Post by elp525 on Feb 19, 2011 2:09:23 GMT -5
February 18, 2011
Notre Dame playing above preseason expectations
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - The Notre Dame team that plays at the WVU Coliseum this afternoon is not what anyone expected it to be this season.
Oh, sure, most Big East coaches will argue that Notre Dame's success is not all that surprising. They will cite the abundance of seniors on the team, the talent and coach Mike Brey's history of molding winners. They will insist that Notre Dame's 21-4 record, its 10-3 mark in the league and its top-10 ranking aren't all that surprising.
Then again, check back at the start of the season. Those same coaches picked the Irish to finish seventh in the Big East. That Notre Dame is in second place in the league and already has an NCAA tournament berth in its pocket is, indeed, a bit unexpected.
So, too, is the fact that Notre Dame has managed it without arguably the team's two best players from a year ago - three-time all-league pick and former Big East player of the year Luke Harangody and guard Tory Jackson.
Of course, the absence of those two was the reason the Irish were picked seventh. It might also be the driving force behind this winter's success.
"These guys live to show people that, 'Hey, we're pretty good, too, even though we lost this guy or that guy,' '' said Brey, a two-time Big East coach of the year. "There is a competitor's trait in this group that likes to show they're still pretty good.''
Today, West Virginia finds out what Notre Dame is all about this season. The Mountaineers (16-9, 7-6 Big East) play host to the Irish in a 1 p.m. game that will be televised by CBS. Given that the Mountaineers are 4-5 in their last nine games and Notre Dame has won seven in a row, it provides the perfect opportunity for the Mountaineers to begin turning things around with five games remaining in the regular season and an NCAA tournament berth still out there for grabs.
The game has been a sellout for weeks.
So how has Notre Dame managed so much success this season? Well, 6-foot-3 guard Ben Hansbrough is making a decent case for player of the year honors in the league, averaging 17.3 points, 4.1 assists, shooting 41.4 percent on 3-pointers and making 81 percent of his free throws. Almost every one of those numbers is better in Big East play than it was in the non-conference games.
Then throw in four other starters who all stand 6-8 and average between 9.6 and 14.3 points and this is a big, balanced team that is difficult to defend.
"The thing that concerns me is they can all score so they're difficult to defend,'' said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. "Who do you help on if they can all score?
"And when they line up they're all 6-8. The smallest guy on the floor is Hansbrough and he's 6-3. We can match up in the frontcourt, but we've got some matchup problems in the backcourt.''
Notre Dame's other starters are forwards Tyrone Nash (9.6 points per game), Tim Abromaitis (14.3) and Carlton Scott (11.8), along with guard Scott Martin (10.1). In addition to all being 6-8, they are all seniors and play like seniors.
"They've got six seniors. They ought to be smart,'' Huggins said. "Hansbrough's a fifth-year senior. They're all very good at doing what Mike wants them to do.''
West Virginia's players insist they aren't surprised at how well Notre Dame is playing even with the loss of Harangody and Jackson.
"It does and it doesn't,'' said forward Kevin Jones. "But they don't depend on one person. They've got five guys scoring in double figures and they all can hurt you. That's hard to defend."
BRIEFLY: West Virginia goes into today's game tied for ninth place in the Big East with Cincinnati, which is at Providence tonight. But the Mountaineers are also only a game out of fourth place and 11/2 out of third. A win today would put WVU within two games of Notre Dame for second place in the league. ... That today's game is on CBS is a good omen for West Virginia, which has won seven straight regular-season games on the network and eight of nine games overall (the loss was in last year's Final Four).
Notre Dame playing above preseason expectations
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - The Notre Dame team that plays at the WVU Coliseum this afternoon is not what anyone expected it to be this season.
Oh, sure, most Big East coaches will argue that Notre Dame's success is not all that surprising. They will cite the abundance of seniors on the team, the talent and coach Mike Brey's history of molding winners. They will insist that Notre Dame's 21-4 record, its 10-3 mark in the league and its top-10 ranking aren't all that surprising.
Then again, check back at the start of the season. Those same coaches picked the Irish to finish seventh in the Big East. That Notre Dame is in second place in the league and already has an NCAA tournament berth in its pocket is, indeed, a bit unexpected.
So, too, is the fact that Notre Dame has managed it without arguably the team's two best players from a year ago - three-time all-league pick and former Big East player of the year Luke Harangody and guard Tory Jackson.
Of course, the absence of those two was the reason the Irish were picked seventh. It might also be the driving force behind this winter's success.
"These guys live to show people that, 'Hey, we're pretty good, too, even though we lost this guy or that guy,' '' said Brey, a two-time Big East coach of the year. "There is a competitor's trait in this group that likes to show they're still pretty good.''
Today, West Virginia finds out what Notre Dame is all about this season. The Mountaineers (16-9, 7-6 Big East) play host to the Irish in a 1 p.m. game that will be televised by CBS. Given that the Mountaineers are 4-5 in their last nine games and Notre Dame has won seven in a row, it provides the perfect opportunity for the Mountaineers to begin turning things around with five games remaining in the regular season and an NCAA tournament berth still out there for grabs.
The game has been a sellout for weeks.
So how has Notre Dame managed so much success this season? Well, 6-foot-3 guard Ben Hansbrough is making a decent case for player of the year honors in the league, averaging 17.3 points, 4.1 assists, shooting 41.4 percent on 3-pointers and making 81 percent of his free throws. Almost every one of those numbers is better in Big East play than it was in the non-conference games.
Then throw in four other starters who all stand 6-8 and average between 9.6 and 14.3 points and this is a big, balanced team that is difficult to defend.
"The thing that concerns me is they can all score so they're difficult to defend,'' said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. "Who do you help on if they can all score?
"And when they line up they're all 6-8. The smallest guy on the floor is Hansbrough and he's 6-3. We can match up in the frontcourt, but we've got some matchup problems in the backcourt.''
Notre Dame's other starters are forwards Tyrone Nash (9.6 points per game), Tim Abromaitis (14.3) and Carlton Scott (11.8), along with guard Scott Martin (10.1). In addition to all being 6-8, they are all seniors and play like seniors.
"They've got six seniors. They ought to be smart,'' Huggins said. "Hansbrough's a fifth-year senior. They're all very good at doing what Mike wants them to do.''
West Virginia's players insist they aren't surprised at how well Notre Dame is playing even with the loss of Harangody and Jackson.
"It does and it doesn't,'' said forward Kevin Jones. "But they don't depend on one person. They've got five guys scoring in double figures and they all can hurt you. That's hard to defend."
BRIEFLY: West Virginia goes into today's game tied for ninth place in the Big East with Cincinnati, which is at Providence tonight. But the Mountaineers are also only a game out of fourth place and 11/2 out of third. A win today would put WVU within two games of Notre Dame for second place in the league. ... That today's game is on CBS is a good omen for West Virginia, which has won seven straight regular-season games on the network and eight of nine games overall (the loss was in last year's Final Four).
