Men's hoops tourny prospects

[BillyIrish]

Do they get in??

Remaining schedule
@Villanova
@Rutgers
Cincinnati
South Florida
@Seton Hall
St. Johns
@Louisville
Pittsburgh
@Georgetown
UCONN
@Marquette

To get into the NCAA Notre Dame needs to take care of business against Rutgers, South Florida, Seton Hall, St. Johns, and Marquette. That would put them at 20 wins and give them an outside shot. To solidify a tourny berth I think they need 23 wins. They do not have any wins worth noting on the road. The West Virginia win was huge but, the Loyola loss was equally hurtful. I think the two most important games left for ND are against Cincinnati and Louisville. They are both bubble teams. A season sweep at the hands of Cincy could be devastating. Big East tournament would be the last chance for this team to make a statement. I am not sure what that statement is though. Are they a team built to make a run. They have a monster on the interior, an experienced point guard, and can shoot it from the perimeter. or... Are they a team that can be upset early? They go through long scoring droughts, play little D, have trouble rebounding at times, and I am not sure how tough they are.

Martin could return for Notre Dame - College Football - College Basketball - Rumors - FanNation

Seems highly unlikely. coming back completely from blowing out his knee in 5 months? IF he is able to contribute in any way it would be huge though. The Irish need depth, especially during post season play.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

In my opinion I think they will get in. I see the schedule playing out like this:

Remaining schedule
@Villanova L
@Rutgers W
Cincinnati W
South Florida W
@Seton Hall L
St. Johns W
@Louisville L
Pittsburgh W
@Georgetown L
UCONN W
@Marquette W

If my math is correct, That would out them at 22-9 and 11-7 in conference. Right now their RPI is somewhat low (69) right above UNC and Lunardi had North Carolina is one of the last four in along with UCONN, Washington, and Louisville. You can argue that they will lose one of the games that I have them listed to win- which is very true. They could have a let down @ Marquette- but Marquette are down this year. But they could also win one of the games I have them listed to lose such as Seton Hall or Lousiville- perhaps even Villanova which i believe will be played at the Wachovia Center where Nova doesnt have that same Home Court advantage as when they play on campus at the Pavillion.

I also think that the last teams who get in is very subjective and they may give preference to a team with a possible player of the year in Harrongody. Barring an absolute collapse, they squeak in- especially with 11 wins in conference. 10 wins in conferecne should get them in although Providence got left out last year with 10 conf. wins, however, they were only 19-13 overall. A decent run in the Big East tourney will also help. Alot of "what if's" but i think they will make it is a #8 or #9 seed getting bounced in the round of 32.


And, YES, i do know they struggle on the defensive end.

 

[NDOM]

@Villanova Loss
@Rutgers Win
Cincinnati Loss
South Florida Win
@Seton Hall Loss
St. Johns Win
@Louisville Loss
Pittsburgh Loss
@Georgetown Loss
UCONN Loss
@Marquette Loss

18-13 with maybe an NIT bid. Those last 5 games will kill them.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

well if NDOM schedule plays out, they may not even make the NIT. haha.

If i recall, NDOM, you are a Brey hater, correct?

 

[NDOM]

well if NDOM schedule plays out, they may not even make the NIT. haha.

If i recall, NDOM, you are a Brey hater, correct?

No. I actually like Mike Brey. He's classy and has done nothing but win. But he lacks the killer instinct and NEVER plays defense. Live by the 3 and die by the 3 wont get you very far. You have to play sound defense as well and he has never shown that he can.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Yea, tough to win in Big East without playing D. Maybe they will get hot, maybe not. But I hope on March 3rd that they are ice cold.

Imperative that they win the 5 remaining home games, win @ Rutgers and steal 1 one of the 5 others on the road.

 

[NDOM]

Yea, tough to win in Big East without playing D. Maybe they will get hot, maybe not. But I hope on March 3rd that they are ice cold.

Imperative that they win the 5 remaining home games, win @ Rutgers and steal 1 one of the 5 others on the road.

