SOUTH BEND — Heading into No. 6 Michigan’s game on Sunday, the matchup favored No. 3 Notre Dame in every statistical category. And after the first ten minutes, it became clear that the Wolverines were outmatched. Even when Michigan played the fighting Irish tight for the remaining three quarters, that first frame made all the difference as they ended the Wolverines’ season in a 76-55 rout.
NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE TOO MUCH
In the first few minutes, Michigan was hanging around with Notre Dame. But once the Irish started turning defense into offense and the Wolverines’ shots couldn’t drop, the hole kept getting deeper and deeper.
“Notre Dame is a really great team,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said postgame. “We saw that today. I think they were able to jump on us right away. It took us a minute to get going. I think their pressure was great on the defensive end, and they were able to score on us. We gave up 32 points in the first quarter, kind of put us in a hole, and then we were battling back. The rest of the game was kind of even, but it wasn’t a great start for us. So they have a great team. They were the number one team in the country at some point, and they’re playing exceptionally well right now.”
Just a few weeks ago, Notre Dame was ranked first in the country, and it showed that prowess on both ends of the floor. When Michigan tried to drive down the middle, it was met with a defender. When it tried to dribble around the arc, the Irish were right there with active hands, ready to scoop up the ball at the first opportunity. When the Wolverines looked to push the pace, Notre Dame matched and exceeded that speed.
Even when Michigan made adjustments like crashing the block when the Irish got the ball in the post and doubling off ball screens, it didn’t take long for them to regroup and figure out a way to beat it.
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