I'll use the space between games to honor our senior class this week.
Luke Zeller came into ND as one of the most heralded recruits in recent history. A four star recruit, Zeller made news by winning the Indiana state championship for Washington High School with a halfcourt three pointer at the buzzer. He won Indiana's Mr. Basketball award (over this guy) and demonstrated a killer three point shot to go with a big body.
Unfortunately, Luke never developed into the big man we really needed. His perimeter game remained solid, but he became known as a small forward in a center's body. Averaging 16.0 minutes a game in his senior season (the highest average of his career), Zeller has scored 5.5 points and grabbed 3.3 rebounds per contest so far this year. However, his shooting percentages have dropped and his sophomore year (in which he averaged just 12.4 minutes per game) will remain his most efficient.
Even with his struggles to develop into a star at the collegiate level, Zeller remains a hard worker and good teammate. His solid post defense undoubtedly helped junior Luke Harangody develop his game against taller opponents. In the end, Zeller's biggest contribution to Notre Dame may be landing more athletic brother Cody as an ND recruit. The still-undecided Cody Zeller graduates high school in 2011.
Thanks for your hard work, Luke. Though better development was expected on both sides, you never stopped working for your alma mater. Good luck in the future.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Villanova 77, Notre Dame 60
Embarrassing. The Irish killed any reasonable chance of an NCAA berth with a lackluster effort in the second half tonight. Need at least three (most likely four after this performance) wins in the Big East Tournament to even be considered for an at-large bid. Good luck with that.
15 turnovers, most of them just stupid telegraphed passes, and awful free throw shooting killed any possible offensive flow. The defense was horrendous as well in the second half, allowing easy Villanova three pointers to disrupt any chance of an Irish run before our offense completely collapsed.
Tory Jackson was awful. 4 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, not a terrible primary stat line. However he killed the Irish with 5 really dumb turnovers. Allowed Scottie Reynolds to score 23 points on 6 wide open three pointers. Add in a 1-8 shooting night for a dismal performance all the way around.
Kyle McAlarney was just as bad. 5 points, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers. 2-7 shooting, not a factor from downtown (1-3). He got beat a few times on defense, but was not the primary problem.
Ryan Ayers was the lone bright spot. 25 points, 7-10 from beyond the arc. 4 assists, 4 rebounds, just 1 turnover. His lights-out shooting kept the Irish in it for a while, but not long enough.
Ty Nash was solid in his first start. 4 points and 11 rebounds in a career-high 25 minutes. At the very least he was not Zach Hillesland. He finished as the high rebounder in the game (and the only one in double figures) and used some hustle and muscle not seen in the ND high post all year. Needs to improve interior defense (Dante Cunningham backed him down all game) and free throw shooting (he is dreadful from the line), but should be a starter the rest of the year.
Luke Harangody was absent in the most important game of the Irish season. I doubt he will be re-elected as Big East Player of the Year and until the last couple of games I thought that was a shame. However, he has finished without a double double in three of the last four games and been a limited factor offensively. The Player of the Year must rise to the challenge when his team's season is on the line. Luke did last year. Unfortunately, he just has not seemed the same guy over the last few games. 18 and 7 tonight, but managed only as many defensive boards (3) as Kyle McAlarney. You gotta be better than that.
Peoples was the only factor off the bench with 25 minutes. Villanova plays three or four guards all game, so no real surprise there. He was solid on the boards and handling the ball, but terrible shooting it. Zeller played just 7 minutes, a nice show of confidence in Ty Nash. You knew the game was over when Carleton Scott came in for the final 2 minutes.
This is probably the final death knell of what has been a very disappointing season. I'll wait until after everything is well and truly done to write the obituary, however.
Speaking of which (wow, what a dreadful segue), condolences to the family of Forrest "Woody" Miller. Miller covered Irish basketball for a long time for the South Bend Tribune, but I will always know him as the cantankerous old man who sat next to me in the press box of the South Bend Silver Hawks. All kidding aside, Woody, you will be missed. You were a big part of the job that made my last two summers pretty damn fun.
Beat St. John's and then show some fight in the BET. The nice thing about conference tourneys is that you always control your own destiny. Let's actually show some heart over the next week and a half.
15 turnovers, most of them just stupid telegraphed passes, and awful free throw shooting killed any possible offensive flow. The defense was horrendous as well in the second half, allowing easy Villanova three pointers to disrupt any chance of an Irish run before our offense completely collapsed.
Tory Jackson was awful. 4 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, not a terrible primary stat line. However he killed the Irish with 5 really dumb turnovers. Allowed Scottie Reynolds to score 23 points on 6 wide open three pointers. Add in a 1-8 shooting night for a dismal performance all the way around.
Kyle McAlarney was just as bad. 5 points, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers. 2-7 shooting, not a factor from downtown (1-3). He got beat a few times on defense, but was not the primary problem.