Its just too hard to really predict how they will finish. They could finish HOT but then again they could finish COLD. This team is too unpredictable. I'm hoping for a strong finish and a good run in the tourney. I'm tired of Notre Dame losing in the first or second round. But Brey seems to win 20+ game a year and that is by far better than some of the other guys we have had here. Brey just needs to addapt some different form of defense or get a couple good defenders in his next class.

 

[irishfan]

A win over Nova would be huge cause we could potentially be favored in the 6 games that follow.

@Villanova W
@Rutgers W
Cincinnati W
South Florida W
@Seton Hall W
St. Johns W
@Louisville W
Pittsburgh L
@Georgetown L
UCONN L
@Marquette W

I think this would put us in with two huge wins over WVU and Nova on the season.

 

[fitz_bu47]

They gotta win the one's they should and pull at least one upset....Nova would be nice!

 

[PADOMERNUT]

A win over Nova would be huge cause we could potentially be favored in the 6 games that follow.

@Villanova W
@Rutgers W
Cincinnati W
South Florida W
@Seton Hall W
St. Johns W
@Louisville W
Pittsburgh L
@Georgetown L
UCONN L
@Marquette W

I think this would put us in with two huge wins over WVU and Nova on the season.

Really? You really think we can beat Nova? I dont know man, I am about as optimistic as they come but I dont see any way they go on the road and beat the third ranked team in the country.

That being said, 10-8 in the league, 22-10 overall absolutely gets us in.

 

[irishfan]

Really? You really think we can beat Nova? I dont know man, I am about as optimistic as they come but I dont see any way they go on the road and beat the third ranked team in the country.

That being said, 10-8 in the league, 22-10 overall absolutely gets us in.

Well, I'm going to the game, so I have to pick the upset lol

And we can hang with anyone in the country and can honestly lose to just about anyone in the country (WVU 1st half, LMU game)

 

[PADOMERNUT]

Well, I'm going to the game, so I have to pick the upset lol

And we can hang with anyone in the country and can honestly lose to just about anyone in the country (WVU 1st half, LMU game)

Bring home a win man, I will certainly be watching

 

[DomeX2 eNVy]

My guess is that we need to win all the lower tier games (Rutgers, St. John's, S. FL); go 3-2 against the mids (SH, Cin, Marq, Lou) - currently 0-1; and win 2 top 20 games - already have 1, need one more - maybe Pittsburgh or Georgetown. We don't match up well with UCONN's height, and don't have enough speed for these teams.
Tomorrow's Villanova game could be a win, as we have some decent matchups, but it is doubtful due to overall talent and home court.

My guess is they don't quite get all these wins and end up with a high NIT seed, which will have me very depressed again.

 

[NDOM]

Nova is gonna smoke us. Dont even kid yourself.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Its a winable game- especially in the Wachovia Center. That arena blows for Home Court Advantage. THAT BEING SAID--- They lose by 7 after Nova makes their free throws down the stretch.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

But Brey seems to win 20+ game a year and that is by far better than some of the other guys we have had here. Brey just needs to addapt some different form of defense or get a couple good defenders in his next class.

Opinion of next years class? I saw 6'4'' and 6'6'' at SG. decent size, maybe they can defend. decent PG too.

 

[BillyIrish]

Another thing worth noting is part of the criteria for evaluating bubble teams. Road wins and record over the last 12 games. even with a record above .500 in conference play, ND probably is not going to feel real comfortable going into NYC. They are going to need to win one, probably two games at MSG.


Nova and their "4 out 1 in" motion offense is a nightmare match-up for ND. Expect to see a lot of zone. The key is going to be defensive rebounding out of the zone. on the other end Brey would be wise to work inside out. Get it to Gody early and often. make them double him. This could be a marquee win that gets ND off of the bubble line.

 

[DaLastFarleyite]

Really? You really think we can beat Nova? I dont know man, I am about as optimistic as they come but I dont see any way they go on the road and beat the third ranked team in the country.

That being said, 10-8 in the league, 22-10 overall absolutely gets us in.

