Notre Dame races by Wichita State for Elite Eight spot

CLEVELAND – Momentum sagging and Wichita State surging, Mike Brey called time out and offered his Notre Dame players a reminder.

There was no screaming. No frantic scribbling of X’s-and-O’s. That’s not Brey’s style. Or his team’s either.

“I said ‘Fellas, been here before,’ “ Brey said. “Little did I know it was going to be a lightning strike, a flat-out lightning strike.”

One that carried the Irish all the way to the brink of the Final Four.

Demetrius Jackson scored 20 points and third-seeded Notre Dame blitzed the Shockers in the second half of a surprisingly easy 81-70 victory Thursday night in the Midwest Regional semifinal to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years.

The Irish (32-5) shot 75 percent (18 of 24) over the final 20 minutes, overwhelming the seventh-seeded Shockers (30-5) with a barrage of 3-pointers, expert cuts to the basket and enough fancy passing to fill an And-One mixtape.

The 38-18 burst that turned a tight game into something else entirely came after Wichita State took its first and only lead on a layup by Darius Carter with 16:37 to go.

Jackson drilled a 3-pointer on Notre Dame’s next trip down then added another one moments later.

After that, the Irish were gone. The lead ballooned to as many as 19 points before the Shockers settled themselves. By then, it was far too late.

“I’ve never seen a one-point lead get out of hand so quickly,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “It did tonight because of their fire power.”

Pat Connaughton added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame and Jerian Grant had nine points and 11 assists as the Irish won their eighth straight.

Notre Dame will play unbeaten Kentucky on Saturday night with a Final Four spot on the line.

Fred VanVleet led Wichita State with 25 points and Carter had 22 points but the Shockers simply couldn’t keep up with the sharp-shooting Irish.