Notre Dame

Feb 25 ESPN about most inconsistent teams

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Seemingly everyone is high on the Irish these days, as they have won nine straight games — six of those against BPI top-50 opponents, including Wednesday’s destruction of West Virginia — to make people forget about their disappointing start to the season. Despite being ranked 18th in the coaches poll, they are just 49th in BPI. Taking into account automatic bids from low conferences, this ranking would put Notre Dame close to the bubble if you believe, as we do, that this is the best representation of a team’s overall merit.

How is this possible for a team with so many quality wins? The key is to look beyond the recent great wins and take a bigger-picture look at the Irish’s performance during the entire season:

• They’ve lost to three opponents ranked outside the top 100 (Georgia, Maryland and Rutgers).
• Their other five losses came against good competition, but the average margin of defeat was 18 ppg (all of them by double digits).
• They have had six games in which their Game BPI was below 40, tied for the most among teams ranked in the top 75.

Couple the last fact with the knowledge that they’ve also had 14 games with a BPI of 80-plus, and you have the story of Notre Dame’s season. It has been about as inconsistent as it gets for a legitimate NCAA tournament team.

Article on surprises and disappointments this year (surprises)

Major Surprises

1. Notre Dame — A team projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big East is now poised to earn a No. 2 seed in the tournament. But the road will be tough for the Fighting Irish to a top spot in the Big Dance with games against Villanova, whom they’ve not played yet, and at Connecticut, a team they beat by only three at home earlier. Regardless, Notre Dame should be “dancing” come March, especially if they finish high in the conference tournament.

2. Vanderbilt — Also a team projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC is now in place for a potential No. 5 seed. But with conference powers Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida left on the schedule, the Commodores’ stock could drop a little, although not enough to knock them out of the tournament. And a good showing in the SEC tournament wouldn’t hurt.

3. St. John’s — Steve Lavin’s return to the bench has been a successful one, to say the least. The Red Storm were predicted to finish behind Notre Dame in the Big East, but are now projected as a No. 6 seed in the Tournament. With only Villanova as the remaining challenge on the schedule, St. John’s could take some momentum into the Big East Tournament and earn an even higher seed.

4. St. Mary’s — Projected to finish just behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, but be passed over for tournament consideration, the Gaels are now looking at a possible No. 7 seed. St. Mary’s can sew up the conference title with a win over the Zags this week and then look to have a head of steam going into the conference tournament. If they win both the regular season and tourney titles, they could oust Gonzaga from March Madness.

5. UNLV — Predicted to finish fourth in the Mountain West, the Runnin’ Rebels have gone from Tournament hopefuls to a potential seventh seed. All that’s left for the Rebs on the schedule are bubble team New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah. Then it’s on to the MWC tournament where they’ll try to wreak some havoc against two other surprising teams from the conference.

Mild Surprises

1. San Diego State — Projected to win the MWC but only be a No. 7 tournament seed at the beginning of the year, now a potential No. 1 seed. However, they’ll have a tough road to No. 1 the rest of the way with BYU, Wyoming (not so tough), and Colorado State to end the regular season. If they can win out they’ll probably earn a top seed somewhere, even if they don’t win the Mountain West tournament.

2. Texas — Also projected to be a No. 7 seed preseason and in position to be a No. 1. They also have a seemingly difficult schedule with Colorado, Kansas State, and Baylor left, but two of those teams have been big disappointments this year. Barring a major disaster, the Longhorns will be a top seed somewhere, and maybe even No. 1 overall.

3. BYU — Predicted to finish just behind San Diego State in the MWC and earn a No. 8 seed into the tournament, the Cougars have played well enough to be a possible No. 2 in March. But they’re schedule the rest of the way is also tough, with the aforementioned matchup with the Aztecs, plus games against Colorado State and New Mexico. The conference tournament should be the tell-all of just how high BYU can go in the March Madness seeding.

4. UConn — Projected to finish eighth in the Big East and be just a No. 12 seed into the tournament, the Huskies are looking at a possible No. 3 seed. While they sit in the middle of the pack in the conference standings, an upset win over Notre Dame and a good finish in the conference tournament could solidify UConn as a legitimate No. 3.

5. Old Dominion — Predicted to finish second in the Colonial, but miss the tournament, the Monarchs are now a possible No. 8 seed and potentially one of three teams to earn a tournament berth. It will be the conference tournament that will decide where they ultimately end up in the March bracket.

The best of the rest — George Mason, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Louisville

Notre Dame after loss to ST Johns

St. John’s turned things around against Notre Dame with defense, smothering perimeter defense.

Eight days after a 15-point loss at Notre Dame, St. John’s beat the Irish 72-54 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

“My statement is St. John’s defended the heck out us,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We had trouble with their fullcourt pressure, with their halfcourt stuff. We could never get in any rhythm.”

