Notre Dame 75, North Dakota 58: Burton carves up birds a week early

Fighting Hawks get terrorized by Irish sophomore

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

It’ll be just a quick recap from me today, as I half-watched while putting in some extra hours for the business factory.

This game never quite got out of hand, but the Irish had the game firmly in control the whole way, despite some shaky outside shooting. In the first half, it was quickly established that Notre Dame could penetrate the lane at will, while North Dakota often resigned itself to shooting threes, which Micah Shrewsberry clearly understood was not a team strength. The Fighting Hawks went 4-16 in the first half from deep, while Notre Dame only attempted six due to being in attack mode most of the half.

“Attack mode” suits Markus Burton well, as he popped in 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Irish shot 59% from the floor despite only making one of their six threes, attributable to their ability to get downhill and find looks close to the basket. The main downside for the Irish was North Dakota collecting five offensive rebounds to Notre Dame’s zero, and those extra possessions were what allowed North Dakota to remain in striking distance. Notre Dame led 38-31 at the half.

Burton picked up right where he left off in the second half, determined to drive home the point that North Dakota had absolutely no means to guard him. The Irish really got cooking when Julian Roper used his hustle powers for good, helping to get the team extra possessions on both ends of the floor with rebounds and steals. Notre Dame generally was able to cash in on the bonus opportunities, rattling off a 14-3 run from which North Dakota would never recover.

In a departure from recent games, the Irish struggled badly to shoot the three, particularly during the second half, while North Dakota heated up considerably from deep. Notre Dame wound up finishing 3-for-17 from beyond the arc. That was the only factor keeping the game from turning into a laugher, as North Dakota looked every bit like an overmatched team otherwise.

The Irish will take a 4-0 record heading into Friday’s tilt against Elon.

Bullet Points:

• Roper had by far his best effort of the season, racking up a whopping five steals, three rebounds, two assists, and four points. Not a bad effort from a guy who played but didn’t enter the box score a couple games ago.
• Kebba Njie made his first three-point field goal of the season, which seems worth noting given how little opponents care if he shoots from out there. If he can start hitting some more of these, it’ll help spacing during his minutes.
• Burton’s final numbers are staggering, and will give North Dakota nightmares for weeks: 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting, 9 rebounds (which led all rebounders, despite Burton being 5’11’’), 3 assists, and 2 steals.
• J.R. Konieczny is establishing himself as a difficult matchup for opposing defenses off the bench, putting in a crafty 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
• Some rough news about an Irish freshman came in prior to the game.