Ryan Ayers was the lone bright spot. 25 points, 7-10 from beyond the arc. 4 assists, 4 rebounds, just 1 turnover. His lights-out shooting kept the Irish in it for a while, but not long enough.
Ty Nash was solid in his first start. 4 points and 11 rebounds in a career-high 25 minutes. At the very least he was not Zach Hillesland. He finished as the high rebounder in the game (and the only one in double figures) and used some hustle and muscle not seen in the ND high post all year. Needs to improve interior defense (Dante Cunningham backed him down all game) and free throw shooting (he is dreadful from the line), but should be a starter the rest of the year.
Luke Harangody was absent in the most important game of the Irish season. I doubt he will be re-elected as Big East Player of the Year and until the last couple of games I thought that was a shame. However, he has finished without a double double in three of the last four games and been a limited factor offensively. The Player of the Year must rise to the challenge when his team's season is on the line. Luke did last year. Unfortunately, he just has not seemed the same guy over the last few games. 18 and 7 tonight, but managed only as many defensive boards (3) as Kyle McAlarney. You gotta be better than that.
Peoples was the only factor off the bench with 25 minutes. Villanova plays three or four guards all game, so no real surprise there. He was solid on the boards and handling the ball, but terrible shooting it. Zeller played just 7 minutes, a nice show of confidence in Ty Nash. You knew the game was over when Carleton Scott came in for the final 2 minutes.
This is probably the final death knell of what has been a very disappointing season. I'll wait until after everything is well and truly done to write the obituary, however.
Speaking of which (wow, what a dreadful segue), condolences to the family of Forrest "Woody" Miller. Miller covered Irish basketball for a long time for the South Bend Tribune, but I will always know him as the cantankerous old man who sat next to me in the press box of the South Bend Silver Hawks. All kidding aside, Woody, you will be missed. You were a big part of the job that made my last two summers pretty damn fun.
Beat St. John's and then show some fight in the BET. The nice thing about conference tourneys is that you always control your own destiny. Let's actually show some heart over the next week and a half.
Villanova Preview
Must win tonight. If this starts a 4 (or 5) game winning streak, we should be in. A loss tonight all but eliminates us for Tournament contention.
Villanova-
Pomeroy Ranking- 22nd
Record- 23-6 (11-5)
Quality Wins- Pitt, Marquette, @ Syracuse
Bad Losses- None
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 77-76
Key Players-
#33 Dante Cunningham- 6'8", 230 lbs.- 16.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG
#1 Scottie Reynolds- 6'2", 195 lbs.- 15.2 PPG, 3.6 APG, 34.6% 3PA
#10 Corey Fisher- 6'1", 185 lbs.- 11.1 PPG, 2.7 APG, 34.8% 3PA
Scouting Report-
All eight guys in their rotation have started at least nine games, with Cuningham and Reynolds being the only permanent starters.
Pretty balanced, not spectacular at any one category, but do enough things well to be 28th in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Get to the line a decent amount (21st) and allow a lot of free throws (190th).
Villanova-
Pomeroy Ranking- 22nd
Record- 23-6 (11-5)
Quality Wins- Pitt, Marquette, @ Syracuse
Bad Losses- None
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 77-76
Key Players-
#33 Dante Cunningham- 6'8", 230 lbs.- 16.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG
#1 Scottie Reynolds- 6'2", 195 lbs.- 15.2 PPG, 3.6 APG, 34.6% 3PA
#10 Corey Fisher- 6'1", 185 lbs.- 11.1 PPG, 2.7 APG, 34.8% 3PA
Scouting Report-
All eight guys in their rotation have started at least nine games, with Cuningham and Reynolds being the only permanent starters.
Pretty balanced, not spectacular at any one category, but do enough things well to be 28th in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Get to the line a decent amount (21st) and allow a lot of free throws (190th).
Sunday, March 01, 2009
My Ballot
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut |  1 |
| 2 | Memphis | 1 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 2 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh |  3 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 6 | Louisville | 3 |
| 7 | Kansas | 8 |
| 8 | Duke | 2 |
| 9 | Wake Forest | 4 |
| 10 | Missouri | 4 |
| 11 | Michigan St. | 3 |
| 12 | Gonzaga | |
| 13 | Villanova | 3 |
| 14 | Marquette | 7 |
| 15 | Clemson | 7 |
| 16 | Washington | 6 |
| 17 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 18 | Arizona St. | 7 |
| 19 | UCLA | |
| 20 | Illinois | 3 |
| 21 | Purdue | |
| 22 | Butler | 4 |
| 23 | Louisiana St. | |
| 24 | Florida St. | |
| 25 | Syracuse | 1 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: Utah (#25).
