Notre Dame, coming off a blowout road win over Georgetown, returns home Tuesday night to face North Dakota in South Bend, Indiana.
Matt Allocco proved he’s a player the Irish can rely on this year, scoring 17 points in an 84-63 victory over the Hoyas. Not only did Allocco score in double figures, he also grabbed five rebounds and dished out seven assists.
The graduate transfer from Princeton University was a two-time All-Ivy League selection.
Interestingly, he played 32 minutes in the 86-77 win over Buffalo and didn’t make a single shot. However, against Georgetown, he proved that he is not a player that opponents can ignore.
“Allocco is just a gamer,” head coach Micah Shrewsberry said in a postgame interview after the win over Georgetown. “He’s at his best when the lights are on the brightest. He was a really great pickup player for us this summer.”
Allocco is averaging 9.3 points this year, making him one of every five players to score nine or more points per game so far.
Marcus Barton leads the Irish with 17.7 points per game. Tae Davis is scoring 16.3 points per game and Braden Shrewsberry is scoring 15.3 points per game.
North Dakota State (2-1) faces one of its biggest road tests of the year against the Irish after a 77-71 win over Utah Valley last Thursday.
Traysen Eaglestaff scored 31 points in the Fighting Hawks’ last win, marking the second 30-point game of his career.
“I wasn’t perfect,” Eaglestaff told the Grand Forks Herald. “We fumbled on some plays. We had quite a few turnovers and none of them were clean.”
Eaglestaff is the Fighting Hawks’ leading scorer, averaging 20 points per game. He is a consistent scorer, scoring in double figures 39 times in 68 career games.
Amar Krjujovic is also averaging double digits (12.0) for the Fighting Hawks, who are 0-1 on the road.
–Field level media
