Well I'm stunned.
The second half went much along the lines I expected the whole game. West Virginia's athleticism was too much against our man-to-man, racking up easy buckets on drives. The 2-3 zone was a good idea, but it opened up rebounding lanes for lots of Mountaineer second chances. Catch-22. The physical and tenacious West Virginia defense forced Notre Dame turnovers in bunches, as well. At the end of the day, the Irish gave up a 20 point lead and needed lucky bounce at the buzzer to hang out. But hang on they did, against the #8 team in the country.
That last possession was surprisingly handled very well. With just a two point lead and West Virginia ball, it was easy to give up all hope. However, Tim Abromaitis made a very heady foul (we had one to give and it killed a little time while disrupting the Mountaineer attack) and Tory Jackson's last second defense was spot-on. Hats off to the team and coaches for not folding on the final defensive chance as I know most of you expected them to (as I did).
The first half was all Irish. Every thing the team put up went through the basket, while the Mountaineers forgot to take the celophane off of the top of their hoop. Surprisingly good Irish D, 75% shooting. 20 point lead at the break. Great to see Joey Brooks getting significant playing time and contributing. I honestly expected the rotation to shrink to just six deep tonight.
Pure Huggins ball in the second period, which I have to admit I admire. They are athletic and tenacious and physical (even a bit thuggish at times) but are never outhustled. Sometimes you really wish Notre Dame would play with that kind of effort. Plenty of energy being expended on both ends of the floor, with high-intensity D leading to transition buckets and everyone crashing the rim on the offensive glass. The Irish were simply outclassed and went over ten straight minutes without a field goal.
West Virginia attempted twenty-nine more shots tonight. Credit the Irish D for holding them to 37.5% shooting. The Mountaineers would have been blown out of this game if it wasn't for their 18 offensive rebounds, but we knew going in how much of a factor that would play. While it's easy to get upset about how Notre Dame failed to box out, essentially shooting itself in the foot all second half, give some credit to West Virginia. They're damn good on the glass.
Tory Jackson struggled in the second half with 3 second half turnovers and had a lot of trouble putting the ball in the basket (1-7). However, he did dish out 7 assists and was pretty clutch from the line (3-4). His defense on that last possession was excellent, but Butler still almost pulled off a miracle.
Ben Hansbrough flirted with a triple-double. Had he not missed his last three free throw attempts, he would have finished just a basket and a rebound away from becoming just the second Irish player to achieve the feat. 10 assists, zero turnovers. If you follow the comments on this blog's posts, you know that there was a little discussion on how Ben and Tory have played together this season earlier today. I definitely think Hansbrough has had a bit of a negative effect on Tory's offensive performance this year and they make for an awkward pairing, but if he continues to fill the stat sheet like this he deserves some credit.
Tim Abromaitis was fantastic. 17 points, 8 rebounds, the best free throw stroke on the team. Once again, I really liked his last foul to break up West Virginia's final possession. If Coach Brey instructed him to use that, hats off for a surprisingly good defensive coaching tip.
Ty Nash had 13 and 6. Not too bad. He racked up four fouls and still has the ugliest foul shot I've ever seen, but was a perfect 5-5 from the field. He and Harangody needed to have better nights on the glass.
Harangody went through his rough patches with bad shot selection during ND's ten minute dry spell, but finished with a great line from the field. I can live with him just attempting 15 shots a game. That means we're counting on other guys for points and he's not playing out of his element. 30+ points don't mean a thing when you're losing to top-ten teams (see UCONN). 24 points tonight suits me just fine when it comes with a win. Should have picked up more than 5 assists. When your team is getting pounded on the offensive glass, your All-American needs to focus on making a difference on that end as well.
Off the bench, Brooks was great in his 9 minutes. He scored 5 points and impressed Coach Brey enough that the post-game interview sounded like we'll see him a bit more. Better late than never. Nothing from Peoples, except a very pretty steal which he promptly turned into an offensive foul. We'll see if Scott is back over the next several days. A week without games will need some news to fill it.
This is our best win in quite a long time. Enjoy it a bit. This just might make up for Loyola Marymount. Nice job, boys.
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Saturday, January 09, 2010
West Virginia at the Half
45-25.
Notre Dame with the 45. Safe to say no one predicted this. The Irish have used tremendous ball movement (almost equaling their season average for assists in the first half) to put together 20 minutes of the best basketball we have seen from a Notre Dame team in a very long time.
Don't hold your breath just yet, there's still plenty of basketball to be played, but color me impressed.
Notre Dame with the 45. Safe to say no one predicted this. The Irish have used tremendous ball movement (almost equaling their season average for assists in the first half) to put together 20 minutes of the best basketball we have seen from a Notre Dame team in a very long time.
Don't hold your breath just yet, there's still plenty of basketball to be played, but color me impressed.
Friday, January 08, 2010
West Virginia Preview
Another top ten opponent for the Irish, this time at home. They'll need to extend the effort put forth against Connecticut for a full forty minutes tomorrow.
