Poor three point shooting and an uncharacteristic off night from the stripe let South Florida hang around. In the end, the Irish still pulled off the victory and clinched a tie for second in the Big East against the gutsy Bulls.
This was certainly a trap game for several reasons. One, the Irish had little to gain, having already locked up a bye in the conference tournament. Two, South Florida is an easy team to overlook with only three conference wins, but beat Syracuse and played Connecticut very tough. Third, South Florida had everything to play for with no postseason coming up. As West Virginia nearly found out at St. John's, the last regular season game for teams not making the Big East tournament is an upset in the making.
The Irish took a nine point lead into the half following a great buzzer beating 3 by Tory Jackson. The lead grew to 19 as Notre Dame showed plenty of offensive firepower starting the second half. A nearly seven minute span saw the Irish held without a single point. South Florida rolled out 12 straight points and cut the lead to seven. After that, the Irish were unable to firmly put the game out of grasp and staggered to the final buzzer before eventually pulling out a seven point victory.
Notre Dame only shot 63% from the line. Closing out contests from the line is usually not a worry for the Irish, but today it nearly cost them. Outside shooting was similarly cold. 31% for the team, Zeller and Ayers a a combined 1-7 off the bench.
Allowing 7 more rebounds for South Florida is not good. 13 second chances for the Bulls to ND's 5 also hurt. Thankfully, USF was so awful shooting (39% FG and 16% 3PA) that their 16 extra field goal attempts did not result in a win.
Tory Jackson had the previously mentioned miracle three, but only two more points to his name. 4 rebounds, 5 assists, but only 1 turnover. Solid game handling the ball, but did not create a lot of scoring attempts.
Kyle McAlarney had another decent game, not the kind of gamebreaking, lights out shooting that he is capable of, but not cold either. 2-5 from beyond the arc. 10 points, 4 assists, 2 turnovers.
Zach Hillesland was great, especially with Rob Kurz fouling out in 19 minutes. 10 points, 7 boards. Missed four of his six free throw attempts, the biggest culprit from the stripe, but played an overall great game switching between the 3 and 4 spots on the floor. If he can show the ability to rebound consistently like that, I would pencil him in as the leader in the race to win Rob Kurz's minutes next season.
Kurz was really tied up with foul trouble all game. 3 in the first half, fouling out in the second after only 19 minutes on the floor. 14 points, 5 rebounds before he left. Was a very good 6-8 shooting all over, making 1 of 2 beyond the arc.
Luke Harangody scored 21 and grabbed 9 rebounds. 9-13 shooting. Just an absolute rock down there. My ballot for the final Big East Power Poll and regular season awards is due tomorrow. He gets my for Player of the Year, no question. If he does not win the official award when it comes out, it would certainly be a crime. What a great improvement for a guy who was not even on the radar at the beginning of the year.
Off the bench, Ryan Ayers scored 5 on 1-4 shooting. 1 rebound, 3 assists. He and Luke Zeller were cold six days after winning the game at DePaul. Zeller was 1-5 from the floor. 2 boards, 1 assist as well. Jonathan Peoples played 11 minutes without getting into the stat book. Ty Nash saw a little playing time at the end of the first half.
Of course, you want to win more impressively but avoiding the upset is most important. Marquette choked on the road to drop to the 6 seed and West Virginia tried to do the same at St. John's. We avoided the loss and get to move on to the three seed in NYC. Next week, it's just survive and advance.
Around the country, Georgetown clinched the league with a win over Louisville. The Cards fell to a tie with the Irish at 2nd in the league. #2 is the best Big East finish ever for ND, well deserved after a great year.
Coach Brey is third behind only Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim in all time Big East victories. There's a good trivia question for your next party. A guy who was on the hot seat two years ago is now going back to a top seed in the Big East tournament and could win his second straight Coach of the Year award (he deserves it the most, but will probably not win).
Duke/UNC is always lots of fun to watch if you're a basketball fan. At Cameron, no less. Enjoy the game, especially with not having to cheer for one team over the other.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
South Florida Preview
The Bulls are 12-18 and 3-14 in the Big East. RPI of 164, two wins over Rutgers and one over Syracuse. Ken Pomeroy gives the Irish a 76% chance of winning with a projected score of 78-70.
