Notre Dame punches first, punches Sweet 16 ticket in NCAA Tournament blowout of Michigan

If you thought Notre Dame’s 11-2 run to start Sunday’s second round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan was good, the Fighting Irish had something even better in store for the finish to the frame.

How about closing with a 15-2 spurt?

The No. 6 seed Wolverines got going a bit in between, but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the runaway freight train No. 3 seed Notre Dame has become in the time between its abrupt exit from the ACC Tournament and the commencement of the NCAA Tournament.

The Irish once again look like one of the best teams in the country, as they did in a 52-point first-round triumph over No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin, and they’ll have a chance to prove they’re just that in the Sweet 16 by way of a 76-55 victory over Michigan.

“I’m so proud of this group,” head coach Niele Ivey said. “Just an incredible performance for the whole team. The whole weekend was just outstanding. Excited to survive and advance and excited to keep dancing and get to the next round.”

All weekend, all anyone seemed to want to talk about was the status of senior guard Olivia Miles. Rightfully so; if she wasn’t able to play against Michigan, not only would the Irish’s chances of beating their rival have suffered but the overall morale of the scene at Purcell Pavilion would have been different too. She threw on an ankle brace and a seemingly studier pair of of sneakers than usual, though, and gutted it out.

No sour vibes to be had.

“Liv, she did exactly what she’s supposed to do,” Ivey said. “Thank God she had the opportunity to come out here. I thought she was really good. I know she’s playing through a lot of pain.”

When she was announced in the starting lineup, the sold-out crowd in South Bend roared. When she opened the scoring with a pair of free throws after a hard plant on her gimpy left foot and tough take to the basket, the patrons applauded in approval. Miles is good? Notre Dame is good. That’s the eternal optimist’s take.

Sunday, it was also the truth.

Miles didn’t have one of her best statistical games of her career — 8 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds — but she didn’t need to. Her presence was as important as anything, and three of her teammates took charge and completely outclassed the Wolverines. Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo, senior guard Sonia Citron and graduate senior forward Liatu King had twice as many points in the first quarter as Michigan’s entire teams — 24-12.

Most things on offense flowed through Hidalgo with Miles limited. She answered the call with 21 points and 3 assists. Citron has become increasingly automatic of late. She efficiently scored 16. King was an absolutely menace on the boards with 15 rebounds, and through always being around the ball on the glass she cleaned up with 18 points.

King made all 7 of her shots from the field.

“My teammates, first of all, they were able to find me,” King said. “We saw mismatches. We saw how they were defending ball screens, and they were just able to find me on the slips on the rolls and things like that.”

The formula has been set for this Notre Dame squad all season; when three of its many stars are unstoppable, the team is too. It was Hidalgo, Citron and King in the second round. Who will it be in the Sweet 16? We’ll have to wait and see in Birmingham.

If there is an outburst from any combination of Miles, Hidalgo, Citron, King and fifth starter Maddy Westbeld — who shot 1 of 9 and scored 4 points and the ND still dismantled UM — and the Irish play as well defensively as they did in limiting Michigan to 37 percent shooting and 16 turnovers, then the Irish should be just fine against anyone they face down south — even if it is No. 2 seed TCU, who beat Notre Dame in November.

The version of Notre Dame that held serve at home in the opening weekend of the tournament will play against anyone. That wasn’t the case two weeks ago after three losses in five games. It is now.

“It doesn’t matter what everybody else or the media is saying about what we are going to do in the tournament because we know what goes on in the locker room and we know what goes on in practice,” Hidalgo said.