2017 NCAA Tournament: Notre Dame survives late push from Princeton

The 2017 NCAA Tournament kicked off with a thriller of a game between Notre Dame and Princeton.

It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination but a win is a win, especially this time of the year.

Notre Dame survived Princeton, 60-58, in a classic 5-12 match-up at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York to advance to play the winner of West Virginia and Bucknell in the second round. The Tigers missed two threes in the final 20 seconds, a wide open look by Steven Cook that would’ve tied the game with 19 seconds left and a long open trey by Devin Cannady that would’ve given the Tigers the victory with less than a second remaining.

Mike Brey’s normal crisp offensive unit was out of rhythm for most of the evening (especially in the second half). They shot just 40 percent from field, hit just four threes and missed an uncharacteristic seven free throws (they are 80 percent from the line on the season). Also, V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, two of their top four players, had off afternoons. Beachem shot 1-of-9 and scored just two points while Vasturia shot 3-of-12 and had 10 points.

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Instead, it was the Irish’s defense and toughness that carried them to a victory. ND limited the Tigers to just 39 percent shooting overall and 26 percent from beyond the arc. They contested every shot that Cannady (a 42 percent three-point shooter) took from the perimeter and limited Myles Stephens to just 3-of-12 shooting.

Most importantly, though, Notre Dame played with toughness throughout the game. Bonzie Colson, who hurt his ankle in the ACC Championship on Saturday against Duke, was playing at 85 percent (according to CBS) and it looked like the 6’5″ big re-injured the same ankle in the second half.

Despite his injury, Colson was the best player on the floor. He scored 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. When the Irish needed a bucket the most down the stretch, they isolated Colson in the post and let him take advantage of a mismatch against Princeton guard Spencer Weisz.

The Irish will now move on to face either West Virginia or Bucknell. If they do face the Mountaineers, as expected, they have an advantage due to their ability to take care of the ball (six turnovers today) and solid guard play. However, if Beachem and Vasturia play as poorly as they did on Thursday and they continue to miss free throws, a win over the Mountaineers will be unlikely.

Next: Ranking the entire field of 68

For Princeton, they had a successful season as they ran through the Ivy League and lost only one game (this one) after the end of December. With Cannady, Amir Bell, and Stephens coming back next season, the Tigers will again be a factor as a mid-major.

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