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 8th
Record- 12-1 (3-0)
Best Win- Marquette (ranked 25th)
Worst Loss- Purdue (ranked 6th)- Much to my chagrin, the Paint Crew is looking very, very good this year.
Pomeroy Prediction- West Virginia 80-72
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 16.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 35.8% 3PA- Has always been a very talented wing who can both score and rebound, but has become a bit less selfish in his senior season, averaging 3.5 assists per contest. Even though he is taking two fewer shots per game than last season, his scoring average has remained high due to a field goal percentage that is almost six points higher than a year ago.
#5 Kevin Jones- 15.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 45.7% 3PA- This sophomore big could teach Harangody a thing or two about shooting the three. He's made one more three pointer in fifteen fewer attempts this year. Also has been great at scoring close to the hoop, with a 65% clip inside the arc. Just under half of his rebounds this year have come on offense and you can bet that many of those buckets were second-chance points.
#3 Devin Ebanks- 13.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG- Like Butler, he has had some success finding open scorers (3.1 APG). Missed significant playing time earlier in the year for unexplained personal reasons. Though most of the Mountaineers struggle with free throws, Ebanks is not the guy you want to foul. He's at 82% for the season. Da'Sean Butler is second on the team, just slightly under 80% himself.
Scouting Report-
Just like last year, they attack the offensive glass with tenacity. They don't shoot an overly impressive percentage from the field but have built a top five offense out of second-chance points.
Play pretty good, physical defense. A few blocks and forced turnovers here and there combined with contested shots have them giving up less than 0.9 points per possession.
Can go nine or ten deep, which is important for a physical Huggins team.
EDIT: In othe news, good luck to Chris Quinn as he hopes to revive his career in New Jersey. He had found some success for a few years in Miami but had gotten buried on the Heat depth chart this year. He still remains one of the more surprising Notre Dame professional stories and one of my alltime favorite Irish players.
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 8th
Record- 12-1 (3-0)
Best Win- Marquette (ranked 25th)
Worst Loss- Purdue (ranked 6th)- Much to my chagrin, the Paint Crew is looking very, very good this year.
Pomeroy Prediction- West Virginia 80-72
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 16.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 35.8% 3PA- Has always been a very talented wing who can both score and rebound, but has become a bit less selfish in his senior season, averaging 3.5 assists per contest. Even though he is taking two fewer shots per game than last season, his scoring average has remained high due to a field goal percentage that is almost six points higher than a year ago.
#5 Kevin Jones- 15.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 45.7% 3PA- This sophomore big could teach Harangody a thing or two about shooting the three. He's made one more three pointer in fifteen fewer attempts this year. Also has been great at scoring close to the hoop, with a 65% clip inside the arc. Just under half of his rebounds this year have come on offense and you can bet that many of those buckets were second-chance points.
#3 Devin Ebanks- 13.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG- Like Butler, he has had some success finding open scorers (3.1 APG). Missed significant playing time earlier in the year for unexplained personal reasons. Though most of the Mountaineers struggle with free throws, Ebanks is not the guy you want to foul. He's at 82% for the season. Da'Sean Butler is second on the team, just slightly under 80% himself.
Scouting Report-
Just like last year, they attack the offensive glass with tenacity. They don't shoot an overly impressive percentage from the field but have built a top five offense out of second-chance points.
Play pretty good, physical defense. A few blocks and forced turnovers here and there combined with contested shots have them giving up less than 0.9 points per possession.
Can go nine or ten deep, which is important for a physical Huggins team.
EDIT: In othe news, good luck to Chris Quinn as he hopes to revive his career in New Jersey. He had found some success for a few years in Miami but had gotten buried on the Heat depth chart this year. He still remains one of the more surprising Notre Dame professional stories and one of my alltime favorite Irish players.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
West Virginia 71, Notre Dame 62
First eight minutes of tonight's game: 17-2 West Virginia. The Irish came out in a zone defense and kept with it for most of this stretch. 4 offensive rebounds led to 6 second chance points for the Mountaineers. Game over before it even really begins.
Of course, scoring just two points in twelve early possessions does not exactly bode well for your squad. The Irish were tentative on both sides of the floor, failed to set screens, and just plain outworked under the basket. Poor coaching and motivation to start the game and an embarrassing lack of effort from the players for most of the first half just killed us. If you can't get up for a game like this, you have no business playing Division I Basketball.
In the second half, we played much better, but it begs the question why we could not have shown the same effort in the first 20 minutes. Coach Brey's technical with 11 minutes remaining was a welcome show of fire that really turned the calls in our direction. However, it would have been more valuable four minutes earlier down 12 instead of in an 18 point hole.
Tenacious man defense really turned the momentum in our favor and we turned a 20 point deficit into just 7 with three minutes remaining. Luke Harangody was his old self, going off for 27 points and carrying the team down the stretch. Our mentality completely changed with the switch to man and we started banging around in the post as well.
Overall, a very disappointing loss. The final score was not terrible, but it stings a little extra to see the quality of basketball we should have shown all game and in every game this year.
