Seconds after drawing an offensive foul two-thirds of the way through the first half Monday, Matt Carroll hopped to his feet, clapped his hands and yelled, "C'mon, let's go" so loud veins started bulging at his neck.

The Irish listened.

Trailing IUPUI 18-17 when Carroll drew the foul, the Irish reeled off a 15-5 spurt to pull ahead of the Jaguars for good and cruised to an 89-45 victory.

Carroll, who struggled to find the basket in Notre Dame's two exhibition games and Sunday against Belmont, finished with a game-high 26 points and earned MVP honors for the Notre Dame regional of the Guardians Classic.

"Being a shooter, you have to be confident," he said. "Some nights you're going to be off, but you just have to hang in there and you'll get that good game."

Notre Dame beat IUPUI the same way they beat Belmont Sunday – with tough defense and sudden offensive explosions. The Irish limited the Jaguars to just 17 second-half points, the second straight night the Irish held their opponent under 50.

For the second straight night, the Irish offense struggled to find the basket early. In fact, IUPUI led most of the first half thanks to a stingy defense that kept Notre Dame's perimeter game in check and with a physical offense that resembled a Big East style of play.

Carroll jump-started a stagnant Irish offense with five quick points right before the momentum-shifting charging call. Nowhere was the explosion of Irish offense more apparent when Torin Francis made a basket, got fouled, missed the free throw and watched a Jaguar accidentally tip the ball in, putting the Irish up 24-20.

"The ref said to me, `Why does it take you guys 15 minutes to start playing?'" Chris Thomas said after the game. "Maybe that's a good thing, maybe that's a bad thing. Hopefully we can play like that over 40 minutes."

In the second half, the Irish looked anything but a team that struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. The Irish scored 14 points on fast breaks, and wowed the crowd with a series of flashy passes.

The exclamation point came with a SportsCenter-worthy highlight with 8:40 left in the game. Carroll led a fast break down the court and sent a behind-the-back pass to Dan Miller, who emphatically slammed a dunk home and drew a foul.

After the game, Brey called the play "Showtime," Miller said he wished it was nationally televised and Carroll just grinned and hummed the SportsCenter theme.

That was just one of several fancy passes the Irish made all night. Led by Thomas' 11 assists, the Irish finished with 25 assists compared to 11 turnovers.

While Notre Dame's offense impressed the 10,255 fans at the Joyce Center, their defense impressed their coach. The Irish frustrated IUPUI shooters all night, and would have set a team record for blocks in a game with 13 had they not broken the same record Sunday night.

"It's the first time since I've been here where we really have a defensive identity," Irish coach Mike Brey said. "… Last year, we were a little bit of the smoke and mirrors because we couldn't stay with you for 40 minutes. I think this team is enjoying guarding … and now I think we have some pride in that, and that's good to see especially in November."

Once again, Jordan Cornette continued his spectacular defensive play. Fresh off rejecting a record-setting 11 shots Sunday, Cornette finished with eight blocks against the Jaguars.

But Cornette wasn't the only player anchoring the Irish up front. After failing to record a double-double during his three years at Maryland, Miller now has two in two games with the Irish after finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Torin Francis also had a big night. After struggling in his college debut Sunday, Francis responded with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"I was so pissed Sunday after the first half, I know I stepped it up the second half, but still," Francis said. "The whole team came out fired up and ready to play before tip-off tonight, and that's what we needed to do."

With the win Monday, the Irish improved to 2-0 on the season and advanced to the championship round of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 25 and 26.

Notes:

u Monday's game was a family reunion for Jere Macura, who squared off against his brother Petar, a freshman at IUPUI.

Petar only took one shot, a long 3-pointer that sailed wide of the basket, and his brother made sure to kid him about the miss after the game.

"It's the first time I've seen him in three months," said Macura, whose mother traveled from Croatia to watch her sons play.

u Irish center Tom Timmermans dressed but did not play for Monday's game, the second straight game he missed.

But Brey said Timmermans, held out with back spasms, could have played if he was absolutely needed, and the coach expected Timmermans to be ready to play Friday.

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