Notre Dame Basketball: Irish hold on late to defeat Hurricanes on road

Notre Dame basketball remains undefeated in the ACC after a road victory over Miami.

Raise your hand if you had Florida State and Notre Dame as the two teams tied at the top of the ACC standings in mid-January.

Not many, if any, will actually have their hands up.

The Irish had a stiff test to try to keep their undefeated record alive as they traveled to Coral Gables to face off against the Miami Hurricanes on the road. Instead of giving the Seminoles the outright ACC lead, the Fighting Irish used their experience and late-game execution to hold off the home team, 67-62.

Trailing by four with 2:56 remaining, the Irish made all the plays from there to survive the stiff test. Matt Farrell had four points in the final three minutes, the Irish went 4-of-4 from the free throw line, Rex Pflueger had a clutch steal that resulted in a V.J. Beachem layup on the other end and the Irish defense held Miami to just one point down the stretch.

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Notre Dame struggled to shoot the ball for the majority of the night (37 percent overall and 25 percent from beyond the arc), but they only turned the ball over six times and made 12-of-14 free throws. They also had 15 assists on 25 made field goals.

The Irish were led by Farrell, who scored 15 points on 5-of-14 and dished out six assists. Steve Vasturia added 10 points, six assists and six rebounds, while Beachem put up 13 points. Bonzie Colson struggled to the tune of just eight points (2-of-12 shooting), but grabbed a team high 11 boards.

While Miami is a middle of the pack team in the ACC, this is an impressive victory by the Irish. Not only was it a road game, but it was a match-up that came before two more critical road showdowns against Virginia Tech and Florida State. Despite being the 20th ranked team in the country, this was supposed to be a game that the Hurricanes would steal on their home floor.

Instead, the Irish used their veteran-laden roster to hold off Davon Reed’s 21 points and Ja’Quan Newton’s 14 points.

And that’s what makes the Irish so dangerous. They don’t turn the basketball over and they are tough as nails despite their lack of size. But most impressively, they still won this game despite playing poorly on the offensive end of the floor. They are one of the most cohesive offensive units in the country, but on this particular night, the Irish didn’t let their poor shooting effect their defensive energy and intensity.

Meanwhile, for Miami, they lost yet another opportunity to defeat a quality opponent. They were crushed by Iowa State and beaten by Florida in the non-conference schedule, and have already lost to Syracuse and ND in the ACC. Their best win this season is North Carolina State, which obviously doesn’t bode well for their resume.

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The Hurricanes would be in the tournament if the season were to end today and they have plenty of opportunities upcoming. However, this was an early chance to make their mark.

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