I have to agree 100%. PAC 10 is down this year and may only get two teams invited to the dance. ACC isn't as strong as usual and I doubt more than 4 teams are invited from there. Absolutely everyone says the Big East is the premier conference from top to bottom. That means at least eight teams from the Big East are invited and it wouldn't surprise me that nine is the final number. Another factor is that Harangody is likely to be either the POY or runner-up. The NCAA would probably like to have the All Americans at the dance if a case can be made to invite them. So, that doesn't hurt the cause either. If ND can go 10-8 in league, I can't fathom them not getting in.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

I don't see ND aking it. That Maramount loss will kill them. ND needs to play a tougher non-conference schedule. Only 2 RPI Top 100 teams in the non-conference (Northwestern & IUPUI) is really bad.

 

[BillyIrish]

Bracketology - ESPN

ACC, Big East, Big 12 each have 7 teams in the field according to Lunardi.

Lunardi doesn't even have ND as one of the next 8 in line to get in. I'm sticking with a minimum of 23 wins to get ND in. unless they can knock off 2 ranked teams coming down the stretch. 0 notable road wins. The non conference schedule was a joke and they got embarrassed twice. once at home and once on a neutral site.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

Nova is gonna smoke us. Dont even kid yourself.

I completely agree that we have little to no chance to beat Nova, but I have a sick feeling this is going to be one of those games where they rip your heart out. They play out of their minds for 36 minutes and lose it in the end. Same old story.

That being said, I see this game as playing with house money. A win is enormous come Selection Sunday, but at the same time the committee isnt going to keep us out because we didnt win at Nova. This is not the games we have to win. The games we have to win are the ones against other teams that we will be fighting for spots, like Louisville, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, etc...

 

[BillyIrish]

Hopefully the Irish rebound today. playing a conference road game is never an easy task though, regardless of the opposition's record. They do have a good chance to build some momentum in these next 6 games. We are going to see the true character of this Irish team over this stretch. Gotta take care of business if they want to be dancing in late march...

Game is on TV tonight at 6 est on ESPN2

 

[irishfan]

We need to go 5-1 at the worst over the next 6 games. We could be favored in all 6.

 

[BillyIrish]

just pitiful.... Every single stereotype showed up again. Rebounding, defense, and poor execution in critical situations. Not going to break it down any further....

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

That's what happens when you don't play a good team in non-conference. This team didn't deserve to be in the tourney.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

I will now eat delicious crow. this horrible horrible losS officially ends their tourney chances in myopinion. i defended brey but this is garbage. i'm a uconn fan as i always state but Uconn is on the brink too. i haven't read anyone else's post because i'm on a pub crawl and i'm posting from my phone. well i hope it works out for both programs. in summary of this post- worst loss in years, road game or not

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Brey is all but gone.

 

[choo choo]

not gonna beat nova there, but hey i think they still find a way in

 

[NDOM]

Notre Dames tournament prospect????? ROFLMFAO!!!! This team will be lucky to win 3 or 4 more games. THEY LOST TO RUTgers!!!!!! (Notice how I spelled RUTgers?) RUTgers were in a RUT and were 0-8 in the conference. I have defended Brey over and over and over again but this was a BAD loss. I know a grade school team in my town that could beat RUTgers. Its time for a change. Brey has been here for what 10+ years and still hasnt figured out how to play a simple thing called DEFENSE!!!!!! I will no longer waste my time watching an inept poorly coached basketball team. Sad thing is, is that I KNEW we would lose that game. GO KENTUCKY!!!!!! lol

 

[NDinL.A.]

I've said it for years NDOM, it pains me to watch Brey's teams play because they don't defend. Can't stand watching teams that have no pride in their defense. jacking up a ton of threes and playing no defense is not a way to win. And the fact that he somehow turned his best post player into a shooting guard (Gody) is beyond me. I wanted Brey gone years ago but I was told I was stupid, that he was 'doing the best he could with the talent ND gets'. (Kinda like me when I used to back up Weis LOL) Time for a change indeed...