21st Feb 2008
The Fighting Irish will be hosting Pittsburgh tonight at 7:00 in the Joyce Center. This Big East game will be televised on ESPN and you should make sure you watch it. The Panthers are coming into South Bend two games behind the Irish in the conference but have a very similar overall record. Notre Dame is currently 19-5 (9-3) which puts them one game behind Georgetown/Louisville for first place in the Big East. Pittsburgh stands at 19-6 (7-5) coming off a a big loss at Marquette, 72-54.
Number 21 Notre Dame is looking to again, extend its home winning streak which is currently third best in the nation at 34 games. Mike Brey’s squad is 14-0 in South Bend so far this season while the Panthers are 4-5 on the road. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for Pittsburgh to leave Indiana with a victory considering their road record and the energy of the Irish fans in the Joyce Center. With only a few more games left in the regular season, both teams need as many wins as possible heading into the tournaments.
Sam Young leads the way for the Panthers, averaging 17.9 points per game as a 6′6″ forward. He is a very athletic player who can drive to the lane and shoot from anywhere on the court. Sam is shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc on 67 attempts but makes his impact in the paint and on short-range jump shots. He’s going to be a tough task for the Irish if they go with a man defense, so they should stick with some form of a zone.
Luke Harangody is coming off one of his worst games this season. He only had 10 points and 8 rebounds against Rutgers in 27 minutes of play. Those numbers seem pretty decent for a Sophomore, but Harangody is much better than that. He got into foul trouble early and wasn’t making any of his shots. He should bounce back against Pittsburgh and put up his normal numbers with his all-around ability. Luke still leads the Big East in scoring with 20.4 points per contest and should have a big game. The Panthers don’t have an experienced big man to put up against Harangody so he should have no trouble scoring at least 20 tonight.
Some statistics: Notre Dame averages 80.3 points per game while Pittsburgh averages 74.0. The Panthers play better defense and only allow an average of 62.7 points while the Irish give up 68.5. ND leads the conference in rebounds (43.4) and assists (18.7) per game with Pitt not far behind. It’s a pretty close game based on the numbers and should turn out that way as well.
Let’s hope Mike Brey can lead his squad to 35 consecutive home wins and defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers. With only six regular season games left, including a visit to Louisville, the Irish need to put a game like this away for a top seed in the Big East tournament. Once again the game is on at 7 PM EST on ESPN, so try to watch it, and as always, Go Irish!
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17th Feb 2008
Notre Dame will be taking on Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey today at 12:00 EST. The Scarlet Knights are currently tied for last place in the Big East while the Irish are now 1 game behind the leaders, Georgetown and Louisville. Rutgers has really been struggling lately (well the whole season), losing it’s last five games, which include two rough overtime losses to Seton Hall and Cincinnati. Mike Brey and his team will be looking to bounce back after the loss to Connecticut, who barely escaped an upset by South Florida yesterday. Notre Dame will be looking to improve it’s record of 18-5 (8-3) as Rutgers tries to get back on track with their 10-16 (2-11) record.
The Irish haven’t always played well in Piscataway (3-7 all-time), but this should be an easy win for Notre Dame. Rutgers has lost 11 of their 13 conference games so far this season, although they did beat Pitt and Villanova. Last year the Irish defeated the Scarlet Knights at the RAC, 73-66, to extend the all-time series lead to 13-11. This shouldn’t be a tough one for Notre Dame but they need to start out strong.
Rutgers has three players who average over ten points. JR Inman is a 6′9″ Forward who leads the team with 12.9 points, Corey Chandler a 6′2″ Guard averages 12.0, and Anthony Farmer is a 6′1″ Guard who gets roughly 10.3 per game. Inman and 6′11″ Center Hamady N’Diaye will most likely split time trying to stop the beast, Luke Harangody. Either way Luke should be able to score easily on this Scarlet Knights and put up another double-double.
