Observations: Notre Dame escapes with 71-68 win at Howard
Notre Dame made it as suspenseful as possible and more difficult than necessary.
In the end, the Irish squeezed out the door right before it could pinch them, escaping in nervous laughter. Head coach Mike Brey could sense the close call was coming all along.
“It was one of those where you could feel it the whole first half, we were going to have to escape to win the game,” Brey said.
Maybe his only unforeseen aspect of Notre Dame’s 71-68 win over Howard was the near-collapse in the final minutes. Notre Dame looked as if it would escape an already intense tussle when it held an 11-point lead with 2:55 left. Then it nearly faceplanted against Howard’s last-gasp full court press. Howard wasn’t done until its potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer drew back iron.
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It does, though, count as a win all the same. Notre Dame is 11-6 after defeating the Bison, who dropped to 6-8. Guard Dane Goodwin and forward Nate Laszewski led the Irish with 17 points each. Laszewski also had 13 rebounds.
Here are three observations from the game.
1. Nate Laszewski, Dane Goodwin pace offense
Notre Dame had a foot in the danger zone after allowing six straight points to open the second half. In one bat of an eye, a 31-30 halftime lead turned into a five-point deficit.
Laszewski and Goodwin pushed the Irish off the ledge and were the two primary reasons the Irish never fell over it, despite frequent attempts to take the plunge.
Laszewski drove and pump-faked to draw a foul the possession after Notre Dame fell in that five-point hole. The next time down the court, he attacked a closeout and was fouled on a layup. He made the free throw to complete a personal 5-0 run.
Goodwin’s layup a few minutes later tied the score at 40, and he made a three-pointer to give Notre Dame the lead for good two possessions later. The next trip down, he dipped into his steady mid-range game for a jumper after pulling down a rebound, putting Notre Dame ahead 45-42. Later, he was fouled on a post-up isolation and made two free throws. In all, he put his scoring versatility on display once again.
Laszewski capped his day with a three-pointer off an inbound pass and an assist to Goodwin on a transition dunk. The most notable part of his stat line was going 7-of-7 from the foul line. Coming into the game, he had attempted 11 free throws all season. He also has six assists in the last three games. He handed out just 10 in the first 14 outings.
Notre Dame needs more games like this from Laszewski in ACC play, where he has been quiet outside of a 20-point outburst Jan. 5 against North Carolina.
2. Traps and turnovers
Notre Dame shot 52.1 percent, but found itself in a tussle because of ball security issues. Two days after committing just four turnovers in a road loss at Virginia Tech, the Irish gave the ball away 17 times – nine in the first half and eight in the second.
Howard leans into forcing turnovers with a press that extends the entire length of the court and aggressive trapping in half-court defense. The Bison came into the game ranked 27th in opponent turnover rate. Notre Dame too often found itself trapped with no way out, leading to deflected or intercepted passes. It played sped up at times, trying to match Howard’s pace, and committed two first-half turnovers in transition.
The second half started with a similar script. Notre Dame began it with two empty and hurried possessions, the second of which led to a transition three-pointer. The Irish regrouped after that, but nearly caved in at the end. They committed four turnovers in five possessions, allowing Howard to pull within a point in the final minute.
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Howard attempted 10 more shots than Notre Dame despite a minus-2 differential on offensive rebounds. Notre Dame’s turnovers are the cause and the main reason it was one shot away from overtime even though Howard’s field goal percentage was nearly 11 percent worse (41.4 percent).
3. Paul Atkinson Jr. prominent early, out of the game late
Notre Dame’s offensive game plan was to feed forward Paul Atkinson Jr. in the paint against a Howard rotation that has no post presence on either end. The Irish tossed to him early and often, and he had six points in the first 12 minutes.
Howard double-teamed him in response. Atkinson’s deft passing helps him defeat doubles, but his decision-making and vision were spotty against Howard. He had three turnovers, including two errant passes in the first half.
In the second half, he was barely visible and sat for nearly all the stretch run. Notre Dame went with Laszewski and a five-out offense as a way of trying to combat Howard’s pressure and extended defense. Instead of post touches, Notre Dame dialed up several isolations and back-cuts. Laszewski, meanwhile, played the entire second half.
