Robert Morris men outclassed on road at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mike Brey liked what he saw at both ends of the court, and particularly in light of how young this college basketball season is.

“This is what, 20 home openers?” Brey said of his time as Notre Dame coach following Saturday’s 92-57 blowout victory over Robert Morris. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more pleased about one, given what I needed to see after last year. I saw some stuff today that I was going, man, that’s really good to see in November.”

Last season, the Fighting Irish (1-1) went 14-19, their worst record under Brey. On Saturday, he said, they were a team that was fast yet controlled on offense, a team that guarded effectively and a team that performed fearlessly.

Dane Goodwin led a balanced attack with 18 points off the bench as Notre Dame improved to 20-0 in home openers under Brey.

The Irish shot 57% from the field while holding the Colonials to 34%. Notre Dame also made 22 of 25 free throws to the visitors’ 2 of 4.

T.J. Gibbs added 15 points, Prentiss Hubb 13, Robby Carmody (Mars) 13 and John Mooney a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Williams netted 18 of his game-high 21 points for the Colonials (0-2) in the second half, finishing 6 of 16 on 3-pointers, but little else went right for the visitors.

“I thought our effort was horrendous,” RMU coach Andy Toole said. “Obviously, their guys really know how to play. They take advantage of any crack in your armor. They’ll expose your weaknesses if you’re not engaged or urgent, and they did it to us all day long.”

Already leading 39-20 at the break, the ball-sharing Irish effectively put the game away with a 16-2 spree over the first four minutes of the second half for a 55-23 advantage. All five ND starters scored during that spurt.

“I think we sent a big message today,” senior Rex Pflueger said of ND’s bounce back from Tuesday’s season-opening 76-65 loss at No. 9 North Carolina. “It was a tough game down there. We had a real shot to win, but the maturity to come to practice the next day and get after it, get after each other, and to come into today and play the way we did, I think it sends a good message.”

The Colonials, who appeared to offer little in the way of defensive resistance, will need to get accustomed to trying to solve opposing offenses on the road. Nine of their first 11 games are away from home.

But Tuesday will be one of those home games, as Robert Morris hosts Pitt in the first game at the new UPMC Events Center. RMU never has beaten the Panthers in 30 meetings, the last coming in November 2011.