Harangody has recorded six double-doubles in a row and currently averages (20.8) points per game, which is among the nation’s best. He is still second in rebounds in the Big East with 10.4 per contest and still in first in scoring. Luke continues to prove that he is the best player in the Big East each and every game and should have no problem showing that off again at 12:00. Look for him to have a big game and score a lot early.
Kyle McAlarney and Rob Kurz will each be looking to bounce back from slow games against Connecticut. McAlarney only hit two three’s out of seven attempts last Wednesday, finishing with 12 points. Kurz played 21 minutes in the loss and only scored two points the entire game, much below his season average of 12.3. They should both play much better later on today and provide greater assistance to their team.
I want to say, and believe, that this game will be an easy win for the Irish, but you never know when in comes to games in the Big East. Upsets occur every week, but that’s not going to happen today. Notre Dame is going to run over Rutgers in The RAC and continue to pave their way to the tournaments. Once again the game is on at 12:00 EST, it may be on ESPN regionally, but if not, tune in to UND.com for live play-by-play audio. Beat Rutgers, and as always, Go Irish!
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12th Feb 2008
Notre Dame will be in Connecticut tomorrow night to take on the Huskies at 7:00 EST. The Irish are currently on a five game winning streak while Connecticut has won seven in a row. This will be the second time these teams have met this season. Mike Brey led his team to a 73-67 victory over the Huskies in South Bend on January 5th. Since than, both teams have suffered two defeats to Big East opponents. Notre Dame stands in second place in the conference with their 18-4 (8-2) record, Connecticut in fourth at 18-5 (7-3).
Connecticut has been on fire since their loss at home to Providence, winning all of their games. They have moved up to #17 in both polls, ahead of the Irish who have the better record. Notre Dame was voted #18 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, while #20 in the AP Poll this week. But obviously rankings don’t really mean anything in college basketball. Especially when it comes to Big East play, the best conference in the NCAA, where anyone can beat anyone.
The seven game winning streak hasn’t been an easy accomplishment for the Huskies who have beaten Marquette, Indiana, and Pittsburgh who were each ranked at the time. Louisville, currently ranked #23 in the AP Poll, was another quality victory for Connecticut. Four of the seven games were decided by five or less points, including a one point win over Cincinnati. My point is that Connecticut is a great team who has come together and knows how to win late in the game.
Notre Dame’s five game winning streak isn’t as impressive as the Huskies, but still deserves some recognition. They have beaten two teams, Villanova and Marquette, who were ranked in the top 25 at the time. The other wins include Providence, DePaul, and Seton Hall by an average of 14 points. The Irish have managed to win many of their close games so far this season, but most of them shouldn’t even come to that. For example, the Irish led Marquette by roughly ten points nearly the entire second half, but let down late in the game. They ended up winning by three, but struggled when putting the game away and need to change this soon. In order for Notre Dame to make it far in the post-season, they need to learn to finish off their opponent.
Here are some statistics from when these teams met in January. Kyle McAlarney had his best game scoring 32 points, shooting 6 of 7 from behind the arc. Luke Harangody and Rob Kurz each added 14 points while Tory Jackson had 11 assists. Jeff Adrien for Connecticut had 16 points and Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price each supplied 13 for the Huskies. The Irish out-rebounded Connecticut 42 to 41 and shot much better from three. Notre Dame made 9-17 (52.9%) threes, while the Huskies only made 2-17 (11.8%).
The key matchup in this game will be Luke Harangody versus Hasheem Thabeet. Harangody still leads the Big East in scoring with 20.3 points and second in rebounding with 10.2 per game. He’s recorded a double-double in all five games of Notre Dame’s current streak. But 7′3″ Thabeet will most certainly present a challenge for the 6′8″ Harangody. Hasheem scores an average of 11.2 points with 7.5 rebounds per game. His most notable performance occurred on Saturday against Georgia Tech when he scored 24 points leading his team to another victory. His size will prevent Harangody from pushing him over, but I’m sure Luke will be able to get to the line where he makes 79.3% of his free-throws.
