Duke lost again. Blue Devils fell to 18-7, 5-6 in the ACC. The win helps Maryland a lot, who had fallen off the bubble with a poor conference record. If the Terps win the rest of their games against unranked opponents, they will still have to beat either UNC or Duke again to be over .500 in ACC play.
Big East Ballot-
1. Pittsburgh
2. Georgetown
3. Marquette
4. West Virginia
5. Louisville
6. Villanova
7. ND
8. Syracuse
9. Providence
10. DePaul
11. St John's
12. Connecticut
13. Seton Hall
14. South Florida
15. Rutgers
16. Cincinnati
Player of the Week- Demetris Nichols- Syracuse
Freshman of the Week- Derrick Caracter- Louisville
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2 comments:
Here's some numbers on the Irish season to date.
Losses:
11/13 Butler L 71-69 (23-3)
01/06 at G'town L 66-48 (18-5)
01/17 at Villanova L 102-87 (17-7)
01/23 at St John's L 71-68 (14-11)
02/03 at S Florida L 69-63 (12-13)
02/08 at DePaul L 67-66 (14-11)
Combined records: 98-50 (0.662)
Interesting that as the seaosn wore on, the losses were to--by record--weaker teams. Possibly an effect of losing K-Mac? Who knows.
Remaining games:
02/15 Providence 7:00 PM (15-8)
02/18 at Cincy 2:00 PM (10-14)
02/20 DePaul 7:00 PM (14-11)
02/24 #12 Marquette *3:30 PM (21-5)
03/03 at Rutgers 4:00 PM (10-15)
Combined records: 70-53 (0.569)
ND has their two strongest remaining opponents (PU, MU) at home, where they have played well. DePaul shapes up as a grudge match, and the Bearcats, while traditionally strong, are quite beatable.
Bottomline: ND goes 5-1 and they're in the NCAA. But even 4-2 or worse, depending on the timing of those losses, could spell NIT.
Very interesting numbers.
Certainly I would think that losing Kyle has played a part in some of the losses, but keep in mind that all five of the Big East defeats came after the suspension.
In regards to the remaining games, Notre Dame will be expected by the committee to win four out of five. The Irish seem to be a much better team on paper against the away opponents, and play DePaul and Providence (two possible upset teams) at home. Marquette is a freebie, a loss doesn't hurt but a win could help a lot.
Winning four out of five does two things: 1. gets the Irish to 10-6 and possibly an NCAA lock, 2. shows that the Irish finished the season strong. In previous bubble years, ND has tripped up down the stretch and failed to put up enough wins for an at-large bid. This year's team must make sure that doesn't happen.
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