ND MEN'S BASKETBALL: Ryan leads Irish dispatching of Michigan State

Dec. 1—SOUTH BEND — Cormac Ryan kept it simple after the game Wednesday.

"I think we were due for one," he said.

That's exactly what happened with his team against Michigan State.

After looking sluggish in its first six games of the season, Notre Dame finally resembled the NCAA Tournament-qualifying team that they were a season ago Wednesday, dispatching the 20th-ranked Spartans, 70-52, in front of a raucous home crowd at Purcell Pavilion.

Ryan was the catalyst of the win for the Irish, finishing with 23 points — 20 of which came in the first half. He shot 7-of-8 from the field in the first 20 minutes of the game, making all five 3-point shots he attempted as well.

"We have guys who are too good at playing the right way, and I think we were still trying to find ourselves," said Ryan of some of the early season struggles. "And we picked a good night to figure it out."

After shooting 2-of-17 from '3' in a loss to St. Bonaventure this past Friday, Notre Dame was 11-of-26 from beyond the arc against the Spartans. Eight of those triples came in the first half.

On the flip side, Michigan State made only four '3's' and shot 21-of-54 total (38.9%) from the field.

"We played 'right' on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "I thought our defense was fabulous and really set the tone for us. And then we made big shots; we can shoot the ball. It was a thorough 'playing right' situation, which we've been searching for. Hopefully it's something to build on."

Brey wasn't short on praise for Ryan as well.

"I have the upmost respect for this guy," said Brey of Ryan. "He's the voice. He sets the tone. He knows this is the one to get us going ... not only does he guard their most potent guy for 40 minutes, but he does (what he did on offense). ... He's our voice. He's our vibe. He's our emotion."

Everything went well in the first half for the Irish (6-1). Michigan State (5-3) led for just seven seconds, 2-0, before a layup from senior Nate Laszewski tied the game.

Notre Dame would then score the next eight points, the final three off a '3' from Ryan. The lead reached double digits for the first time on a jumper from Ryan, making it 19-8 at the 10:50 mark of the first half.

A microcosm of the first half happened a few minutes later. With the Irish up 31-16, Ryan drilled a '3' to put his team up 18. As the shot went through the net, Michigan State senior Tyson Walker was called for a foul, which gave Notre Dame the ball right back under their own hoop.

Eleven seconds later, Ryan made a layup to officially push the advantage to 20.

Following a Spartans missed shot on its next possession, Ryan drained a dagger three-point shot from the top of the key, forcing a Michigan State timeout and sending Purcell Pavilion into an uproar. Ryan dramatically pointed to the "Notre Dame" lettering on his jersey in celebration, as his team had their largest lead of the night up to that point at 39-16.

"Every guy on this team has had a night this season where they've been rolling," Ryan said. "I was happy that I was able to make shots."

Notre Dame led 42-24 through 20 minutes of play. They only committed four turnovers in the half — none in the first 17 minutes. They shot 55% from the field as a team, with all six players that played scoring at least two points.

Michigan State flirted with making a comeback in the second half. The closest the Spartans got was 14 points, capping off a mini 6-0 run to make it a 54-40 Irish lead with 9:19 remaining in the game.

On Notre Dame's next possession, though, Dane Goodwin hit a turnaround jumper in the lane to push the advantage back to 16. The Irish would score the next seven points of the game over a three-minute stretch to once again push the lead to 23.

Along with Ryan shining, freshman point guard JJ Starling had a strong performance against a good Spartans team. Starling finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists, scoring nine of those points in the second half to help thwart any Michigan State comeback attempt.

Starling made sure to give credit to the atmosphere of the arena for helping spark his team.

"We just fed off of it and we created our own energy off of that," Starling said. "It just felt amazing, getting into the crowd and hyping them up. It helped us win this game."

Notre Dame next plays Saturday, where they'll host Syracuse (3-4) in the ACC opener for both teams. The Irish finished tied for second in the conference last year, and according to Brey, his team has aspirations of finishing higher than that this season.

"Cormac Ryan — who wears it, sells it, talks it and backs it up — said this summer, 'We want to win the regular season championship,'" Brey said. "And I brought that up (after Wednesday's game). And I said, 'Awesome,' and I reminded them that they have to start with 1-0."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.