Skylar Diggins (28, 4 boards, 6 assists) and Natalie Novosel (22 points) led the Irish to an inspired Final Four win over a ridiculous Maya Moore (who finishes her career with as many losses as final four appearances) and the rest of the Huskies. Fourth time this season was the charm.  Notre Dame will face Texas A&M in the championship on Tuesday night, who knocked off Stanford in a thriller. 

Until then, here's your once-a-decade type of win celebration thread. Awesome stuff.

Well, that was far from the prettiest the Irish have looked this season, but unlike Big East brethren Louisville and St. John's, Notre Dame did enough to avoid the upset and move on to the second round. 

The Zips were scrappy and tough defensively, but just didn't have the offensive firepower to make it close down the stretch. 

Some negatives first, and then the positives.

Offensive Flow. Notre Dame just never looked all that smooth on the offensive side of the floor, lacking the crisp passing and cutting that characterized some of the team's better wins (see the second half against Cincy from the BET for a great recent example of flow). Akron's 7-footer Zeke Marshall had something to do with this, disrupting inside play with 4 blocks and a handful of altered shots, but that shouldn't have been enough to make the half-court offense look so heavy.

Turnovers. Fourteen is just way too many, especially against an overmatched opponent. A lot of silly passes. I'm attributing all this to a relatively early start time, nerves, and active Akron defense. Not something to really worry about. I hope.

First-Half Rebounding. The Irish gave up 5 offensive rebounds in the first half, while picking up only one themselves. Generally the first half overall was slow and uninspired. All nerves. Out of the system. Don't worry.

Three-Point Defense. 7-20 for Akron isn't all that outstanding, but it kept them hanging around until the last quarter of the game. This has been a bugaboo for the Irish all year, and we know what can happen to them when an opponent gets hot from outside (see this year's Marquette game in Milwaukee).

There were some nice things. Most obviously...

Carleton Scott on D. 14 boards, 4 blocks, 2 steals. Just dominant, especially considering the size disadvantage. He and Ty handled the aforementioned Marshall admirably, holding him to 2-13 from the field. 

Getting to the Line. While the rhythm threes weren't there that often, the Irish went inside more often in the second half and took advantage of their size advantage. The shot 20-26 from the line while the Zips shot only 6 all day (making 3). This made all the difference, as the Zips equalled ND's three-point total and had two more two-point buckets than the Irish. Notre Dame's halftime discovery of its size also led to..

Good Second-Half Rebounding. Only one offensive board for the Zips in the second, and ND ended up out-rebounding Akron 35-27 for the game. 

Scott Martin Mid-Range Game. After a great showing in an otherwise lousy game against Louisville in the Garden, Scott Martin seems to have tapped into a new well of confidence. If he can consistently knock down those 10-15 footers, that'll keep teams more honest, hopefully opening up opportunities for Ben et al.

Winning. It didn't feel that good, but a solid win is on the board nonetheless. It was nice to see the team outmuscling Akron in the second half even when the offense wasn't clicking and the turnovers were mounting and Ben and Tim seemed more anonymous than usual. ND didn't let the frustration completely knock them off kilter, which is a nice perk of having a bunch of seniors. Drawing fouls and dominating the interior were central to the win. Hopefully, Notre Dame has shaken off the dust and will find the offense on Sunday, against either Florida State or Texas A&M. Time for some scouting. And now that we're through, some awesome first-round chaos the rest of the day is just fine by me. 

Me: The Irish are so sweet.  Have you seen them? 

CW: I have not, any good?

Me: Well, 25-5 overall and 14-4 in the toughest conference in the land aren’t too shabby. They start five seniors who can all handle the ball and put it in the hoop.  They're long.  They have a freshman point guard who led the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio.  And Tyler Hansbrough’s little brother, Ben, just won a big award.

CW: They run a burn offense, right?

Me: Oh they CAN run a burn when they want to. But Big East Coach of the Year Mike Brey knows when to let 'em run

CW: Is that Mike Brey's first Coach of the Year Award?

Me: No, in fact. He’s won it three times in the past five years. Pretty good, considering the guy has been under constant scrutiny, with many calling for his head. Now, we're worried he might jet for a bigger job.

CW: Why is he under constant scrutiny? It seems like Notre Dame runs a clean program and makes the NCAAs more often than not. And he's won three Coach of the Years!

Me: Turns out many Notre Dame fans have inflated expectations when it comes to sports.

CW: That's odd, you'd think they'd be happy with a bunch of good kids continually going .500 or better in a tough conference when 90% of the best recruits wouldn't even consider going there.

Me: You would think so. Especially when Notre Dame spends relatively little on the program (third least in the conference in 2009, ahead of just USF and Cincy), and has a practice facility that's worse than that at some high schools.

CW: Wait, what kind of practice facilities does Notre Dame have? I've seen their football complex, I assume the basketball is equivalent.

Me: Oh, you're wrong on that one, CW. I've never been there, but I've heard it's buried in the bowls of the 45-year old convocation center. A little dank. Even the hockey program is getting a major upgrade as we speak.

CW: But Notre Dame has a great basketball tradition, right? I remember Digger Phelps beating UCLA and taking them to a bunch of Final Fours. Shouldn't ND fans expect greatness?