It’s hard to imagine that two games played between the same teams just eight days apart could be more different.    St. John’s, which trailed 45-22 at halftime last Saturday, led this game 26-19 at halftime, holding the Irish to a school-record low four field goals in the opening 20 minutes of a Big East game.

Things didn’t change much in the second half as St. John’s continued to play strong perimeter defense while shooting 63.6 percent (14 of 22) from the field. They held the Irish, who entered shooting 36.9 percent from beyond the arc, to 3 for 15 (20 percent) for the game.

Notre Dame shot 41 percent for the game (16 of 39), but the Red Storm finished at 48.9 percent.

The Irish committed 20 turnovers, nine over their season average.

The St. John’s scouting report must have changed drastically from one week to the next.

“Our schemes and approach—and this is the mystery of sports that keeps coaches scratching their heads—our scouting report didn’t change from last week, but our execution was at a higher level and we were able to dictate the game and impose our will on Notre Dame,” St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said.

The change in the defense could be attributed to a team looking for revenge and an end to a two-game losing streak.

“This was real big for us, to bounce back from two losses,” said Malik Boothe, who had 14 points. “We were more focused on getting a big payback win. Last week we really didn’t play our best. Against Syracuse we had a good 12 minutes and then they had their way. We played a hard-fought 40 minutes and got the win.”

D.J. Kennedy also scored 14 points for the Red Storm (11-5, 4-2), who lost 76-61 at Notre Dame last Saturday, shooting just 38.2 percent from the field while the Fighting Irish (14-4, 3-3) shot 51 percent.

Notre Dame really hurt itself at the free throw line making 19 of 32 after entering the game at 73.5 percent, fourth in the conference.

Ben Hansbrough, who had a career-high 26 points in the first meeting, led Notre Dame with 18 points.

“We really let the last game get away from us. We felt like they were comfortable on their home court,” Kennedy said of the first meeting. “So we just wanted to come out and be aggressive and make it a little uncomfortable for them, especially Hansbrough. We wanted to apply pressure on all of their perimeter guys.”

Hansbrough said the game’s location had something to do with the difference in defense.

“They played more physical, but part of that may have been because we were on the road,” he said. “In the second half D.J. stepped up and hit some big shots for them.”

Notre Dame got within 37-31 with 13:18 left on a breakaway dunk by Hansbrough that capped a 6-0 run. The crowd of 8,550 started to sense things were going to turnaround. But Kennedy hit his only 3-point attempt of the game 21 seconds later to restore the lead to nine points.

“The shots I take are what I do at practice and after practice,” said Kennedy, who scored all his points in the second half. “Coach forced me to be aggressive at times and that’s what I did.”

St. John’s, one of the Big East’s worst 3-point shooting teams at 30 percent, finished 4 for 9 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range.

St. John’s biggest lead was 55-36 on a drive by Dwight Hardy with 6:28 to play. Notre Dame went on a 10-2 run to get within 11, but Kennedy hit a hurried bank shot and was fouled for a three-point play with 4:15 remaining.

“That was Kennedy being Kennedy,” Brey said “He’s a main guy and he bangs down a 3 from in front of their bench. That’s what a senior and one of the better players in the league did. It’s what he should do.”

This was the fourth of eight straight games against ranked teams for the Red Storm. They started the run with a win over Georgetown, then lost to Notre Dame and Syracuse.

“Look at anybody’s next six games in this league,” Brey said, referring to the Big East having half of the top 10 and eight overall in the poll. “It is by far the best league in the country. Everybody watches it because it’s drama and it’s playing out again.”

This is the first time St. John’s has beaten two ranked teams in a season since 2005-06, when they defeated Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Notre Dame

2010 tournament summary: Stats lightly said bet on ND – they were wrong. Old dominion covered the 2 point spread winning by 1. In a really low scoring game, Notre Dame couldnt put together two solid possessions in a row. This teams lack of athleticism showed verse the gritty and athletic Old Dominion team.

2011 Outlook:  Sans Jackson and Harangody, this team is somewhat of an enigma. They will score with Hansboro, Scott, and Abromaitis able to hit shots, but they are unknown down low.  They return some players like Carelton Scott and add 6’7 Scott Martin. So… could be a decent team and could stink. I think this team has enough talent all over to be good and depending on how they work together above average. Look for balanced scoring and mismatch of Abromaitis to be the key.

Game Notes: Win Wisconsin:  Wisconsin’s frontline bullied and bruised an undersized Irish team early. Notre Dame began sitting in its zone defense and keeping Wisconsin on the perimeter. The move paid off, and the Irish scored the last 11 points of the half to take a 22-19 lead at the break.A gritty Notre Dame found its rhythm and clamped down defensively. Wisconsin was smothered at both ends of the court. “They had some guys that made timely baskets and timely free throws, and that’s how you win those kind of grinders,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “And both our teams will be in more of them before the season’s out.”

Gottlieb: This is a solid team that can play man- and zone-coverage effectively.