I've been supporter of Mike Brey for a very long time, but clearly we have not performed at an acceptable level this year. Jack Swarbrick should make it known that big changes need to be made (a la Charlie Weis after the football season) and improvement is expected. If we're floundering around in the NIT next season, let's take a look elsewhere. However, for as much as some may want a change (I'm starting to lean in that direction, but not there yet) it's not going to happen this year.
To the NIT it is. There's only one acceptable outcome now: win it all. No more losses the rest of the year.
6 points for Toy Jackson before fouling out. He needs to stop thinking of himself as a shooter and taking ill-advised threes on offense. Also needs to grow out of a tendency to dribble to the baseline in an attempt to create offense. More often that not it just turns into a trap.
K-Mac shot well in what might be his last trip to the Garden. 17 points on 4-9 from beyond the arc. Yet again he gave us nothing (1-5) inside. However, 5 assists to just 2 turnovers handling the ball.
Ryan Ayers missed a couple good looks that could have turned the tide but still finished with a good shooting line. 11 points on 3-6 beyond the arc.
Zach Hillesland grabbed 5 rebounds, a surprisingly solid number for how bad he looked at times. No points in 20 minutes, not a whole lot of help on offense or defense.
Harangody carried the team in the second half, but it was too little too late. 27 points, 8 rebounds. In the first half, he didn't establish himself in the post and was lazy on defense. He did pick it up a lot in the second half and his best position on defense might be that one-man zone we were playing as we made a couple second half runs.
Ty Nash was the only guy who really played physical basketball in the first half. He finished with 7 rebounds. There is no reason why Zach Hillesland should start over this guy. For a team that frequently plays soft, he's one player who likes to throw his weight around. Zeller gave nothing in 7 minutes, Peoples was just a touch better in 10 minutes.
West Virginia played really physical basketball with lots of rebounding and hustle on defense. They're better than any team we will see in the NIT, but you can be a couple squads will be just as tough. We need to play like we did in the second half to make an NIT run. A first or second round exit in the nation's tournament for losers would be one final kick in the stomach.
Of course, scoring just two points in twelve early possessions does not exactly bode well for your squad. The Irish were tentative on both sides of the floor, failed to set screens, and just plain outworked under the basket. Poor coaching and motivation to start the game and an embarrassing lack of effort from the players for most of the first half just killed us. If you can't get up for a game like this, you have no business playing Division I Basketball.
In the second half, we played much better, but it begs the question why we could not have shown the same effort in the first 20 minutes. Coach Brey's technical with 11 minutes remaining was a welcome show of fire that really turned the calls in our direction. However, it would have been more valuable four minutes earlier down 12 instead of in an 18 point hole.
Tenacious man defense really turned the momentum in our favor and we turned a 20 point deficit into just 7 with three minutes remaining. Luke Harangody was his old self, going off for 27 points and carrying the team down the stretch. Our mentality completely changed with the switch to man and we started banging around in the post as well.
Overall, a very disappointing loss. The final score was not terrible, but it stings a little extra to see the quality of basketball we should have shown all game and in every game this year.
I've been supporter of Mike Brey for a very long time, but clearly we have not performed at an acceptable level this year. Jack Swarbrick should make it known that big changes need to be made (a la Charlie Weis after the football season) and improvement is expected. If we're floundering around in the NIT next season, let's take a look elsewhere. However, for as much as some may want a change (I'm starting to lean in that direction, but not there yet) it's not going to happen this year.
To the NIT it is. There's only one acceptable outcome now: win it all. No more losses the rest of the year.
6 points for Toy Jackson before fouling out. He needs to stop thinking of himself as a shooter and taking ill-advised threes on offense. Also needs to grow out of a tendency to dribble to the baseline in an attempt to create offense. More often that not it just turns into a trap.
K-Mac shot well in what might be his last trip to the Garden. 17 points on 4-9 from beyond the arc. Yet again he gave us nothing (1-5) inside. However, 5 assists to just 2 turnovers handling the ball.
Ryan Ayers missed a couple good looks that could have turned the tide but still finished with a good shooting line. 11 points on 3-6 beyond the arc.
Zach Hillesland grabbed 5 rebounds, a surprisingly solid number for how bad he looked at times. No points in 20 minutes, not a whole lot of help on offense or defense.
Harangody carried the team in the second half, but it was too little too late. 27 points, 8 rebounds. In the first half, he didn't establish himself in the post and was lazy on defense. He did pick it up a lot in the second half and his best position on defense might be that one-man zone we were playing as we made a couple second half runs.
Ty Nash was the only guy who really played physical basketball in the first half. He finished with 7 rebounds. There is no reason why Zach Hillesland should start over this guy. For a team that frequently plays soft, he's one player who likes to throw his weight around. Zeller gave nothing in 7 minutes, Peoples was just a touch better in 10 minutes.
West Virginia played really physical basketball with lots of rebounding and hustle on defense. They're better than any team we will see in the NIT, but you can be a couple squads will be just as tough. We need to play like we did in the second half to make an NIT run. A first or second round exit in the nation's tournament for losers would be one final kick in the stomach.
West Virginia BET In-Game
Go Irish. Beat Mountaineers.
