Irish dismiss Akron, 69-56
Notre Dame senior center Tyrone Nash isn’t quite sure why the nation’s fifth-ranked team doesn’t get anywhere close to the nation’s fifth-most love.
“It’s a great team if you just watch us,” Nash said with a grin Friday afternoon. “Spend the day with us one day. Just see how cool we are. Just down-to-earth guys.
“We play card games. We play ping-pong. We watch TV. We watch cartoons. We play video games.”
And, after an uncharacteristically nervous 20 minutes in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener, the Irish restored basketball to the list of games they play together.
Akron trailed by just 4 points at halftime and 5 points with 11 minutes to go, but the second-seeded Irish gradually pulled away for a 69-56 Southwest regional second-round victory at United Center.
Notre Dame, which earned its first NCAA win since 2008, gets the Texas A&M-Florida State winner Sunday for a shot at its first Sweet 16 since 2003.
If nothing else, the Irish figure they’ve gotten their overly caffeinated play out of their system.
“I’m glad the halftime was 20 minutes (as opposed to the 15-minute norm) because we needed all of it,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, “just to kind of ratchet our blood pressure down a little bit.”
While Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the first half, it wasn’t a quality effort.
“I thought he forced plays at times in the first half,” Brey said. “In the second half, his decision-making was excellent and it helped us flow.”
Notre Dame (27-6) reeled off the first 9 points of the second half as lefty Scott Martin drilled two shots and fed Carleton Scott for another jumper.
But the Irish’s first second-half basket — a dunk for a 3-point play by Nash — might have been the most crucial.
After Notre Dame tried to work around Akron 7-footer Zeke Marshall in the first half (being too careful to avoid his 7-3 wingspan), Nash took a tip from backup Jack Cooley.
In the first half, the 245-pound Cooley entered the game and immediately posted up strong for an easy layup against the slender Marshall.
“I watched Jack Cooley, how he went right through him,” Nash said. “I tried to get the team going, jump-start them ... it seemed like us out there finally.”
Akron (23-12) never enjoyed the same feeling. Especially Marshall.
The ballyhooed sophomore, who was the No. 61 recruit in the Class of 2009, blocked 4 shots but finished 2 of 13 from the floor for 5 points.
The Zips finished at 35.9 percent from the field for their worst showing in 15 games.
“For lack of a better word, we were terrible offensively,” Marshall said. “We had open shots. We made some. But when you play high-major teams, what always differentiates high-majors and mid-majors is, when the moment comes, you have to make the shot.
“That’s what high-majors do. They’re able to handle the pressure and make the big shot.
“And for me, it’s unacceptable to be 2 for 13. I can’t be 2 for 13, especially when they’re huge on the perimeter. Two for 13 isn’t doing it.”
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