Starters-
Chris Howard- 8.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, 29% 3PA
Dominique Jones- 17.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 37% 3PA- Scored 29 in loss to Villanova Wednesday
Jesus Verdejo- 10.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 36% 4PA
Mobolaji Ajayi- 2.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Kentrell Gransberry- 16.1 PPG, 10.9 RPG- League rebounding leader, will be interesting to see how he matches up with Harangody
Bench-
Solomon Bozeman- 5.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 31% 3PA, 19.0 MPG
Orane Chin- 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 35% 3PA, 18.5 MPG
Amu Saaka- 2.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 32% 3PA, 10.3 MPG
Starters-
Chris Howard- 8.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, 29% 3PA
Dominique Jones- 17.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 37% 3PA- Scored 29 in loss to Villanova Wednesday
Jesus Verdejo- 10.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 36% 4PA
Mobolaji Ajayi- 2.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Kentrell Gransberry- 16.1 PPG, 10.9 RPG- League rebounding leader, will be interesting to see how he matches up with Harangody
Bench-
Solomon Bozeman- 5.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 31% 3PA, 19.0 MPG
Orane Chin- 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 35% 3PA, 18.5 MPG
Amu Saaka- 2.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 32% 3PA, 10.3 MPG
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Bamm-Bamm Picks Up First All-American Honors
Open your Sports Illustrated to page 36 and find the All-American teams for men's and women's basketball.
There are two Big East players honored, one male and one female. The woman is freshman forward Maya Moore, a second teamer.
Also on the second team, Luke Harangody joins Eric Gordon, Stephen Curry (Davidson), Jerryd Bayless, and D.J. White. 7 of the ten players honored are underclassmen. Assuming that players such as Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, and Gordon will go pro after only one year, there is still plenty of room for Luke to move up the ranks next season.
There are two Big East players honored, one male and one female. The woman is freshman forward Maya Moore, a second teamer.
Also on the second team, Luke Harangody joins Eric Gordon, Stephen Curry (Davidson), Jerryd Bayless, and D.J. White. 7 of the ten players honored are underclassmen. Assuming that players such as Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, and Gordon will go pro after only one year, there is still plenty of room for Luke to move up the ranks next season.
One Week From the BET
Two things to watch in terms of seeding for the conference tournament:
Notre Dame is currently in line for no worse than a 4 seed in New York. The Irish could bump up to #3 with a Connecticut loss at Providence tonight (tied with 11 to go) or at home against Cincinnati on Saturday.
Playing as the 4 seed in New York would mean a likely contest against Marquette on Thursday. The 3 seed will probably play the winner of West Virginia/Seton Hall. No brainer as to who we'd like to play there.
Looking forward to the NCAAs, starting two weeks from today. The Irish stand as a solid 4 seed with the win last night and should solidify that seeding by defeating South Florida on Saturday.
Teams to Watch-
Atlantic 10-
Xavier- 2 seed, Bracket Project
Plays St. Joe's tonight and heavily favored against Richmond Saturday. An early exit from the conference tournament combined with a good ND finish to the year could put the Irish over Xavier on the seeding line.
Big Ten-
Indiana- 4 seed
Purdue- 4 seed
Wisconsin- 3 seed
Irish currently slightly above Indiana and Purdue. Watch the tournament to see how this conference shakes out. All three should win their last regular season games.
Big XII-
Kansas- 2 seed
Texas- 2 seed
Texas finish the year at home, but Kansas could face a tricky contest at A&M on Saturday. One of the two should win the conference, but teams like Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, and the Aggies could all make a run. If either team fails to make the final, the Irish could leap them.
Big East-
Connecticut- 4 seed
Georgetown- 3 seed
Louisville- 3 seed
Obviously, the Irish will have the chance to separate themselves from the Big East teams by winning the conference tournament.
Pac 10-
Stanford- 3 seed
Stanford could lock up that 3 seed with a win over UCLA tonight, but losing 2 of the next 3 (@ UCLA, @ USC, Pac-10 first round) could give ND a chance to leapfrog them.
Notre Dame is currently in line for no worse than a 4 seed in New York. The Irish could bump up to #3 with a Connecticut loss at Providence tonight (tied with 11 to go) or at home against Cincinnati on Saturday.
Playing as the 4 seed in New York would mean a likely contest against Marquette on Thursday. The 3 seed will probably play the winner of West Virginia/Seton Hall. No brainer as to who we'd like to play there.
Looking forward to the NCAAs, starting two weeks from today. The Irish stand as a solid 4 seed with the win last night and should solidify that seeding by defeating South Florida on Saturday.
Teams to Watch-
Atlantic 10-
Xavier- 2 seed, Bracket Project
Plays St. Joe's tonight and heavily favored against Richmond Saturday. An early exit from the conference tournament combined with a good ND finish to the year could put the Irish over Xavier on the seeding line.