EDIT: WHY ARE WE PLAYING ZONE? Ruoff just hit a wide-open three pointer and the defense has done nothing to stop scoring inside. Offensive rebounding, the reason we lost last time, is much much easier against the zone than man defense. Dumb coaching.
This is starting to look like a fitting end to a pathetic season. Coach, please stop clapping and encouraging your team for this embarrasing performance. Get in someone's face and make them realize that lazy defense and free passes on the boards are unacceptable.
On the offensive end, this is the Washington State game from last year. Bad shot selection, no good cuts on offense, I've never been more embarrassed to watch a Notre Dame team.
EDIT: WHY ARE WE PLAYING ZONE? Ruoff just hit a wide-open three pointer and the defense has done nothing to stop scoring inside. Offensive rebounding, the reason we lost last time, is much much easier against the zone than man defense. Dumb coaching.
This is starting to look like a fitting end to a pathetic season. Coach, please stop clapping and encouraging your team for this embarrasing performance. Get in someone's face and make them realize that lazy defense and free passes on the boards are unacceptable.
On the offensive end, this is the Washington State game from last year. Bad shot selection, no good cuts on offense, I've never been more embarrassed to watch a Notre Dame team.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
West Virginia BET Preview
Cleveland State just took a shot at the dreams of bubble teams everywhere by beating Butler. Whatever, we still need to keep winning.
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 9th
Record- 21-10 (10-8)
Quality Wins- @ Ohio State, @ Georgetown, Villanova
Bad Losses- None
Previous Meeting- WVU 79-68
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 6'7", 225 lbs.- 17.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 35.5% 3PA
#22 Alex Ruoff- 6'6", 220 lbs.- 15.7 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 37.6% 3PA
#3 Devin Ebanks- 6'9", 205 lbs.- 9.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG
Previous Matchup-
West Virginia controlled the offensive glass, with 15 to our 5.
Alex Ruoff scored 24 with 9-16 (4-8) shooting.
19 points for Butler, but only 2-10 beyond the arc.
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 9th
Record- 21-10 (10-8)
Quality Wins- @ Ohio State, @ Georgetown, Villanova
Bad Losses- None
Previous Meeting- WVU 79-68
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 6'7", 225 lbs.- 17.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 35.5% 3PA
#22 Alex Ruoff- 6'6", 220 lbs.- 15.7 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 37.6% 3PA
#3 Devin Ebanks- 6'9", 205 lbs.- 9.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG
Previous Matchup-
West Virginia controlled the offensive glass, with 15 to our 5.
Alex Ruoff scored 24 with 9-16 (4-8) shooting.
19 points for Butler, but only 2-10 beyond the arc.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
West Virginia 79, Notre Dame 68
Sometimes it's easy to break down a game. We played decent defense, average offense, and got killed on the boards. If we shot better free throws (10-20) and had some heart under the basket, this could have been a good win. We didn't and now Saturday is do or die.
Allowing an opponent to shoot 44% from the field is not too bad, especially for a Notre Dame team. If the Irish had kept West Virginia to one shot per possession, it would have been a very good outing. Instead, the Mountaineers grabbed 44 rebounds (17 on offense) to 32 for the Irish. 17 second chances. 17 possessions that should have ended with no points for Bob Huggins' team.
There's a reason Huggins never loses when his team shoots better than their opponents from the field. You know a Bob Huggins team will always outwork the competition on the glass and play tough. They did just that tonight.
Tory Jackson had a really rough game. 6 points, but no assists or rebounds. He's usually the kind of guy to help out on the glass. That could have been a good addition in this game. No assists from a point guard? Not acceptable no matter how many points you score.
McAlarney missed a few open looks, finishing with 12 points on 2-8 from beyond the arc. He really was a defensive liability, however, letting Alex Ruoff get free for several of his 24 points. His lack of quickness will be a problem at the next level, where you have to create your own shots and match-up some of the most athletic guys on the planet.
Ryan Ayers scored 8 points with 4 assists. Zach Hillesland scored 2 points and grabbed 6 rebounds 27 foul shortened minutes. We're not going to win with only two players scoring in double figures. Ayers was a big factor against Louisville and we really could have used that tonight. 6 rebounds is a good night for Zach, but it is never acceptable to have three guys on the other team (two with fewer minutes) outrebound your power forward.
Luke Harangody picked up from a tough first half to carry the team in the second period. 26 points, 13 rebounds. Missed more free throws than usual, but was a good performer in a hostile environment. Just like during the losing streak, Luke did his best.
Why only 9 minutes for Ty Nash? The tough sophomore grabbed 4 boards in limited minutes. In a game where rebounding was the difference between winning and losing, how can Ryan Ayers play 35 minutes? Move Hillesland to the 3 and let Nash bang down low. Jonathan Peoples scored eight points early on, but was not a factor for the final three-fourths of the game. Zeller and Scott with only token minutes.
We knew going in that this would be a long shot and it is not the end of the world. Frustrating? Absolutely. A win tonight would have been huge and it was there for the taking.
