Shocker report: Notre Dame 81, WSU 70
Thursday’s box score
No. 8 Notre Dame 81,
No. 14 Wichita St. 70
WICHITA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Wessel | 32 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Carter | 28 | 9-15 | 3-4 | 4-8 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
VanVleet | 38 | 9-20 | 7-9 | 4-6 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
Baker | 33 | 2-10 | 3-4 | 1-6 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Cotton | 35 | 2-10 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Kelly | 11 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Brown | 12 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Wamukota | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Morris | 6 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Totals | 199 | 26-65 | 15-19 | 15-36 | 9 | 16 | 70 |
Percentages: FG .400, FT .789. 3-Point Goals: 3-18, .167 (Baker 2-6, Carter 1-2, Wessel 0-1, Brown 0-3, VanVleet 0-3, Cotton 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 3 (Baker, Kelly, Carter). Turnovers: 7 (Morris 2, Wessel, Wamukota, Brown, Cotton, Carter). Steals: 6 (Cotton 2, VanVleet 2, Brown, Kelly). Technical Fouls: None.
N. DAME | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Jackson | 39 | 7-10 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
Grant | 40 | 3-8 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
Connaughton | 40 | 7-12 | 0-0 | 1-10 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
Auguste | 26 | 6-6 | 3-5 | 1-6 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
Vasturia | 37 | 5-12 | 3-3 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
Beachem | 4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Colson | 14 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Totals | 200 | 30-54 | 12-15 | 6-32 | 18 | 14 | 81 |
Percentages: FG .556, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 9-19, .474 (Jackson 4-5, Connaughton 2-5, Vasturia 2-6, Grant 1-2, Beachem 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 4 (Connaughton 2, Colson, Auguste). Turnovers: 11 (Jackson 3, Connaughton 2, Grant 2, Beachem, Colson, Auguste). Steals: 4 (Connaughton 2, Grant 2). Technical Fouls: None.
Wichita St. | 30 | 40 | — | 70 |
Notre Dame | 33 | 48 | — | 81 |
A—NA. Officials—Terry Wymer, Michael Irving, Michael Greenstein.
Tough week for travel
One of the most emotional and significant weeks in Wichita State basketball ended Thursday. The Shockers didn’t use the events of the past seven days as an excuse.
A week ago, they started the NCAA Tournament with a win over Indiana. On Sunday, they defeated Kansas in a much-anticipated game that had to drain some emotion from the Shockers. Recovering from that effort and the hoopla surrounding WSU’s first win over the Jayhawks since 1987 probably required more than three days.
“The better team won,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said of Thursday’s result. “As I mentioned, Mike Brey's one of the great guys in the business, and if you've got to lose in the NCAA Tournament, it might as well be to a guy like him.”
Travel concerned the Shockers more than the after-effects of beating Kansas. Notre Dame played late Saturday night, going into overtime against Butler, to advance to the Sweet 16. The Shockers played Sunday late afternoon, giving the Irish a one-day edge in recovery and preparation. Travel delays on Tuesday made it feel like more for WSU.
“I don't particularly like the fact that we had (one) less days to prepare than Notre Dame,” Marshall said. “That's not an excuse, I just don't like the pod system or whatever they call it where you play Sunday night, you get back late and then you're back on the road on Tuesday when the other team has an extra day, plus less travel.”
The quick turnaround didn’t seem ideal to WSU junior Ron Baker, either.
“It’s hard to play on Sunday and travel on Tuesday,” he said. “We haven’t traveled like that all year long, at least with the type of games we’re playing.”
Slow start
Notre Dame’s offense gave a preview of its second-half power to start the game.
The Irish bolted to a 20-8 lead by slicing through WSU’s defense for backdoor layups, slips off screens and three-pointers. The Irish made six of their first seven shots, three of them from behind the arc. Zach Auguste finished an early run with a dunk for a 15-5 lead. Pat Connaughton beat the Shockers for a backdoor layup and a 20-7 lead.
That burst left WSU coaches screaming for more pressure on the ball to disrupt Notre Dame’s passing lanes. WSU tightened its defense in all areas and the Irish cooled off to miss six of their next seven shots. Baker steadied the Shockers on offense and his fallback three over Connaughton cut the Irish lead to 23-20.
“We just got off our heels,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “We got some deflections, got a steal or two, or were able to just get a stop. I think we came out on our heels a little bit. But after that, after they made their first run and we started getting back to the way we usually play defense … we were able to get out in transition and get some buckets.”
The Irish went up 29-22 after WSU missed four of five shots and VanVleet sensed a need. He started driving to the basket and drawing fouls to restart the offense. He scored WSU’s final eight points of the half and the Shockers trailed 33-30.
They can defend
Notre Dame’s defense doesn’t get much attention. The Irish sounded more proud of that effort than their offense on Thursday.
WSU missed 15 of 18 three-pointers and no Shockers other than VanVleet or Carter reached double figures. WSU shot 40 percent for the game.
“Our defense definitely sparks it,” Irish senior Pat Connaughton said. “When we're in that timeout, like Coach (Mike Brey) said, it wasn't about strategy. We talked about defense, about getting stops and getting out and running. That's the fun way to play and that's the way that we're at our best on both ends of the floor.”
The Shockers ended the season in a slump from behind the arc. While they made 10 of 20 in Sunday’s win over Kansas, they made 10 of 47 in the three previous games.
Notre Dame’s defense wasn’t the whole story. In the first half, WSU drove to rim with little resistance and missed several shots in the lane. They missed several open three-pointers, as well.
“We had some good looks,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “Ron and Fred and Tekele (Cotton) had some really good looks, we just didn't make them.”
Worth noting
Notre Dame advances to a regional final for the first time since 1979, when it defeated Toledo 79-71. Michigan State ended the Irish’s season in the Elite Eight with an 80-68 win … Notre Dame improves to 34-37 in 34 NCAA appearances. WSU is 4-2 in regional semifinals and 15-13 in 12 NCAA Tournaments … The Irish lead the series 2-1 … VanVleet averaged 23 points in three NCAA games, making 22 of 50 shots, 2 of 9 threes and 23 of 28 foul shots. He had 13 assists and six turnovers. Baker went 4 for 16 from three-point range and averaged 12 points in the tournament. He made 12 of 14 free throws.
Paul Suellentrop
This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Shocker report: Notre Dame 81, WSU 70."