This is going to be a real tough match for Mike Brey’s team to win, but if they play to the best of their ability, they could come home with a W. A team performance like against Marquette could get it done, but a McAlarney-Harangody combo works out fine for me. Let’s hope Notre Dame can pull through and grab another Big East win as we head towards the end of the season. The game will be on ESPNU, live tomorrow night and as always, Go Irish!
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9th Feb 2008
Luke Harangody and the Fighting Irish will be taking on the Golden Eagles of Marquette tomorrow at 12:00 on ESPN. This will be the second meeting between these two teams this season. Marquette blew out the Irish in Milwaukee 92-66 on January 12th, giving Notre Dame it’s first conference loss. Only two players scored ten plus points for the Irish, while the Golden Eagles had five in the lopsided game. Notre Dame will be looking for revenge at home tomorrow, hoping to extend the winning streak to 34 games.
One of the reasons for Marquette’s success is that they don’t have a superstar, but instead four talented players who score at least ten points per game. Lazar Hayward, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews provide the scoring for the Golden Eagles and have led them to their 16-5 (6-4) record thus far. Marquette is three and three on the road this year, but coming into South Bend and winning a game is nearly impossible. The Golden Eagles will have to play a stellar game on defense and not allow the crowd to get into it, in order to win this contest.
Luke Harangody had 29 points in the loss to Marquette, probably the only Irish player that had a good game. He is currently averaging 20.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and his numbers are even higher in Big East games. Luke will be looking to score his fifth 20+ point game in a row tomorrow afternoon and will most likely do it.
Kyle McAlarney is going to need to contribute tomorrow in order for Mike Brey’s team to win. Kyle only had 8 points the last time these two teams met, and only two three pointers. He has his great games and than his decent games, he will need to have a great game tomorrow. McAlarney is currently averaging 15.3 points per game, only behind Harangody.
I’m sure this will be a very close game, but because it’s at home, I think Notre Dame will come away with a victory. They will improve their record of 17-4 (7-2) and get ranked even higher. This is a critical game for the Irish to prove that they can play with the bigs boys and that they are a tournament contender. Once again this game will be on ESPN at 12:00. Make sure to watch at least a little bit of the game and as always, Go Irish!
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5th Feb 2008
The Fighting Irish will be heading to Newark tomorrow night to take on the Pirates in the Prudential Center. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 ET and should be an exciting one to watch. Seton Hall is 15-7 overall and 5-4 in the Big East so far this season. Notre Dame is 16-4 overall and 6-2 in conference games thus far. Both schools have played very well recently and it should be a close contest.
The Pirates are coming off a close loss to almighty Georgetown, 73-61. But before Seton Hall had played the Hoyas, they went on a five game winning streak, all in the Big East. The teams included South Florida, Louisville, Providence, Cincinnati, and Rutgers. So obviously this is going to be a tough task for the Irish, especially away from home. Seton Hall is one of the few teams that averages more points than Notre Dame, 80.9, compared to 79.8 for ND. However, the Irish on average only give up 67.0 points while the Pirates allow 77.3. That goes to show how close almost all of Seton Hall’s games are.
Senior Brian Laing leads the way for the Pirates with 19.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He puts up numbers very close to Luke Harangody, but can be used as a guard or a forward. Brian is 6′5″ and rebounds like as if he were Harangody’s size. Sophomore John Garcia, however, will probably be put up against Luke. Garcia is 6′9″, 265 pounds, which is a little bigger than Luke Harangody at 6′8″, 250. But I can’t forget Eugene Harvey of the Pirates who is the second leading scorer on the team with 15.7 points per game. Harvey is also a Sophomore and a big threat to the Irish defense.