Now Providence is must win. They lost by 18 at Louisville tonight. 4-1 the rest of the way to feel confident on Selection Sunday.
Allowing an opponent to shoot 44% from the field is not too bad, especially for a Notre Dame team. If the Irish had kept West Virginia to one shot per possession, it would have been a very good outing. Instead, the Mountaineers grabbed 44 rebounds (17 on offense) to 32 for the Irish. 17 second chances. 17 possessions that should have ended with no points for Bob Huggins' team.
There's a reason Huggins never loses when his team shoots better than their opponents from the field. You know a Bob Huggins team will always outwork the competition on the glass and play tough. They did just that tonight.
Tory Jackson had a really rough game. 6 points, but no assists or rebounds. He's usually the kind of guy to help out on the glass. That could have been a good addition in this game. No assists from a point guard? Not acceptable no matter how many points you score.
McAlarney missed a few open looks, finishing with 12 points on 2-8 from beyond the arc. He really was a defensive liability, however, letting Alex Ruoff get free for several of his 24 points. His lack of quickness will be a problem at the next level, where you have to create your own shots and match-up some of the most athletic guys on the planet.
Ryan Ayers scored 8 points with 4 assists. Zach Hillesland scored 2 points and grabbed 6 rebounds 27 foul shortened minutes. We're not going to win with only two players scoring in double figures. Ayers was a big factor against Louisville and we really could have used that tonight. 6 rebounds is a good night for Zach, but it is never acceptable to have three guys on the other team (two with fewer minutes) outrebound your power forward.
Luke Harangody picked up from a tough first half to carry the team in the second period. 26 points, 13 rebounds. Missed more free throws than usual, but was a good performer in a hostile environment. Just like during the losing streak, Luke did his best.
Why only 9 minutes for Ty Nash? The tough sophomore grabbed 4 boards in limited minutes. In a game where rebounding was the difference between winning and losing, how can Ryan Ayers play 35 minutes? Move Hillesland to the 3 and let Nash bang down low. Jonathan Peoples scored eight points early on, but was not a factor for the final three-fourths of the game. Zeller and Scott with only token minutes.
We knew going in that this would be a long shot and it is not the end of the world. Frustrating? Absolutely. A win tonight would have been huge and it was there for the taking.
Now Providence is must win. They lost by 18 at Louisville tonight. 4-1 the rest of the way to feel confident on Selection Sunday.
West Virginia at the Half
Someone should tell the ESPN360 commentators that basketball shots do not bend. We're going to hear "bending, bending good" another dozen or so times in the second half.
Great game on offense and most defensive possessions. If we could just rebound, this is a double digit lead. Unfortunately, second chances have allowed the Mountaineers to hang around and finally take the lead at the end of the half. Be tough and actually box a guy out!
EDIT: It's gotten worse. At least we have a bit more class than the West Virginia student section. Really, you can't think of anything better than "Luke's a faggot" and booing him when he touches the ball? Weak.
Great game on offense and most defensive possessions. If we could just rebound, this is a double digit lead. Unfortunately, second chances have allowed the Mountaineers to hang around and finally take the lead at the end of the half. Be tough and actually box a guy out!
EDIT: It's gotten worse. At least we have a bit more class than the West Virginia student section. Really, you can't think of anything better than "Luke's a faggot" and booing him when he touches the ball? Weak.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
West Virginia Preview
The Mountaineers have a great computer ranking but are 6-6 in the league. That is partly due to a top 10 schedule and the sixth best defense in the country.
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 6th
Record- 17-8 (6-6)
Quality Wins- @ Ohio State, @ Georgetown, Villanova
Bad Losses- None
Spread- WVU by 9.0
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 6'7", 225 lbs.- 18.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 40.5% 3PA
#22 Alex Ruoff- 6'6", 220 lbs.- 15.9 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.5 RPG, 36.8% 3PA
#3 Devin Ebanks- 6'9", 205 lbs.- 9.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG
Scouting Report-
They shut down three point shooters on defense, allowing only 26.6%
Create a good amount of turnovers on D, roughly one in every four possessions.
Weakness is shooting percentage on offense, 48.9% effective FG%
West Virginia-
Pomeroy Ranking- 6th
Record- 17-8 (6-6)
Quality Wins- @ Ohio State, @ Georgetown, Villanova
Bad Losses- None
Spread- WVU by 9.0
Key Players-
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 6'7", 225 lbs.- 18.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 40.5% 3PA
#22 Alex Ruoff- 6'6", 220 lbs.- 15.9 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.5 RPG, 36.8% 3PA
#3 Devin Ebanks- 6'9", 205 lbs.- 9.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG
Scouting Report-
They shut down three point shooters on defense, allowing only 26.6%
Create a good amount of turnovers on D, roughly one in every four possessions.
Weakness is shooting percentage on offense, 48.9% effective FG%
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Notre Dame 69, West Virginia 56
Yes! Luke Harangody is quickly becoming one of the best in the nation and put the Irish over the top tonight.
Even with under 10,000 in attendance for the game, there was a great sense of excitement for everyone on the team.
