Preview: Notre Dame vs. DePaul
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!