Notre Dame will need big games from both Kyle McAlarney and Luke Harangody. This duo has taken home Big East Player of the Week the past two weeks, and is incredibly hard to stop. If McAlarney is having a rough game, Harangody will be there to save the team, and vice versa. Than there is the chance that both are playing well and therefore Notre Dame dominates the opposing team. I don’t think there has been a game where both have had bad days, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Kyle McAlarney is unbelievable from beyond the arc. He shoots 44.5% from three and makes around three a game, with a high of seven. McAlarney has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season. He averages 15.2 points per game, only behind Harangody on the young Irish team.
Luke Harangody managed to get his average over 20 points by scoring 29 against DePaul in only thirty minutes of play. One of the keys to his success is scoring early. Luke always starts out strong and gets Notre Dame rolling. He managed to score the first nine points for the Fighting Irish last Saturday against the Blue Demons. Let’s hope Luke can put in another thirty and lead ND to another victory.
I believe that Notre Dame has the slight advantage in this game, but Seton Hall will keep it close considering it’s in Newark. The Irish will hopefully come away with another conference win and keep their spot in second place in the Big East. I’m not sure if the game will be televised, so if you have any infomation on this, please let me know. As always, Go irish!
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1st Feb 2008
The Blue Demons of DePaul will be coming into South Bend tomorrow to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at 6:00 PM ET. DePaul is 9-11 overall this season and 4-4 in the Big East. The Irish are 15-4 overall so far and second best, 5-2 in the Big East. The Blue Demons are currently on a two game losing streak, Notre Dame the opposite.
DePaul has lost it’s last two contests by nine points and five points to Marquette and Syracuse. They average 73.1 points a game, but give up 74.2 per match this season. Their biggest win was probably against Villanova earlier in the season at home, however the Wildcats got their revenge only a little later beating the Blue Demons in Philly. DePaul is the worst rebounding team in the Big East only averaging 35.5 per game.
Draelon Burns, a 6′4″ guard, leads the way for the Blue Demons, averaging 17.5 points. He shoots a lot of threes but is not as successful as the Irish are from behind the arc. Mac Koshwal will be put up against Harangody to try and slow him down. Koshwal is 6′10″, 240 pounds and gets roughly 8 rebounds and 11.5 points each match he plays. He will definitely have trouble guarding the monster, Luke Harangody.
Notre Dame will look to extend it’s home winning streak to 33 games with a win over the Blue Demons tomorrow night. The Fighting Irish have won their last two games by 10 and 7 points, over Villanova and Providence. They will be coming off the exciting overtime victory over the Friars and should be rather confident. Notre Dame now averages 79.3 points and 42.5 rebounds each game, which is among the best in the Big East. A win here would almost guarantee a spot in the rankings and make the NCAA tournament a great possiblity.
Luke Harangody is coming off one of the biggest games of his career, scoring 31 points and grabbing 14 rebounds last night against Providence. He will have a great game like he always does and secure his spot as the leader in points per game in the Big East. He’s currently leading with 19.9 total and that could possibly increase to over 20.
Kyle McAlarney had a slow game against Providence after his phenomenal play at Villanova. He will be looking to get back on track and hit some three point shots. Kyle only had eight points, but two three pointers in his last game and will come out ready to contribute more for his team. However, if Tory Jacksons performs the way he did last night, we won’t have to depend on McAlarney having a big night.
Tory Jackson made a big, big difference against Providence and had some key plays to send the game into overtime and put the game away. He finished with 14 points, 7 assists and 2 steals in the Irish victory. I’m absolutely sure that his confidence boosted tremendously and he will take some more chances.
I can’t guarantee a blowout on this one after what happened last night, but I do expect Notre Dame to win. I think Harangody and the outside shooting will be too much for DePaul to handle and the winning streak will be extended once again. The game will be on ESPN Classic, so I’ll be able to watch it, hopefully you will be able to as well. Best of luck to Notre Dame and as always, Go Irish!
