
Burton, who acted like a kid at Disney World with the chance to chauffeur Certa around his first postgame presser, had something to say as the freshman concluded his answer.
“Hey, side note — he be in the gym early as sh*t,” he announced. “He’d be in the gym before the coaches, [and] I’m like, ‘Okay, Cole Certa.’”
Konieczny also interjected to point out how Certa’s hard work is paying off, and the same was true for the South Bend native on Saturday. In the starting lineup for the first time all season, Koniecnzy provided 10 points and 5 rebounds, tailing Certa by posting all of those numbers in the second half.
The Irish, who have struggled badly to finish close games under Micah Shrewsberry, leaned on Konieczny to take them home on Saturday. He delivered in the final 37 seconds, making all six of his free throws to help Notre Dame stave off a Leggett-fueled Pittsburgh rally.
“I wasn't even really thinking about it. I was just up there,” Konieczny recalled. “I was just like, ‘Same shot every single time, and it's gonna go in. It's gonna see the bottom of the net.’I just kind of had that confidence going in there and I was like, ‘I wanna be the one that's shooting the free throws at the end of the game.’”
Though Jeff Capel and the Panthers played only seven men on Saturday, their scoring broke down similarly to Notre Dame’s. Leggett led the way with 21 points, just ahead of forward Cameron Corhen’s 20. Guard Jaland Lowe contributed 13, while forward Guillermo Diaz Graham totaled 11.
With one of the program’s most tumultuous weeks in recent memory now in the books, the win should help Notre Dame regroup as the regular season’s final two weeks arrive. With Saturday’s result, the Irish remain two games clear of the ACC Tournament cut line with four to play and can still realistically finish as high as eighth in the conference.
“We had a game that we really regretted as a group,” Shrewsberry said. “And just how they all recommitted to how we should play and what we should do, and then they come out and do it. [It] just says a lot about who they are as people.”
“Things happen,” Burton added. “You’ve just gotta stay positive [and] roll with the punches. Obviously, we didn't play well last week, and it happens, and you’ve just gotta stay true to yourself and stay level-headed, stay with the team, not look at negative stuff people are saying about us, stay true to ourselves, block it out and trust ourselves and our coaching staff and everyone who's with us. I feel like we did that today, and obviously it showed a lot.”
On Wednesday, Notre Dame will visit a Clemson team destined for March Madness. The Tigers are 22-5 overall and 14-2 within ACC play, fresh off a 79-69 road win against the SMU team that shellacked the Irish in South Bend.
Expectations won’t be high for Notre Dame, so Coach Shrewsberry’s taking the simple approach to both Wednesday’s contest and the home stretch in general.
“I just want us to fight and compete. Play good basketball. That's it, that's it,” Shrewsberry said. “And then let the results be what the results are, but give yourself a chance. I told our guys today: make the preparation matter.”
Notre Dame and Clemson will tip off at Littlejohn Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
