In a game that was much closer than the score indicated, No. 20 Notre Dame couldn’t muster enough strength to power past No. 21 Duke Monday night, falling 84-74. The loss is the third-straight for Notre Dame, now 1-4 in their last five.
It was a game where massive scoring droughts were traded back-and-forth like schoolyard kids trading Pokémon cards, including an 8:41 field goal drought to end the first half for the Fighting Irish (17-6, 6-4). A Bonzie Colson jumper at the 9:08 mark in the second half sparked a run for the Irish that saw the team cut the deficit from 13 to just 1.
But the run was halted, as the Irish were again stalled until Rex Pflueger sunk a three with 1:14 remaining in the game.
“We’ve just go to maintain our energy on the defensive end,” freshman TJ Gibbs said after the game. “If we’re not scoring, we’ve got to get down to the defensive end and grind it out to make sure they’re not making an extreme run.”
Notre Dame last held the lead in the game just under six minutes into action, trailing the Blue Devils (17-5, 5-4) for much of the contest.
The game was sloppy in terms of fouls, with Duke’s Luke Kennard and Amile Jefferson fouling out, while Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles were had four fouls apiece. The Irish only faired slightly better, with Gibbs and Colson getting into foul trouble at four each.
The Irish took 28 total trips to the line on Monday, but fell grossly under their high conference marks at the charity stripe, sinking 19 for 70-percent.
Gibbs appeared to be the unfortunate victim of yet another Grayson Allen tripping incident, but it was somehow unnoticed by both the referees and the fans in attendance.
The fans themselves, especially the student section, let themselves be heard during the game with chants such as “Not my ref” and “Grayson’s a b*tch.”
Head Coach Mike Brey talked after the game about switching up the starting lineup Saturday at North Carolina, mentioning the importance of starting small in order to open up the floor. The Tar Heels (20-4, 8-2) sit atop the ACC as of this writing.
Duke’s Allen led all players with 21 points while VJ Beachem finished with 20 for the Irish. Colson finished with 17 points and nine rebounds while Gibbs finished with 12 points.
Notre Dame returns to Purcell Pavilion Tuesday, February 7 to take on Wake Forest.