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30th Jan 2008
The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be put up against the Friars of Providence tomorrow night on national television. The game will be on either ESPN or ESPN2 at 7:00 PM EST. Providence is currently 12-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big East. This ties them for third to last in the Big East with Villanova who is also 3-4. The Irish are now in second in the Big East behind the Hoyas who have only one loss which was to Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame received a lot of votes in the polls this week but were just a little shy from breaking into the top 25. With a win tomorrow and a win on Saturday against DePaul, the Irish have a real good shot at getting in there. But the first step is extending the home winning streak against the Friars.
Providence doesn’t have any true star on their team and win with a team effort. They have five players who average 10+ points, but zero who average more than 14. They play a lot of guards who are somewhat tall for that position, but no true big man to stop Harangody. Their highest scorer is Jeff Xavier, a six-foot-one guard from Rhode Island averaging 13.1 points a game. Although, the Friars are the third best three-point shooting team in the Big East, making 38.0% of their attempts.
Notre Dame of course leads the Big East from beyond the arc due largely to Kyle McAlarney. Kyle is coming off one of the biggest games of his career at Villanova where he scored 30 points. He made five of eight from beyond the arc and if he can come close to doing that again, I gurantee an Irish victory. But in my opinion, Kyle will play well for sure, but Luke Harangody is going to dominate this game. The Friars do have a 6′11″ center, Randall Hanke, but he weighs ten pounds less than Harangody who is only 6′8″. Luke will use his strength to overpower Hanke and dominate in the paint.
Tory Jackson is one of the nation’s leaders in assists, averaging 5.9, but needs to develop a shot. Jackson can pass the ball and help his teammates out, but he needs to start contributing more in the score. He scores an average of only 6.7 points a game and rarely ever shoots. He can take the ball to the hoop and draw a foul with his quickness and athleticism but for some reason chooses not to most of the time. Notre Dame would be much more successful if Tory would take some more shot attempts. If he’s not making any, fine, give the ball to Harangody or McAlarney, they will score.
Either way I think the Irish will win the game in a blowout, considering the game is at home and Providence doesn’t present a great challenege. Luke Harangody will have a big game and Notre Dame will improve to 5-2 in the Big East and 15-4 overall. As always, Go Irish!
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25th Jan 2008
Notre Dame men’s basketball team will be taking on Big East rival, Villanova tomorrow afternoon in Philadelphia. The Wildcats have moved up to 18th in the rankings as of January 21st. The Irish however still have not yet been ranked. After big losses to both Marquette and Georgetown, voters have still not seen a legitimate reason for putting them into the Top 25. Notre Dame will look to rebound from the Georgetown loss, Villanova from the Rutgers upset on Wednesday.
These two teams share identical overall records, 13-4, but Notre Dame has one less loss in Big East matches. The Irish are 3-2 in Big East games, both losses coming in away games. The Wildcats are 3-3 in the Big East with their losses also coming from away contests. Playing at home in Philadelphia, gives the Wildcats a great advantage. It is very difficult to win away games in the Big East and this has been proven true throughout the season. Notre Dame has yet to win on the road, but many feel that they will get a ‘W’ in tomorrows game.
Some statistics. Notre Dame barely outscores Villanova with 78.6 points compared to 77.5. The Irish out-rebound the Wildcats 43.1 to 37.0, have more assists, 18.7 to 13.9, and a better field goal percentage, 45.1% to 44.4%. Notre Dame also averages less turnovers, more blocks, and a better free-throw percentage. Based upon the stats, Notre Dame appears to have the slightest edge on Villanova but this means nothing considering the game is at the Wachovia Center.
Notre Dame will need to be able to shoot from three tomorrow, which they couldn’t do against Georgetown. In order for the Irish to win the game, Kyle McAlarney will need to perform better than last week and start making some shots. All of his teammates will need to help him get into rhythm so that they will have the best chance to win the game. Don’t forget Harangody, he won’t be up against a seven footer again, but he won’t be able to walk right over Dante Cunningham of Villanova. If these two players step up for Notre Dame and the surrounding cast pitches in, the Irish could keep this a close game and leave Philly with a win.
