Observations: Cormac Ryan’s two-way impact helps Notre Dame blow out Michigan State in impressive fashion

That had to feel cathartic for Notre Dame. And necessary.

The Irish beat No. 20 Michigan State 70-52 Wednesday, moving to 6-1 this year. They shot 50 percent overall and 42.3 percent on three-pointers. Graduate student guard Cormac Ryan had 23 points and freshman guard JJ Starling added 14.

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One game after Notre Dame delivered a dud, it produced a no-doubter. The Irish trailed for all of seven seconds and led by as many as 23 points in the first half. They held an opponent to less than 41 percent shooting for the second straight game. Michigan State (5-3) shot 38.9 percent and 33.3 percent on three-pointers.

“We talk about playing right, and we played right on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes,” head coach Mike Brey said.

This was the Irish’s first win in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since 2018 versus Illinois. They have a 5-5 record in the event, which will end after this year.

Here are three observations from the game.

BOX SCORE

1. Cormac Ryan breaks through

The version of Ryan from the last third of Notre Dame’s 2021-22 season was largely absent in the first six games of this year. He entered play Wednesday shooting 38.8 percent overall and 21.7 percent on three-pointers, the latter less than half his percentage from the final 12 outings last year.

He returned with authority Wednesday.

Ryan lit the fuse on a 42-point opening half, supplying 20 of the points himself while never leaving the floor. He had made just 5 three-pointers all season before Wednesday. He drained 5 in the first half against Michigan State alone.

The slump made Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo more wary of him. Ryan shot 37.7 percent on three-pointers his first two years at Notre Dame. Those players don’t stay stuck in slumps forever.

“We called him the most dangerous guy,” Izzo said.

CORMAC RYAN IS ON FIRE with 19 points in 15 minutes!! 🔥🔥@NDmbb | #ACCMBB

📺: ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/7CcCXdo17s

— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) December 1, 2022

Ryan’s offense wasn’t his only impact. Defensively, Notre Dame stuck him on Michigan State guard Tyson Walker, the Spartans’ leading scorer and one of their two primary ball handlers. Ryan responded by corralling him. Walker had 7 points on 2-of-6 shooting with 1 assist and 2 turnovers in the first half. He ended with 12 points, but needed 13 shots to get there.

One of Walker’s first-half baskets was a three-pointer where Ryan wasn’t near him. The other was a layup where he beat Ryan in a ball-screen setting. The next play, though, Ryan stayed in front on several-off-the-dribble moves, walled off a drive and forced a held ball.

“He’s the voice,” Brey said. “He sets the tone. Not only does he guard their most potent guy for 40 minutes, but in the second half, he didn’t really have [offense], so he just guarded.”

2. Defense takes another step

Besides targeting some post-ups for forward Joey Hauser, Michigan State’s offensive plan wasn’t too clear in the first half. That’s a credit to Notre Dame, which seems to have plugged some early season leaks in its ball-screen defense.

The Irish weren’t likely to guard as poorly as they did in the first five games for the entire year. Reversing the bad momentum this quickly, though, feels like a surprise. It was to Izzo, who watched film of five games with frequent defensive lapses against mid-major teams.

“They were way better defensively,” Izzo said. “If I were Mike, I’d be mad about those first five games.

“That was not at all the same team.”

Defending pick-and-rolls is a must in just about any game, and Notre Dame did that better simply by staying in front more often. But there are other keys to slowing down Michigan State, which is generally a strong offensive rebounding team and hunts transition points. Notre Dame held Michigan State to 4 fast-break points and 6 second-chance points. The Spartans didn’t grab an offensive rebound until nearly 18 minutes had passed and had only three all game.

Michigan State found something in the second half by posting up Hauser and guard AJ Hoggard, who combined for 27 points.

Post-ups might be a weakness in the Irish defense this year. But they’re not exactly the best way to dig out of an 18-point halftime deficit. That would be three-pointers, and Michigan State took only 12 of those all game. Four were from Hoggard, a career 22.1 percent three-point shooter.

3. Big for the résumé

Too early to talk NCAA Tournament implications? Notre Dame doesn’t think so. The Irish aren’t shy about sharing their postseason goals. This game looked like the best chance to add a strong non-conference win to the résumé. It became an important to help offset a neutral-court loss to St. Bonaventure, which is projected to finish in the bottom third of the Atlantic 10.

“We wanted it bad and we know how much this means for our tournament aspirations,” Ryan said. “It adds a little layer of want-to.”

St. Bonaventure felt like a game that could only hurt the résumé, even though it was one of the marquee contests on the non-league schedule. The same goes for Dec. 18 versus Georgia in Atlanta. The Bulldogs went 6-26 last year and have lost their only two games against top-100 KenPom teams this year by double-digits.

The home game versus Marquette Dec. 11, though, looks more helpful than before. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Big East, but drilled No. 6 Baylor 96-70 Tuesday night.

If there’s only one Quadrant 1 game on the non-conference slate come March, though, Wednesday is the best bet to be it.