Ben Hansbrough used a 3-point barrage to fuel a 24-point performance as No. 8 Notre Dame breezed past host DePaul, 83-58, on Thursday night in Rosemont, Ill.

Hansbrough, the Irish's leading scorer, hit 5 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc to propel Notre Dame (18-4, 7-3 Big East) to its fourth consecutive victory. The victory moved the Irish to within 1 1/2 games of idle Pittsburgh atop the conference heading into a Sunday showdown with Rutgers.

The Blue Demons (6-15, 0-9) hung tough through the opening 12 minutes before the Irish pulled away. Tyrone Nash's tip-in kickstarted a 15-4 run that lasted the remainder of the half, giving Notre Dame a 13-point advantage at the break.

Hansbrough extended the lead with a 3 to open the second half, and another long-range jumper two minutes later put the Irish up by 19. Notre Dame's defense did the rest, holding DePaul without a point for an eight-minute stretch midway through the game and limiting the punchless Blue Devils to 34.5 percent shooting overall.

Scott Martin had 15 points, while Tim Abromaitis added 11 and Nash chipped in with 10 as Notre Dame shot 50.9 percent.

Brandon Young (16 points) and Moses Morgan (10) were the only DePaul players to reach double figures. The Blue Demons managed 17 offensive rebounds but had 18 turnovers.