Villanova has a stud in Scottie Reynolds who is only a Sophomore and leads the team in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Notre Dame will look to shut him down and take him out of the game, but even than, freshman Corey Fisher will have no problem taking over his role. The six-foot-one guard out of the Bronx can play and is second on the team in scoring. The Wildcats always have strong guards, and often their big men are forgotten. Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham, both junior forwards, control the glass for Villanova and play a large part in their success. The Wildcats will need to play a strong, clean game in order to beat the Irish, but with home court advantage, it should be a close game.
I will be attending the game tomorrow afternoon at the Wachovia Center, cheering the Fighting Irish on. I’ll do my best to take some pictures and will have an in-depth post game article up sometime that day. That is all for now, and as always, Go Irish!
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18th Jan 2008
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball team squares off against Georgetown tomorrow afternoon in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas are currently ranked 5th/6th in the nation. Both teams however are tied for first place in the Big East along with Pittsburgh and Louisville. Both losses in the Big East for each team came when playing an away game. Notre Dame @ Marquette and Georgetown @ Pittsburgh. Thus giving Georgetown a slight advantage on their home court, but expect the Irish to come out strong.
Some interesting facts; Luke Harangody leads the Big East in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game. He also is third in rebounds per game with 9.6. Georgetown’s star, Roy Hibbert is averaging 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Ignore the statistics though, these two should go at one another the entire game and it should be a great matchup. This should be a reason for any basketball fan to watch the game, whether or not you like either team.
Notre Dame averages 79.4 points per game as a team, 43.1 rebounds, and top the Big East in three-point shooting with a 41.6 percentage. Georgetown averages 72.7 points, dead last in rebounds with 35.8, but second behind the Irish in three-point shooting with a 39.7 percentage. Three-point shooting should play a large role in this game as both teams are outstanding from beyond the arc. Kyle McAlarney will need to be sharp throughout the game to keep the Irish in it.
In conclusion, this game should be nationally televised, but sadly, it isn’t. Tune into UND.com for the live play-by-play if you can’t get the game on TV. This game should go down to the wire, even though many are expecting the Irish to get blown out. A win would most likely guarantee the Irish a spot in the Top 25 next week. As always, Go Irish!
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19th Oct 2007
Notre Dame is taking on #14/13/9 USC tomorrow at 3:30 in South Bend, Indiana. USC is 5-1 and the Irish are only 1-6. Here are some stat comparison between the two rivals.
Notre Dame - 225.6 ypg - 13.3 ppg - 193.4 pypg - 32.1 rypg
USC - 441.5 ypg - 34.0 ppg - 243.3 pypg - 198.2 rypg
While Charlie Weis announced Sharpley the starter earlier this week, Pete Carroll will not tell the media. John David Booty broke his middle finger and sat out last week but could be healthy enough to play this weekend. Mark Sanchez, a sophmore quarterback got the call last week against Arizona and likely will be the starter again, against the Irish. EDIT: Mark Sanchez will Start. Notre Dame has listed Travis Thomas as the number one running back this week because of James Aldridge’s injury. Expect him to get more carries than usual, along with freshmen Armando Allen and Robert Hughes.
Notre Dame has had trouble running the ball all year and this week just makes it harder. I expect the Irish to pass most of the game because of USC’s great running defense. Sharpley gets his first career start and will have to play very well to keep his spot, and prevent Clausen from getting in to the game. If Evan struggles, don’t be surprised if Jimmy replaces him right away.
Charlie Weis and the Irish will have to play their best game of the season offensively, defensively, and on special teams in order to stay in the game. Even with one loss, Southern Cal is still one of the top teams in the nation. Go Irish!
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