UMBC:  “They are fun to watch play,” he said. “They are really more fun to watch on TV than to coach against, but this is the kind of play you want each and every team you coach to play like. It is hard to coach against five guys who play as solidly Notre Dame does.” Brey gave much of the credit for the cohesiveness to his five senior starters.  “There is a lot of peer pressure to stay on the island,” he said. “No one has jumped off the island and [played selfishly] yet. The Irish were 10 of 29 from beyond the arc, the fifth time this season they have notched 10 or more 3s.

Vs Georgetown: My favorite Notre Dame team in years. Great “ballers” in Martin and Hansboro. Abrimitis creates such a mismatch and he is really! good. They play sound defense, man to man and zone, and they just seem to get it. I do wonder how they will perform against a very athletic team.. they will bore them to death on offense with their slow back cuts, but not sure how they do runing up and down the court.. IF they allow a team to do that. They shut down Georgetowns drives and inside game until they just sat outside the arc and launched 3′s. On offense, they have just enough balanced scoring to win. They were also undersized in this game.. something Georgetown could not take advantage of … but they overcame with really solid position and help defense.

Vs Notre Dame: Hansborough is his brother in a smaller package. Smart, hustle, awesome. Add in Martin, Scott, and Abromitis and this team is so strong. They are just fun to watch dismantle a D. They ATTACK.. so you better be deep because you will foul. On defense, they play really solid help defense. I sure hope they lose a bunch somehow so they dont go into the tourney overrated, but I have a feeling this is a Two seed by tournament time.

Gottlieb Notes: Q: Why are Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Texas A&M so difficult to beat at home? A: There are all types of man-to-man defense. Pack defense is what Dick Bennett used to take his 2000 Wisconsin team to the Final Four. Essentially it is like a zone off the basketball in that every player on the weak side of the floor (the side without the ball) has at least a foot in the lane. Though every player, unlike a zone, has a man to guard, the idea of a pack is that one player must beat the entire team. It is boring and can be beaten by teams that shoot the ball well over a defender and in transition but, with experienced players who trust each other and are physical, it’s tough to play against, especially on the road.

Vs Pitt: Notre Dame is not good away from home           ( ND has yet to lose a game at home and yet to win on the road. You know that. You might also know that the Irish have yet to score 60 points in any Big East road game, and have yet to win a single non-neutral or non-home contest this season. What you might not know is that in its five Big East victories, Notre Dame has averaged 1.17 points per possession. That looks like the ND team we’ve seen for much of the season, the one that ranks No. 18 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. In its Big East three losses, Notre Dame has scored .88 points per possession. That performance is less familiar) at all so in this game the went to an extreme slow down offense. They would literally hold the ball until the last 10 seconds. What was interesting was the statement on their defenses lack of ability to stop Pitt. They wanted to eliminate their possessions as much as maximize their own and Pitt still outrebounded them.In its four tries this season — three of them in Big East conference play, one in a quasi-road game in Louisville vs. Kentucky — the Irish’s typically wet shooting dried up, and when Notre Dame doesn’t shoot the ball well, the defensively mediocre Irish struggle to keep up. Pretty simple stuff.

Vs Louisville at Home: Bob Knight made a great point as Louisville likes to press but did not almost the entire game because ND expereince makes it futile to press. ND never fouls and continue to have far more ft attempts then thair opponents.  They also did get a lot of points in the paint on transition but ND lveraged a height advantage against them. I also did an analysis of their pace and there is nearly zero pace differential home verse away.

ESPN Article:

The second is that Notre Dame’s offense — led by unlikely Big East player of the year candidate Ben Hansbrough — can be very, very good. This is nothing new; the Irish have been efficient offensively for most of the season. But rarely has it been on such display as Monday night. Among the crazy numbers Mike Brey’s team put up against the Wildcats:

• The Irish scored 93 points on 64 possessions, or 1.45 points per trip.
• The Irish shot 32 3-point field goals. They made 20 of them. Twenty!
• Of those 20 made 3s, Tim Abromaitis made nine. (Nine!) Hansbrough made seven. (Seven!) Combined, the two were 16-of-23 from beyond the arc.
• Thanks in large part to those long-range efforts, Notre Dame posted an effective field goal percentage of 75.0, the highest of any Notre Dame team since Nov. 22, 2000, according to Toby Petitpas and Nathan Salinas of ESPN Stats & Information.
• Both Hansbrough and Abromaitis scored 30 points. I’m trying to figure out whether that’s some sort of record or not. Either way, it’s crazy impressive.
• The Irish shot 20 free throws and made 15. Villanova shot nine and made five. And, yes, that had less to do with the referees than it did with both teams.

In short, what Notre Dame did to Villanova last night was insane. It’s also entirely unsustainable; no offense is going to keep up shooting percentages like this. There are no smoke and mirrors surrounding this 24-5 team with its gaudy 13-4 Big East record. No, the Irish are just really, really good at offensive basketball. We saw that, and not for the first time, Monday night.