Race to the Big East Tournament
As promised, a look at how the BET field shapes up with a week to go. I'll use Ken Pomeroy's projections for individual games, instead of the overall record projection.
Teams the Irish Can't Catch-
1. Pittsburgh- 15-3- Holds the three-way tie breaker over Louisville and Connecticut by virtue of a 2-1 record against them.
2. Louisville- 15-3- Expected to lose next Saturday to West Virginia, 1-1 against top three teams.
3. Connecticut- 15-3- Expected to lose to Pitt, falls to 1-2 in the top-three "mini-conference".
4. Marquette- 13-5- Should lose to Louisville and Pitt.
5. Villanova- 12-6- Lose to the Irish, beat Providence.
Teams Still Within Range of ND-
6. West Virginia- 11-7- The Irish need losses in two of their final three against South Florida, DePaul, and Louisville to gain a tie with the Mountaineers.
7. Providence- 10-8- 3-0 against Syracuse and Cincinnati, should beat Rutgers today.
8. Syracuse- 10-8- Tie breaker between 8 and 9 should be decided at two today.
9. Cincinnati- 10-8- Should not lose after today's game at the Carrier Dome.
10. Notre Dame- 9-9- Need to beat Villanova and St. John's.
Teams a 9-9 Irish Squad Don't Have to Worry About-
11. Georgetown- 8-10- Should beat St. John's and DePaul.
12. Seton Hall- 6-12- Big underdogs at Louisville and Cincinnati.
13. St. John's- 5-13- Play Georgetown and ND.
14. South Florida- 3-15
15. Rutgers- 2-16
16. DePaul- 0-18- Won't win a game.
Obviously all of this hinges on two more Irish victories. However, as the BET stands right now:
Round 1- Rutgers
Round 2- Providence
Quarters- Louisville
Semis- UCONN or West Virginia (most likely)
Finals
All things considered, that's a pretty favorable stretch. Must beat Rutgers and should be able to take out a Providence team we beat by 19 on their floor. Those two wins would most likely be enough to put us in, but a win over a Louisville team we match up well against would put all fears to rest.
Games to watch this week that could change seeding-
Providence @ Rutgers, today- Friars win, they will be seeded above us. A loss would put them at 9-9 most likely.
Cincinnati @ Syracuse, today- If Cincinnati loses, they still have a good shot at 10-8. A Cuse lose would most likely put them at 9-9.
West Virginia vs. Louisville, Saturday- If the Mountaineers stumble against South Florida or DePaul, this game could finish them at 9-9.
Teams the Irish Can't Catch-
1. Pittsburgh- 15-3- Holds the three-way tie breaker over Louisville and Connecticut by virtue of a 2-1 record against them.
2. Louisville- 15-3- Expected to lose next Saturday to West Virginia, 1-1 against top three teams.
3. Connecticut- 15-3- Expected to lose to Pitt, falls to 1-2 in the top-three "mini-conference".
4. Marquette- 13-5- Should lose to Louisville and Pitt.
5. Villanova- 12-6- Lose to the Irish, beat Providence.
Teams Still Within Range of ND-
6. West Virginia- 11-7- The Irish need losses in two of their final three against South Florida, DePaul, and Louisville to gain a tie with the Mountaineers.
7. Providence- 10-8- 3-0 against Syracuse and Cincinnati, should beat Rutgers today.
8. Syracuse- 10-8- Tie breaker between 8 and 9 should be decided at two today.
9. Cincinnati- 10-8- Should not lose after today's game at the Carrier Dome.
10. Notre Dame- 9-9- Need to beat Villanova and St. John's.
Teams a 9-9 Irish Squad Don't Have to Worry About-
11. Georgetown- 8-10- Should beat St. John's and DePaul.
12. Seton Hall- 6-12- Big underdogs at Louisville and Cincinnati.
13. St. John's- 5-13- Play Georgetown and ND.
14. South Florida- 3-15
15. Rutgers- 2-16
16. DePaul- 0-18- Won't win a game.
Obviously all of this hinges on two more Irish victories. However, as the BET stands right now:
Round 1- Rutgers
Round 2- Providence
Quarters- Louisville
Semis- UCONN or West Virginia (most likely)
Finals
All things considered, that's a pretty favorable stretch. Must beat Rutgers and should be able to take out a Providence team we beat by 19 on their floor. Those two wins would most likely be enough to put us in, but a win over a Louisville team we match up well against would put all fears to rest.
Games to watch this week that could change seeding-
Providence @ Rutgers, today- Friars win, they will be seeded above us. A loss would put them at 9-9 most likely.
Cincinnati @ Syracuse, today- If Cincinnati loses, they still have a good shot at 10-8. A Cuse lose would most likely put them at 9-9.
West Virginia vs. Louisville, Saturday- If the Mountaineers stumble against South Florida or DePaul, this game could finish them at 9-9.
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