INDIANAPOLIS — When talking about the University of Notre Dame before the game, both IU head coach Archie Miller and freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis acknowledged how crucial rebounding was going to be for the team to have success.
It involved keeping senior forward John Mooney, one of the top rebounders in the country, off the glass and finding success rebounding themselves. Mooney had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but IU was still able to do what it wanted to do coming in.
The Hoosiers outrebounded the Fighting Irish by 10 as junior center Joey Brunk pulled down 14 rebounds himself. The combination of his effort on the glass with clutch shot making by freshman guard Armaan Franklin helped IU defeat Notre Dame 62-60 in the Crossroads Classic.
Brunk did a majority of his damage in the first half with eight points and 11 rebounds. His long arms gave him an advantage over the Notre Dame defenders as he kept multiple IU possessions alive. Notre Dame played a majority zone defense, which gave Brunk more room to crash the boards and operate out of the post.
"Joey was terrific on the glass all game, especially in the first half and second half — he gave us second-chance opportunities,” Miller said. "We've said it all along how this team has to be successful, obviously drawing fouls and being able to win the battle on the glass.”
Outside of Brunk, the next leading rebounder for IU was Jackson-Davis with seven. Jackson-Davis has five double-doubles on the season and his rebounding numbers were below his season average, but his ability to make plays in the paint for IU was crucial late in the game.
As IU trailed by two points with 1:05 remaining Franklin inbounded the ball as Jackson-Davis made a hard cut to the basket and caught the ball for an alley-oop dunk.
Forty-five seconds after the dunk, Franklin hit a corner 3-pointer to give IU the 2-point lead. On the next offensive possession for Notre Dame, Jackson-Davis met Mooney in the air for the block and forced a jump-ball with three seconds left.
The combination of Brunk and Jackson-Davis proved to be too much for Notre Dame to handle in the paint at the end of the day.
"Notre Dame has got a great group of guys inside," Brunk said. "I wanted to be competitive and bring energy to our team, and I knew that was something I could control from the get-go. I wanted to crash as often as I could."
Last season, Brunk was on the other end with Butler as then-freshman guard Rob Phinisee hit the game-winner in the Crossroads Classic. It’s been 371 days since that shot, and Brunk, along with two other freshmen, helped IU get another victory within Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“For a while there we looked like a good team,” Miller said. “For a while there we didn't. But I think when you're in this type of environment on that neutral setting against a good team with the crowd, you're starting to see game experience and real stuff. We're fortunate to win. We'll take it, and we'll take this break right here.”