Big Ten-
Indiana- 4 seed
Purdue- 4 seed
Wisconsin- 3 seed
Irish currently slightly above Indiana and Purdue. Watch the tournament to see how this conference shakes out. All three should win their last regular season games.
Big XII-
Kansas- 2 seed
Texas- 2 seed
Texas finish the year at home, but Kansas could face a tricky contest at A&M on Saturday. One of the two should win the conference, but teams like Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, and the Aggies could all make a run. If either team fails to make the final, the Irish could leap them.
Big East-
Connecticut- 4 seed
Georgetown- 3 seed
Louisville- 3 seed
Obviously, the Irish will have the chance to separate themselves from the Big East teams by winning the conference tournament.
Pac 10-
Stanford- 3 seed
Stanford could lock up that 3 seed with a win over UCLA tonight, but losing 2 of the next 3 (@ UCLA, @ USC, Pac-10 first round) could give ND a chance to leapfrog them.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Notre Dame 68, St. John's 55
A historical win to close out a great year at home and Rob Kurz's career at the JACC. Irish revert to a solid defense after three straight offensively charged performances.
Working with an official box score tonight from the media tables, so you can count on the numbers being spot on.
Hard fought game overall, very physical. Ed Corbett, Jim Haney, and Glenn Mayborg did nothing to help the game flow on either side. Way too much emphasis on tough fouls as both teams got away with murder under the hoop. Corbett also has dreams of officiating the next level the way he ignored travelling violations all night.
The Irish shot surprisingly very well from the floor. A 68 point performance would indicate a shooting percentage far below 54% for this squad. Devensively, they did a great job shutting down a terrible Red Storm team. Fresh Prince Anthony Mason Jr. needed plenty of luck on two of his four three pointers and still made less than 1/3 from the floor.
Rebounding edge went slightly to St. John's. Dele Coker and Co. hung all over Luke Harangody in a successful effort to keep his rebounding total down. Neither side made many trips to the foul line. The Irish finished with 19 assists on 28 field goals, adding to their national lead in the assist category.
Even with all the physicality and losing the rebounding edge, Notre Dame outscored St. John's 36-28 in the paint. 20 points off 12 turnovers really helped the Irish as well.
Tory Jackson continues to come along as a player. 4 points, 5 rebounds, with 8 assists on 4 turnovers. Broke down the St. John's defense on a few occasions to set up his teammates. The assist total is more impressive when you note that the Irish made only 5 three pointers on the night, meaning Jackson had to create more to pick up his assists.
Kyle McAlarney with a solid game. 13 points on 5-9 shooting. After the DePaul win, K-Mac noted that his legs were feeling a bit sluggish. That could support the common complaint of Brey playing his starters too often. Nonetheless, McAlarney found his stroke when he needed (3-5 from three) even if it was a less than dominating performance.
Zach Hillesland is another guy who looks to be improving every game. 6 points, 6 assists in 30 minutes. The most playing time of the season even with 4 fouls. For a wing, he does a great job distributing the ball and has great handles for a 6'8" guy. He was called a "point forward" coming out of high school and seems to be showing that ability to control the game from the side.
Luke Harangody with 20 and 6. Only 27 minutes played, but was very efficient on the floor. 9-12 shooting. As the game wore on, the team looked to Harangody to keep the lead from falling below 10. He put the ball in the basket when needed and overcame physical defense for yet another 20+ point performance. Only 6 rebounds is low for the big guy, but no reason to think that he won't be back in double figures Saturday.
Thanks to Rob Kurz for a great career with the Irish. The lone senior and captain scored 15 and grabbed 4 boards. Surprising to see how he scored the points tonight. With only one three-pointer, Rob showed some surprising agility with his ability to cut in the paint and receive passes going towards the basket. Cut like a knife through the defense on a few occasions. Truly a great leader and all-around good guy, it will be sad to not see him at home again, but here's to several more games in an Irish uniform.
Jonathan Peoples with 3 assists and no turnovers in 10 minutes. That's what he is asked to do. Ryan Ayers with a poor shooting night (that's always tough off the bench), but still scored 5 in 18 minutes. Luke Zeller with the best game off the bench, with 5 points and 4 rebounds. He is looking more confident in the paint and will surely get a shot at Kurz's starting position next year.
With a low scoring contest and such a different game from what we have been used to in the last few weeks, a 13 point win is great tonight. St. John's truly is a bad basketball team (it takes more than suiting up 5 athletes to play hoops), but they had plenty of reason to go all out tonight. Seeing how Norm Roberts used his timeouts down the stretch and kept the defensive pressure up with the game lost, you could tell that they really wanted to win the game.