Coach Rod Balanis led cheers from the bench and Mike Brey nearly pulled a muscle with fist pumps on the bench throughout the contest as the Irish took control early and never let go.
Smalligan, the Mountaineers' 7 foot center, turned out to be a poor man's Kevin Pittsnogle, playing only 17 minutes and failing to be a force in the center. Joe Alexander and the other second choices for West Virginia were shut down and Notre Dame only allowed one player (Ruoff) to score double digits tonight.
Alex Ruoff dropped 18, but it was a team effort slowing him down. My predictions were completely off, as Jackson never covered Ruoff and Ryan Ayers rarely played against Alexander. Instead, just about every player on the team got a shot at #22 and played a role in keeping him from getting more than what he did. The great man defense by Ayers, Kurz, Hillesland and others on Ruoff allowed the other four guys to shut down their individual guys and keep West Virginia to only 56 points tonight.
West Virginia showed no inside game and Bamm-Bamm went off. The Mountaineers are built to hit open shots outside off of screens. The only points in the paint came off of cuts and drives from the outside. This allowed Notre Dame's sophomore forward to score inside and play shut down defense under the basket.
There was obviously more physical play, with players on both teams hitting the deck all night. Great to see our guys diving for loose balls all game and showing the intensity we may have lacked against some of the cupcakes in December.
To the individuals. Tory Jackson has the confidence of a seasoned vet. It's uncanny. The 5'10" guard who entered the contest shooting 13% from beyond the arc for the season stepped up and drilled two huge treys. Finishing 5-10 from the floor for 12 points in only 24 minutes, he was a great boost to the offense. Even with foul trouble (he finished with 4), Jackson hustled every second of the game. Great to see him get some points to go with the assists (not great in that category, only 2 with 6 turnovers). He has serious guts and I was very impressed with those big time buckets.
Kyle McAlarney was cold again, but it was nice to see us succeed without his shooting. Like Colin Falls, he will have some great nights and some ugly ones. Today was pretty ugly, but he took control of the offense in Tory's absence and went back to that point guard mentality to get the win. Only 7 points on 3-11, but 9 assists and one turnover in a bad team TO night. The savvy junior was able to completely change his outlook and do what he needed to help the team.
Ryan Ayers had another solid night all around. Hit two big threes in the beginning of the contest and finished with 8 points. 5 rebounds to go with that and defended Ruoff well down the stretch.
Rob Kurz grabbed 13 rebounds with 8 points. Did a great job cleaning up the boards to help out with...
Luke Harangody. Wow. 29 points, 16 rebounds (5 on offense), 7-8 from the line, played through a back injury and a bloody leg. He moved bodies under the hoop and was clearly the best post player. A couple times went head to head against Smalligan and did not look 4 inches shorter at all. It will be really fun to watch him against the rest of the conference's big men. Great job, Luke.
Zach Hillesland gave a good 20 minutes, the most off the bench. 5 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, all hustle. He gave the team a bit of a boost and was successful as the third big man tonight. Luke Zeller pushed some guys around in his seven minutes, the first I've seen that physical play. Peoples had a quiet 8 minutes. Really a lot of time for our starters tonight.
Lots of ugly turnovers, 20 to West Virginia's 9. Not at all how we wanted to perform handling the ball tonight. We were able to defeat the Mountaineers by making 9 more free throws, grab 13 more rebounds, and and outshoot WVU 48% to 32%. Gody's 11 for 16 sure boosted that last number. The 43 rebounds, including 11 offensive, came on the backs of Kurz and Harangody. We gave up 12 offensive boards to West Virginia, many of them early, which supplied them with too many second chances. Other than that, however, it was a complete performance from the entire squad, especially without relying on a great shooting night by Mac.
Big win. That's the way to start the conference season. Time to get back to work and put UCONN away late Saturday night and keep the streak alive!
Even with under 10,000 in attendance for the game, there was a great sense of excitement for everyone on the team.
Coach Rod Balanis led cheers from the bench and Mike Brey nearly pulled a muscle with fist pumps on the bench throughout the contest as the Irish took control early and never let go.
Smalligan, the Mountaineers' 7 foot center, turned out to be a poor man's Kevin Pittsnogle, playing only 17 minutes and failing to be a force in the center. Joe Alexander and the other second choices for West Virginia were shut down and Notre Dame only allowed one player (Ruoff) to score double digits tonight.
Alex Ruoff dropped 18, but it was a team effort slowing him down. My predictions were completely off, as Jackson never covered Ruoff and Ryan Ayers rarely played against Alexander. Instead, just about every player on the team got a shot at #22 and played a role in keeping him from getting more than what he did. The great man defense by Ayers, Kurz, Hillesland and others on Ruoff allowed the other four guys to shut down their individual guys and keep West Virginia to only 56 points tonight.
West Virginia showed no inside game and Bamm-Bamm went off. The Mountaineers are built to hit open shots outside off of screens. The only points in the paint came off of cuts and drives from the outside. This allowed Notre Dame's sophomore forward to score inside and play shut down defense under the basket.
