Notre Dame aims for improvement against visiting Buffalo

Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry got a good look at his promising backcourt in the season opener, liked what he saw but still felt there was some room for improvement.

After the duo of Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry led the way in a 29-point win over Stonehill, the second-year coach will be curious to see what the follow up performance looks like Monday night against visiting Buffalo in South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame (1-0) followed its strong finish to the first half with a stellar second half in Wednesday's 89-60 win over the Skyhawks. The Fighting Irish began putting the game away with a 10-2 run to end the first half and never let up in the second half, leading by at least 20 throughout the final 16 minutes.

"I'm sitting in the locker room by myself thinking, 'Man, we've got to be better.' I didn't think we played well," Micah Shrewsberry said. "And then someone hands me a box score and they scored 60.

"It's a start. You don't want to be perfect on night one. Do not peak on Nov. 6. We have a lot of work to do."

The work began with Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry each finishing with 18 points, while Princeton transfer Matt Allocco chipped in 10 points.

Buffalo (2-0) was picked to finish last in the preseason poll in the 12-team Mid-American Conference after going 4-27 in coach George Halcovage's first season. The Bulls are coming off a pair of high-scoring wins over Old Dominion and Fredonia State.

After Tyson Dunn hit the go-ahead 3-pointer to beat Old Dominion last Monday, he posted the fourth triple-double in school history with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists on Friday. Dunn's big game complemented strong showings by Anquan Boldin Jr. (22 points) and Ryan Sabol (28 points).

"We needed them tonight," Halcovage said. "We needed their experience in big games and moments."

--Field Level Media