Most of the 8,715 faces had deserted Purcell Pavilion long before Matt Ryan emerged from Notre Dame’s locker room Saturday.
His jeans rested on his untied work boots. His shirt was unbuttoned.
The freshman had put in a day’s work worthy of a few autographs, which he gladly signed for those who lingered. It was no coincidence his signature performance in Irish garb preceded the attention after Ryan proceeded to produce a career-best 17 points, all in the first half, to help the Irish to an 89-75 victory against North Carolina State.
“Eighty-nine sure looks good on that scoreboard,” Irish coach Mike Brey said.
That 17 points were born from the hands of Ryan, and 12 of them on 3s, was somewhat surprising to Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried
“I’m going to ask Mike (Brey), ‘Why the hell aren’t you playing that guy (more)?'” he said.
The answer likely would have been because Brey hadn’t needed to do so.
Zach Auguste continued to torture opponents, this time with 24 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. But Ryan proved to be part of the solution to the enigma that had become Notre Dame’s offense during a three-losses-in-four-games stretch that included the program’s first consecutive defeats (by a combined 39 points, no less) since the end of the 2013-14 season.
The Irish had averaged 59.25 points during those four games, almost 13 below their season average. Had scored season-lows in back-to-back losses to Florida State and Miami.
In the process, the Irish lost control of their ACC tournament fate. Victories against Duke and North Carolina seemed but a distant memory. Those teams met Saturday night to determine the Irish’s fate.
The Tar Heels obliged the Irish when it dropped Duke 76-72, assuring Notre Dame a double bye in the ACC tournament.
For the part he could control, Brey decided his team needed to get itself going in a hurry.
A 1-for-8 start looked like that strategy might not make a difference, that the 20-second shot clocks Notre Dame (20-10, 11-7) used during practice were for naught. Demetrius Jackson was 0-for-6 from the field and had two of his 14 points during the first 20 minutes.
Then there was Ryan, helping the Irish build a 45-39 halftime lead over the Wolfpack (15-16, 5-13).
And on senior day, one freshman took over where another left off. Rex Pflueger scored six of his nine points in the second half, including his third 3, which followed a between the legs pass from sophomore Matt Farrell and prompted Pfleuger inconspicuously to raise three fingers in delight.
“We’re ballin’, baby. I loved it. That was awesome,” Brey said of Farrell’s pass while channeling his inner Dick Vitale.
“We got slowed down the past few games,” Pflueger said. “That kind of kills the momentum when you aren’t pushing the ball on fast breaks.”
That wasn’t a problem Saturday.
Twitter @ChiTribSkrbina