There was obviously more physical play, with players on both teams hitting the deck all night. Great to see our guys diving for loose balls all game and showing the intensity we may have lacked against some of the cupcakes in December.
To the individuals. Tory Jackson has the confidence of a seasoned vet. It's uncanny. The 5'10" guard who entered the contest shooting 13% from beyond the arc for the season stepped up and drilled two huge treys. Finishing 5-10 from the floor for 12 points in only 24 minutes, he was a great boost to the offense. Even with foul trouble (he finished with 4), Jackson hustled every second of the game. Great to see him get some points to go with the assists (not great in that category, only 2 with 6 turnovers). He has serious guts and I was very impressed with those big time buckets.
Kyle McAlarney was cold again, but it was nice to see us succeed without his shooting. Like Colin Falls, he will have some great nights and some ugly ones. Today was pretty ugly, but he took control of the offense in Tory's absence and went back to that point guard mentality to get the win. Only 7 points on 3-11, but 9 assists and one turnover in a bad team TO night. The savvy junior was able to completely change his outlook and do what he needed to help the team.
Ryan Ayers had another solid night all around. Hit two big threes in the beginning of the contest and finished with 8 points. 5 rebounds to go with that and defended Ruoff well down the stretch.
Rob Kurz grabbed 13 rebounds with 8 points. Did a great job cleaning up the boards to help out with...
Luke Harangody. Wow. 29 points, 16 rebounds (5 on offense), 7-8 from the line, played through a back injury and a bloody leg. He moved bodies under the hoop and was clearly the best post player. A couple times went head to head against Smalligan and did not look 4 inches shorter at all. It will be really fun to watch him against the rest of the conference's big men. Great job, Luke.
Zach Hillesland gave a good 20 minutes, the most off the bench. 5 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, all hustle. He gave the team a bit of a boost and was successful as the third big man tonight. Luke Zeller pushed some guys around in his seven minutes, the first I've seen that physical play. Peoples had a quiet 8 minutes. Really a lot of time for our starters tonight.
Lots of ugly turnovers, 20 to West Virginia's 9. Not at all how we wanted to perform handling the ball tonight. We were able to defeat the Mountaineers by making 9 more free throws, grab 13 more rebounds, and and outshoot WVU 48% to 32%. Gody's 11 for 16 sure boosted that last number. The 43 rebounds, including 11 offensive, came on the backs of Kurz and Harangody. We gave up 12 offensive boards to West Virginia, many of them early, which supplied them with too many second chances. Other than that, however, it was a complete performance from the entire squad, especially without relying on a great shooting night by Mac.
Big win. That's the way to start the conference season. Time to get back to work and put UCONN away late Saturday night and keep the streak alive!
West Virginia Preview
Alright. It's Big East time again. West Virginia tonight starts a grueling 18 game schedule and what will hopefully be a run towards a second straight NCAA tournament bid.
The Mountaineers are 9-2. Coached by education-optional Bob Huggins, West Virginia boasts a top-40 RPI against a solid nonconference schedule. The remark about Huggins' track record aside, this team is very competitive and display an interesting mix of John Beilein's great shooting recruits with the hard-nosed work ethic that Huggins has brought with him everywhere. Certainly a team to be respected.
As an aside, what is it with Michigan stealing West Virginia's coaches? First Beilein, now Rich Rodriguez... though the football team had little trouble without him last night (against Oklahoma, the school that the basketball team lost to in their last contest).
According to the stats run by Ken Pomeroy, WVU has the most efficient offense in the nation, averaging 121.5 points per 100 possessions. The defense is top 10 quality as well, with only 85.1 points allowed per 100 possessions. Alex Ruoff is turning into a serious player, averaging 16.1 points a game. A solid majority of his shots come from beyond the arc, though he is not quite the one-dimensional player that Colin Falls used to be.
The Backcourt-
#22 Ruoff- 16.1 PPG, 46% from three
#14 Darris Nichols- 11.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, 40% 3PT
Frontcourt-
#11 Joe Alexander- 15.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG- the closest to a true post player
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 13.0 PPG, 44% from beyond the arc (only 25 attempts)
#43 Jamie Smalligan- 7 feet tall, but plays very sparingly... only 14.1 minutes a game; could cause some matchup problems, but has been rather unsuccessful so far this year
Bench-
#35 Wellington Smith- 20.0 MPG, can play inside a bit
#3 Joe Mazzula- 16.2 MPG, backup point guard
#41 John Flowers- 11.1 MPG, top freshman, shooting 62% inside the arc
In year's past, West Virginia's deep shooting has hurt us. Therefore, I doubt there will be a lot of zone played by the Irish tonight. The shooters to watch are Ruoff and, to a lesser extent, Butler. I expect that Tory Jackson will be responsible for taking Ruoff out of the game and Ryan Ayers will be the one to man up the 6'7" Butler.
