Notre Dame men’s basketball is in MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada to face the Kansas Jayhawks in the Players Era Festival.
The Irish enter the game 4-1, its lone loss on the road to Ohio State, while the Jayhawks have lost to rivals Duke and North Carolina. Their 3-2 record is most likely an illusion, as they’ve been one of the best programs nationally for a long time.
It’s going to be a fun contest, and you can follow along here for live updates of Notre Dame vs. Kansas from Las Vegas in the Players Era Festival.
Final: Kansas 71, Notre Dame 61
Kansas showed that they’re one of the better teams in the country, but the good news is that I don’t think that the Irish are that far behind. The two losses this season have been to very good teams. It wasn’t a Notre Dame win, but it was a good confidence builder. They’ll be back on the court tomorrow taking on Rutgers at 1:00 p.m. EST on TNT.
Kansas takes commanding lead as time is running out for Notre Dame
More of the same from this segment of the contest, as Notre Dame won’t go away, but Kansas is keeping their distance. Right before the timeout, the Jayhawks pushed the lead to 67-57 with 2:30 left in the game.
Notre Dame treading water, Kansas lurking
It’s more of the same after this next TV timeout, as the Irish haven’t given in, but really haven’t been able to cut into the lead. Jalen Haralson is going to be a very good player, just needs to work on his handles and shot selection, but his clear out was a thing of beauty. Kansas 59, Notre Dame 51 with 6:53 left in the second half.
Notre Dame continues to hang around, but Kansas still in control
You have to give the Irish plenty of credit, they’ve taken some big punches from the Jayhawks, but keep on fighting. Kansas scores in waves, Notre Dame withstands it, and then goes on its own little run. The problem is the Irish’s aren’t as impactful as the Jayhawks. Kansas leads 53-46 with 10:36 left in the game.
Notre Dame hasn’t given up, cuts into Kansas’ lead
Notre Dame didn’t go to Vegas to enjoy the atmosphere, they’re here to try and win games. You can see that in their first few minutes coming out of the half, as they’ve cut into the Jayhawks lead at 45-40. The Irish aren’t as talented, but they’re making up for it in effort and attitude.
Halftime: Kansas 39, Notre Dame 32
This deficit could have been much larger for Notre Dame, but they battled back in the last 90-second to keep it under 10-points. Some second-half adjustments that I’d like to see are Markus Burton getting better shots inside the offense and Braeden Shrewsberry shooting more three’s, he’s 2-of-5. There also needs to be a more collective team effort to rebound, and not just rely on Carson Towt, who has two fouls already.
Kansas builds on its lead, Notre Dame struggles to find offense
Kansas has started to flex their muscle and right now it looks like Notre Dame doesn’t have any issues. The Jayhawks are getting lots of looks close to the basket and lead 31-24 with 2:54 left in the first.
Kansas jumps ahead and Notre Dame’s Carson Towt in foul trouble
The start of this run, was due to the Burton foul being upgrade from a common to intentional. That possession turned out to be a six-point swing for Kansas, and they started of impose their will. They took a 26-18 lead with 7:50 left in the first half.
Notre Dame trying to neutralize Kansas’ size advantage
It looks like the Irish have found a way to make Kansas a bit smaller, get their bigs in foul trouble. The Irish have one a good job getting to the line, and have made all six of their attempts. Markus Burton could have been called for an intentional foul right before the break, where the two teams are tied at 15, with 11:19 left in the first half.
A solid start for Notre Dame
With the first stoppage of play, the Irish are off to a good start up 9-5 on Kansas, with every starter except one having scored already. The Jayhawks look to have plenty of size, which will test Notre Dame’s front-court depth.
Notre Dame is ready for Kansas
The game might not tipoff at the scheduled time of 2:30 p.m. CST, as the game before them, Rutgers against Tennessee still has some time left. Regardless of when the game gets started, it looks like Notre Dame is ready.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame vs Kansas: Live updates of the Players Era Festival contest
Reporting by Michael Chen , Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
