Notre Dame Offense Catches Fire, Irish Hammer Pittsburgh

Notre Dame's (6-9/3-6) offense has been a sore spot for much of the 2020-21 season, but in a 84-58 road victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-5/4-4) the Irish offense looked like it was supposed to look.

The Irish scored every way possible, attacking the basket, knocking down mid-range jumpers and shooting lights out from deep. Notre Dame's guard oriented roster looked the part, and we must now wonder if this was just a good night, or if the Irish - winners of three of their last four games - are starting to turn the corner.

While the guards dominated much of the night, it was the bigs for the Irish that got things started, as forwards Nate Laszewski and Juwan Durham scored 10 of the first 13 points of the game.

Pitt hung with Notre Dame early thanks to Justin Champagnie, but when the Irish guards finally got rolling the Panthers just didn't have enough offense to keep up.

Champagnie hit a triple just under halfway through the opening stanza to put the Panthers up 20-19, but Durham stole the ball from Ithiel Horton and put the ball in the basket, and Notre Dame never looked back.

After a Champagnie miss, guard Prentiss Hubb attacked the rim and fed Durham, who slammed it home to extend the lead. Back-to-back baskets from guard Dane Goodwin capped off a quick 8-0 run that put the Irish up 27-20.

Durham slammed home another basket and was followed from three-pointers from Prentiss Hubb and Cormac Ryan to give the Irish their first double-digit lead of the game.

Notre Dame was just getting started, and the Fighting Irish outscored the Panthers 21-8 in the final eleven minutes of the first half to take a 41-29 lead into halftime.

We've seen stretches like this from Notre Dame in the past, but it was often followed by cold spells that allowed the opponent to get back into the game. That would not be the case this evening, as Notre Dame's offense stayed hot and the improving Fighting Irish defense stifled the Panthers.

Notre Dame knocked down four of its first five shots on the second half, and the lead climbed to 50-29 before the Panthers got on the board.

The Irish continued attacking on offense, spreading the ball around and taking the fight to the Panthers, who never found an answer on either side of the court as Notre Dame overwhelmed them inside and out.

Ryan bounced back after missing the loss to Virginia Tech with a foot injury. He led the Irish with 19 points on just 7-8 shooting (5-6 from behind the arc). Hubb scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting and dished out nine assists while turning it over just three times. Goodwin had 16 points and nine rebounds and Durham added 14 points.

Notre Dame shot 32-57 from the field (56.1%) and 13-24 from deep (54.2%). Pitt went just 23-73 from the floor (31.5%) and 8-26 (30.8%) from behind the three-point line. Champagnie scored 15 points in the first half but the Irish held him to just four points in the second half.

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