McAlarney Steps Up as Irish Beat Nova

26th Jan 2008

Notre Dame 90
Villanova 80

Pictures at Bottom of Post

Notre Dame captured it’s first road win of the season in Philadelphia this afternoon. The Wildcats were not able to handle the three-point shooting of the Fighting Irish. The Irish are now 4-2 in Big East play and Villanova falls to 3-4. The Wildcats just came off a loss to Rutgers and could not bounce back at the Wachovia Center today. Notre Dame on the other hand, improved tremendously after the lopsided loss to Georgetown.

Notre Dame is now 14-4 on the year with twelve scheduled games remaining. This win today in Philly is definitely a confidence-booster for the young Irish team who had previously not won away from home in Big East contests. Key factors in the game were the play of Kyle McAlarney, three-point shooting, second half defense, and a few other things.

Kyle McAlarney lead the way for the Irish today with his three-point shooting and key baskets. He finished with 30 points, half of which were from three, and some crucial free throws down the stretch. Two or three of his five made three-pointers came from beyond NBA range, constantly quieting the rowdy Villanova fans. McAlarney’s presence just made each Irish player better and allowed them to make some plays. Ryan Ayers answered some of Kyle’s threes with his own, letting everyone know that he can shoot as well. Notre Dame would’ve have lost the game if Kyle McAlarney did not perform the way he did.

Villanova’s only lead came very early in the game when they scored the first four points. They did manage to tie it up at 15-15, but other than that, Notre Dame held a commanding lead the whole game. The largest lead for the Irish was 18 points and they led by at least ten for most of the afternoon. The Wildcats could just not gain enough momentum to catch up, but came close with a couple defensive stands and shots that got the crowd on their feet. In the end Notre Dame came away with a ten point victory, making a statement to the voters.

The Irish defense had a few struggles in the first half, such as stopping Villanova’s inside play. The Wildcats drove to the basket with ease and rarely had to take jump shots in the first twenty minutes. However, Mike Brey made sure that wouldn’t happen again in the second half and forced Villanova to shoot from the outside. The Wildcats finished with a 45.1% shooting percentage making 32 of their 71 shot attempts.

Notre Dame had the exact opposite problem. They couldn’t drive the ball to the basket and had to resort to shooting the three. This turned out to be great, like it normally does, because they were 9 of 21 from beyond the arc. From the field, Notre Dame made 27 of 53 shots, 50.9%. One of the biggest differences in the game was free throw shooting between the two teams. Notre Dame was at the line 38 times, making 27 of them, most coming in the end of the game. Villanova however, only got to the free-throw line 12 times, making 9. This probably turned out to be an even greater factor than Kyle McAlarney’s shooting.

Although, Villanova did out-rebound the Irish 37 to 40, which appears close, but did not seem like it in the game. As I watched the game, Villanova appeared to get a lot more rebounds, especially on the offensive side. Antonio Pena of Villanova led the way for the Wildcats with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Big East player of the week, last week, Scottie Reynolds finished with only 13 points, most coming late in the game, making little impact on the outcome. He had trouble shooting and could not get into rhythm as McAlarney stole the spotlight.

Luke Harangody had trouble against Antonio Pena early in the game, but finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. His outstanding second half play made up for his slow start. Luke used his size and strength to overpower his opponents and get to the line, completing a couple three-point plays. I personally thought he had a quiet game until the end, but either way he scored some points and recorded another double-double.

As most of you probably know, I was at the game and managed to take some pictures throughout the game. My seats were up high, but in the center of the court so there aren’t any close ups. Also, take into consideration that my camera doesn’t have a real zoom and is made for close shots. However, I did sneak down to the lower seats towards the end of the game and got some pictures of the bench, Mike Brey, and some free-throw attempts. So basically check the pictures out and feel free to leave some comments.

Get this post on NDLNA!

1 Comment