Notre Dame found exactly what it needed Saturday with Scott Martin out for the foreseeable future.

Senior Tom Knight made his first career start and scored a career high 17 points as the Irish beat South Florida. Prior to the game, Knight had never even scored in double digits before.

"I actually didn't even tell my parents before the game," Knight explained Monday with a big smile. "I got a text after the game from my dad that just said, 'wow.' And I was like 'oh I'm sorry, I forget to tell you.'"

"It meant a lot to get the start and see how things pay off like that."

It was exactly what the Irish needed. They had entered the game losers of 3 of 4 games.

"He's a senior that is very confident and those guys helped him get very confident," Irish coach Mike Brey explains. "Certainly it came at a very good time for us in Tampa."

Notre Dame now hopes Knight's play will continue for the remainder of the season.

"I think it was huge for Tom," captain and point guard Eric Atkins explains. "As a team, we always saw Tom working so hard these last two years trying to get noticed and get out there. On Saturday, him having a break out game--it was surprising to us--but we are just happy for him."

The Irish host Villanova Wednesday at 6pm at Purcell Pavilion. Nova is arguably the hottest team in the country having defeated two top five teams last week.