Two straight years unbeaten at home. That's a Big East record and very impressive indeed. Maybe Wyoming can pull off the upset of BYU tonight and place ND at the top of home streaks nationwide.
Need to stay focused and beat South Florida on Saturday, but this team rarely has trouble with its focus. A win in Tampa and a solid run next week means a 4 seed or better. Who predicted that at the beginning of the year?
Happy birthday to Rob and thanks once again to him. Good luck in the future, but first lets end your career on a happy note.
Working with an official box score tonight from the media tables, so you can count on the numbers being spot on.
Hard fought game overall, very physical. Ed Corbett, Jim Haney, and Glenn Mayborg did nothing to help the game flow on either side. Way too much emphasis on tough fouls as both teams got away with murder under the hoop. Corbett also has dreams of officiating the next level the way he ignored travelling violations all night.
The Irish shot surprisingly very well from the floor. A 68 point performance would indicate a shooting percentage far below 54% for this squad. Devensively, they did a great job shutting down a terrible Red Storm team. Fresh Prince Anthony Mason Jr. needed plenty of luck on two of his four three pointers and still made less than 1/3 from the floor.
Rebounding edge went slightly to St. John's. Dele Coker and Co. hung all over Luke Harangody in a successful effort to keep his rebounding total down. Neither side made many trips to the foul line. The Irish finished with 19 assists on 28 field goals, adding to their national lead in the assist category.
Even with all the physicality and losing the rebounding edge, Notre Dame outscored St. John's 36-28 in the paint. 20 points off 12 turnovers really helped the Irish as well.
Tory Jackson continues to come along as a player. 4 points, 5 rebounds, with 8 assists on 4 turnovers. Broke down the St. John's defense on a few occasions to set up his teammates. The assist total is more impressive when you note that the Irish made only 5 three pointers on the night, meaning Jackson had to create more to pick up his assists.
Kyle McAlarney with a solid game. 13 points on 5-9 shooting. After the DePaul win, K-Mac noted that his legs were feeling a bit sluggish. That could support the common complaint of Brey playing his starters too often. Nonetheless, McAlarney found his stroke when he needed (3-5 from three) even if it was a less than dominating performance.
Zach Hillesland is another guy who looks to be improving every game. 6 points, 6 assists in 30 minutes. The most playing time of the season even with 4 fouls. For a wing, he does a great job distributing the ball and has great handles for a 6'8" guy. He was called a "point forward" coming out of high school and seems to be showing that ability to control the game from the side.
Luke Harangody with 20 and 6. Only 27 minutes played, but was very efficient on the floor. 9-12 shooting. As the game wore on, the team looked to Harangody to keep the lead from falling below 10. He put the ball in the basket when needed and overcame physical defense for yet another 20+ point performance. Only 6 rebounds is low for the big guy, but no reason to think that he won't be back in double figures Saturday.
Thanks to Rob Kurz for a great career with the Irish. The lone senior and captain scored 15 and grabbed 4 boards. Surprising to see how he scored the points tonight. With only one three-pointer, Rob showed some surprising agility with his ability to cut in the paint and receive passes going towards the basket. Cut like a knife through the defense on a few occasions. Truly a great leader and all-around good guy, it will be sad to not see him at home again, but here's to several more games in an Irish uniform.
Jonathan Peoples with 3 assists and no turnovers in 10 minutes. That's what he is asked to do. Ryan Ayers with a poor shooting night (that's always tough off the bench), but still scored 5 in 18 minutes. Luke Zeller with the best game off the bench, with 5 points and 4 rebounds. He is looking more confident in the paint and will surely get a shot at Kurz's starting position next year.
With a low scoring contest and such a different game from what we have been used to in the last few weeks, a 13 point win is great tonight. St. John's truly is a bad basketball team (it takes more than suiting up 5 athletes to play hoops), but they had plenty of reason to go all out tonight. Seeing how Norm Roberts used his timeouts down the stretch and kept the defensive pressure up with the game lost, you could tell that they really wanted to win the game.
Two straight years unbeaten at home. That's a Big East record and very impressive indeed. Maybe Wyoming can pull off the upset of BYU tonight and place ND at the top of home streaks nationwide.
Need to stay focused and beat South Florida on Saturday, but this team rarely has trouble with its focus. A win in Tampa and a solid run next week means a 4 seed or better. Who predicted that at the beginning of the year?
Happy birthday to Rob and thanks once again to him. Good luck in the future, but first lets end your career on a happy note.
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