Notre Dame vs. Wichita St: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

You will always have the Kansas game, Wichita State fans.

The Shockers received an incredible performance from junior guard Fred VanVleet, but it was nowhere near enough to counter Notre Dame's unstoppable offense in an 81-70 Fighting Irish victory in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

Notre Dame turned a one-point deficit with less than 17 minutes remaining into a double-digit victory behind red-hot shooting and a ruthlessly efficient offensive attack.

Demetrius Jackson led the way for the Fighting Irish with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point line, while Jerian Grant added nine points and 11 assists. 

Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel noted what this meant for the Fighting Irish, while CBS Sports' Gary Parrish praised Wichita State's run:

Despite the loss, VanVleet turned in a vintage performance with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. However, fellow guard Ron Baker only finished with nine points on a disappointing 2-of-10 shooting.

Wichita State looked like it was caught up in a Kansas hangover out of the gates, and Notre Dame seized a double-digit lead in the opening minutes.

Nick Ironside of 247Sports noted four early assists from Grant had a lot to do with Notre Dame's early surge, while Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated pointed out that the Fighting Irish were "carving up" Wichita State's defense.

The Shockers settled down, though, and trimmed the deficit to 33-30 by halftime.

Wichita State kept its momentum rolling after halftime, seizing a 38-37 lead just over three minutes into the second half. The Student Section acknowledged that the Fighting Irish had a problem, tweeting: "If you've watched Notre Dame regularly, esp. Saturday v Butler, U know the corner 3 is so important for that team to make. Currently missing."

Right on cue, Notre Dame drilled three three-pointers within the next minute-and-a-half to take a 48-42 lead. Two came from Jackson, who earned some praise from former sharpshooter Wally Szczerbiak:

"

Wichita State’s past four years: Four NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16s, a Final Four, a No. 1 seed and 122 total wins. Amazing stuff.

— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 27, 2015"

The Fighting Irish continued to light up the scoreboard and stretched the lead to 56-46 over the next few minutes behind a dominant offense.

VanVleet went on a small run of his own to cut the lead back to six, but Notre Dame responded with an offensive clinic that would have made the San Antonio Spurs proud. The Irish opened up a commanding 70-56 lead with less than seven minutes remaining, effectively sealing up their first Elite Eight appearance in nearly four decades.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Hamilton was certainly impressed, tweeting: "Pass out, backdoor cut, backdoor pass, sick layup — that is some fine offense from Notre Dame right there."

ESPN Stats & Info put the offensive performance into perspective: "ND is 16-of-20 from the field so far this half (80%!!)... they were 12-of-30 from the field in the 1st half (40%)."

Included in the run was this rim-rattling alley-oop:

Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated pointed out the problem for the Shockers on the defensive end: "Wichita State having all kinds of trouble guarding Notre Dame's ball screen offense. Need to fix that, quick."

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall likely wasn't surprised to see the Notre Dame offense lighting up the scoreboard given his pregame quotes, via Paul Suellentrop of The Wichita Eagle: "They've got five guys on the floor that can all score. They call all shoot it. Most of them can drive it."

One reason so many Notre Dame players can score is because of Grant's ability to set up his teammates. ESPN Stats & Info noted the particularly noteworthy performance he turned in Thursday:

David Richard/Associated Press

The game was never in doubt in the final five minutes, but Grant put the exclamation mark on the entire evening with a silky-smooth step-back jumper with less than 90 seconds remaining. It put the Fighting Irish up 14 points and put the Wichita State defense on skates.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman raised an interesting question as the game reached its inevitable conclusion:

If that was the case, it was a drama-free final minute, as Notre Dame cruised to an 81-70 victory. The Fighting Irish's dominant offense was simply too much for Wichita State to handle, and the second-half run was one of the most impressive stretches of basketball we have seen throughout this entire tournament. Marshall complimented coach Brey after the game, via Mike Monaco: 

What's Next?

Next up for Notre Dame is an Elite Eight showdown for the right to go to the Final Four against the winner of the Kentucky vs. West Virginia clash.

If the undefeated Wildcats win yet again, it will set up a thrilling showdown between Kentucky’s stifling defense and Notre Dame’s electrifying offense. It is the classic “something has to give” contest, and it would take place on one of the sport’s brightest stages.

Andy Glockner of The Cauldron tweeted that he didn't "think any of the three teams in Cleveland have a prayer against UK, but ND probably has the 'best' chance. Tempo + 3s."

Peter Bukowski of Sports Illustrated also pointed out that “Notre Dame beat Duke. It's not out of the question they can push Kentucky. Have shooters everywhere. Everyone can handle. They'll be tough.”

That is certainly something to think about, especially since Kentucky hasn’t been seriously challenged in the closing minutes of a game in this tournament. If the Fighting Irish can bring the same type of offense fans saw for much of the game Thursday, the Wildcats’ perfect record could be in jeopardy, assuming they do make it past West Virginia in the Sweet 16.