Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Big East Conference (22-11, 13-5)
First, all-conference guard Ben Hansbrough graduates. Notre Dame might struggle but 2011-2012 would be Tim Abromaitis’ team. Then, Abromaitis tears his ACL before December strikes and Notre Dame is on panic alert. Subsequently, the Irish lose their first FIVE out-of-conference games of any consequence. Without their leader from a season ago, without their best returning player and without a single quality win to speak of, Notre Dame was heading into Big East conference play packed up and ready to go golfing come spring time: there would be no March Madness. Then…something happened. It’s not that Notre Dame turned it on and ran through everybody. They just, randomly, got slightly better week after week. It is not exactly a storybook tale. They won a few conference games, and then lost a couple; then they won a few more. And eventually, the Fighting Irish kept winning on their way to a double bye in the Big East conference tournament. Don’t ask me how it happened. It just did.
Big Wins: 1/7 at Louisville (67-65), 1/21 Syracuse (67-58), 1/29 at Connecticut (50-48)
Bad Losses: 11/22 vs Georgia (57-61), 1/16 at Rutgers (58-65), 2/25 at St. John’s (58-61)
Coach: Mike Brey (12 seasons at Notre Dame)
Why They Can Surprise:
As discussed, this team has overcome a lot. Grit and determination don’t necessarily win ball games but they certainly help. Notre Dame has shown they are capable of winning in tough environments and as big underdogs. They’ve won on the road at Louisville when the Cardinals were 10th in the nation. They beat Syracuse when the Orange was number one. They followed the Syracuse win by taking down emerging Seton Hall on the road, a ranked Connecticut team on the road and a ranked Marquette team back to back to back, immediately followed by another road win, at West Virginia. Stringing together conference wins like that, especially on the road says something about a team’s makeup and a team’s coaching. After the injury to Abromaitis, a number of players have picked up the scoring load, including this team’s own Luke Harangody: Jack Cooley. Cooley is not quite tall enough and certainly too slow and grounded to be worth anything in division one basketball. Except, like his predecessor Harangody, Cooley can flat out play.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Notre Dame is not a very good shooting team. They aren’t a great scoring team. They don’t rebound exceptionally well. They protect the ball but don’t share it at an alarming clip either. There really is not something concrete to point to as to why the Irish kept winning, which is a nice way to say that there really is not hard evidence saying the Irish are that good. Of course wins matter more than any other stats but it is hard to see what Notre Dame will be able to bank on come tournament time. They have a number of scorers but no one that great from the outside. They have Jack Cooley on the interior but undersized, under-athletic big men cannot control offenses no matter how good their season is. Someone still has to get him the ball in a position to score. There is nothing to say this special season won’t continue for the Fighting Irish. However, there is also nothing to say that is should continue.
Probable Starters:
Jerian Grant, Sophomore, Guard, 12.3 ppg, 4.9 apg
Eric Atkins, Sophomore, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 4.1 apg
Scott Martin, Senior, Guard, 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg
Pat Connaughton, Freshman, Forward, 6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Jack Cooley, Junior, Forward, 12.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Alex Dragicevich, Sophomore, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 1.2 apg
Joey Brooks, Junior, Guard, 3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.3 (185th in nation, 13th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.6 (48, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.5 (166, 10)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.8 (67, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (125, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.1 (215, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.4 (91, 3)
Rebound Margin: -0.3 (199, 13)
Assists Per Game: 14.6 (50, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.0 (3, 1)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Notre Dame 2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Akron
Notre Dame 2011 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Florida State
Notre Dame 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Old Dominion
Notre Dame 2009 NIT First Round win over UAB
Notre Dame 2009 NIT Second Round win over New Mexico
Notre Dame 2009 NIT Quarterfinal win over Kentucky
Notre Dame 2009 NIT Semifinal loss to Penn State
Notre Dame 2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over George Mason
Notre Dame 2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Washington State
Notre Dame 2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Winthrop
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
