Paolo Banchero shines to lead Duke men's basketball over Notre Dame

By Jake C. Piazza | @jake_piazzaJanuary 31, 2022 | 8:50pm EST

SOUTH BEND, IND.—The underdog story doesn’t always come true. The Notre Dame faithful filled Purcell Pavilion for the 7 p.m. Monday night tipoff and even before the game began, the hooting and hollering echoed throughout the arena. But despite the Fighting Irish having won 10 of their last 11 and skyrocketing up the ACC pecking order, Duke won 57-43 to hold Notre Dame to the lowest point total of any opponent the Blue Devils have played this year. "We played really good defense. And to me that was the story of the game and with a one-day preparation—[Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey's] team can be an offensive juggernaut," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They've been playing so well and they're old and together. Tonight we were able to defend them."