On offense, Kyle McAlarney will of course be asked to provide some scoring, but he needs to take care of the shot selection. 25 footers are great when they're falling, but we cannot afford to lose possessions on ill-advised shots. Tory must be reliable with the ball and team turnovers should be held to 10 or below. Ayers can provide an extra shooter against the 1-3-1 zone and should look for his shot, but like McAlarney must not force things. The bigs will be vital as West Virginia only has one player over 225 pounds (Smalligan). When Smalligan is off the floor, Kurz and especially Harangody should take advantage and move around the smaller Mountaineer defense. Off the bench, Hillesland will be a good matchup against most of the West Virginia post players, but Luke Zeller is the only player with enough height to man up Smalligan. Hopefully the seven footer can be neutralized without having to double team or do anything too fancy. Of course, Jonathan Peoples will provide a breather for Jackson and Mac and look to hit a couple open threes.
That's about it. We need a win to keep up the streak and start the year off right. Without the students, hopefully South Bend will show up to provide a good home atmosphere.
The Mountaineers are 9-2. Coached by education-optional Bob Huggins, West Virginia boasts a top-40 RPI against a solid nonconference schedule. The remark about Huggins' track record aside, this team is very competitive and display an interesting mix of John Beilein's great shooting recruits with the hard-nosed work ethic that Huggins has brought with him everywhere. Certainly a team to be respected.
As an aside, what is it with Michigan stealing West Virginia's coaches? First Beilein, now Rich Rodriguez... though the football team had little trouble without him last night (against Oklahoma, the school that the basketball team lost to in their last contest).
According to the stats run by Ken Pomeroy, WVU has the most efficient offense in the nation, averaging 121.5 points per 100 possessions. The defense is top 10 quality as well, with only 85.1 points allowed per 100 possessions. Alex Ruoff is turning into a serious player, averaging 16.1 points a game. A solid majority of his shots come from beyond the arc, though he is not quite the one-dimensional player that Colin Falls used to be.
The Backcourt-
#22 Ruoff- 16.1 PPG, 46% from three
#14 Darris Nichols- 11.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, 40% 3PT
Frontcourt-
#11 Joe Alexander- 15.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG- the closest to a true post player
#1 Da'Sean Butler- 13.0 PPG, 44% from beyond the arc (only 25 attempts)
#43 Jamie Smalligan- 7 feet tall, but plays very sparingly... only 14.1 minutes a game; could cause some matchup problems, but has been rather unsuccessful so far this year
Bench-
#35 Wellington Smith- 20.0 MPG, can play inside a bit
#3 Joe Mazzula- 16.2 MPG, backup point guard
#41 John Flowers- 11.1 MPG, top freshman, shooting 62% inside the arc
In year's past, West Virginia's deep shooting has hurt us. Therefore, I doubt there will be a lot of zone played by the Irish tonight. The shooters to watch are Ruoff and, to a lesser extent, Butler. I expect that Tory Jackson will be responsible for taking Ruoff out of the game and Ryan Ayers will be the one to man up the 6'7" Butler.
On offense, Kyle McAlarney will of course be asked to provide some scoring, but he needs to take care of the shot selection. 25 footers are great when they're falling, but we cannot afford to lose possessions on ill-advised shots. Tory must be reliable with the ball and team turnovers should be held to 10 or below. Ayers can provide an extra shooter against the 1-3-1 zone and should look for his shot, but like McAlarney must not force things. The bigs will be vital as West Virginia only has one player over 225 pounds (Smalligan). When Smalligan is off the floor, Kurz and especially Harangody should take advantage and move around the smaller Mountaineer defense. Off the bench, Hillesland will be a good matchup against most of the West Virginia post players, but Luke Zeller is the only player with enough height to man up Smalligan. Hopefully the seven footer can be neutralized without having to double team or do anything too fancy. Of course, Jonathan Peoples will provide a breather for Jackson and Mac and look to hit a couple open threes.
That's about it. We need a win to keep up the streak and start the year off right. Without the students, hopefully South Bend will show up to provide a good home atmosphere.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Big East/SEC
Not a lot to talk about after a nice solid win like yesterday. It wasn't a dominating offensive performance, indeed one the worst shooting nights we'll have all year, but winning like that against a decent team sure builds confidence.
A couple matchups in the Big East/SEC "Showdown". Georgetown is having some trouble with Alabama at the half. The Tide have shown very little so far this year, losing to a very good Texas A&M team and a very bad Belmont squad. West Virginia and Auburn to follow tonight.
Tomorrow pits Providence and South Carolina followed by Villanova vs. LSU. Not extremely promising, but they are still opportunities to see our conference foes on national TV.
Other than that, it's a pretty bland day. Enjoy the snow if you're a northerner. As we all know, it just might be gone by Christmas.
A couple matchups in the Big East/SEC "Showdown". Georgetown is having some trouble with Alabama at the half. The Tide have shown very little so far this year, losing to a very good Texas A&M team and a very bad Belmont squad. West Virginia and Auburn to follow tonight.
Tomorrow pits Providence and South Carolina followed by Villanova vs. LSU. Not extremely promising, but they are still opportunities to see our conference foes on national TV.
Other than that, it's a pretty bland day. Enjoy the snow if you're a northerner. As we all know, it just might be gone by Christmas.
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