Me: That was a different world at a different time. As schools without a football program continue to pour enormous sums of money into basketball, especially in the Big East, it's easy for basketball programs like ND’s to get left behind. Especially when the Irish spend half of what, say, Marquette spends each year on the sport. Not that we should be spending millions more on athletics, but maybe a historically good season is worth a slightly bigger piece of the pie for the hoopers.

But anyway. You should really try to catch them some time, is what I’m saying.

Enormous road win for the Irish tonight, as they utilized some great outside shooting and Ben "Get Out Of My Damn Way" Hansbrough down the stretch to come from behind against the top-notch Pitt Panthers. Carleton Scott's 4-point play with about seven minutes left pushed the ND lead to 46-41, and they never relinquished it. Some awesome clear-outs for Ben after 30 seconds of burn in the waning minutes helped put it away. (When was the last time we had a guard who could work the clear-out? Seriously. When? And who thought Ben would ever be that guy?)

Hansbrough finished with 19, 4 and 7, and Scott added 16 and 9, including 5-6 from 3. The Irish needed all of it, as Abromaitis didn't manage a single field goal and had just two points. His recent inability to get anything going on his own is a cause for concern. (Thank you for a quick-recovering hammy, Carl.)

This team continues to excite; the one hump had been that elusive road win. Now with one under their belt, the Irish will rest up til next Thursday when they hit the road for a (hopefully) easier one at DePaul.

Career-high 28 points for Ben in a big 80-75 comeback win against Marquette, with 5 boards and 6 assists to fill out the line. The night was highlighted by his shot-clock buzzer-beater 3 from the corner to put the Irish in front for the first time in forever, and they didn't look back. Nice way to avenge the embarrassment in Milwaukee.

Great support from Nash, Atkins, and Scott (good to see you again), especially as Abro couldn't really get a look. Zone defense in the 2nd was a nice adjustment, as it often is for this team -- it broke up Marquette's rhythm and allowed for some nice run-outs. For my money, it's the only way we'll hang with more athletic teams.

On another note, props to Golden Eagles' coach Buzz Williams for sporting an Aaron Rodgers jersey in the postgame presser. He knows his fan base.

Nice little treat in the SEC/Big East Invitational. Maybe Louisville fans will show up at Freedom Hall to root against their arch-rival/tonight's home team. One can only hope.

Justifiably overshadowed by the once-in-a-decade football victory Saturday night, the Irish hoopsters had a memorable weekend of their own at Disney World, where they wrapped up the Old Spice Classic title Sunday with a 58-51 win over a solid Wisconsin squad.

The three-game sweep moved Notre Dame to 7-0 on the year, and into the AP Top 25 (the general irrelevance of which is particularly noticeable in the middle of our annual BCS headache).

The victory seemed to surprise a lot of people, including Antonio Gonzalez, an AP reporter covering the tournament:

Not much was expected out of Notre Dame this season. Not after all the talent they lost from a year ago. Turns out, there might be enough talent left to make some noise after all. [...]

In the end, it was an Irish team not expected to steal any spotlights this season who were the ones cutting down the nets and toasting a title trophy while streams of confetti flew.

Kind of like they do in March.

Now making the NCAA tournament isn't unrealistic at all. After victories over Thanksgiving against Georgia, California and Wisconsin, they've already made a strong case.

The usually factual and usually dry AP went not so factual and not so dry in the recap, with meh results. Apparently the reporter hadn't checked out our exceedingly optimistic preview.

In any event, plenty to sift through from the oft-ugly, ultimately satisfying weekend. Let's take it a game at a time, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

There are probably some of you out there who'll claim you saw this coming all along. I mean, what else can we expect with a program like ours in times like these? Disappointment after disappointment. It's what we do.

But then Brian Kelly came and all seemed well.  I've found myself thinking: "Harrison Smith is an athletic dude. He just needs the right coaching, the perfect combination of affirmation and challenge, and..and...Kelly'll make him 2nd team All-American, at worst!" It's been a bit of a football fantasy camp these past few months, but the "We're still (clap clap) ND (clap clap)" anti-cheer started creeping its way back in as each pick passed by tonight. As CW likes to remind me, we can't have nice things. Like a first-round quarterback.

All is not lost, however. It stings a bit now, but we must remind ourselves how draft order has such little bearing on how highly-touted quarterbacks fair in the NFL. (See: Tom Brady. Ryan Leaf. Aaron Rodgers. JaMarcus Russell. Many, many others.) Perhaps the Vikings will snatch Jimmy up as Favre's heir apparent, and, despite the shenanigans, that setup seems to have worked well in Green Bay. After recovering from the ego bruising, which three years of real bruising has a way of dampening, JC might find himself in quite a nice little situation. With a chance to learn alongside a great supporting cast, unlike, say, in St. Louis or Cleveland or Oakland or those other places blue chippers go to die. An under-appreciated Irish signal caller could shoot up the NFL ranks faster than his beloved predecessor. The universe could make sense again.

So don't fear, pessimists/everyone. Hope onward! We play fake football on Saturday that people will drive hours to see. Jimmy and Golden and maybe a couple others will have fancy new houses by kickoff (or at least a small studio apartment by the fourth quarter, Sam). Brady has the chance to beat the pants off of Tim Tebow. The Shirt might not be ugly. Dayne's knee is just fine. Michael is the best around. And Harrison could really break out.

First, hooray. It's time for the best college sports thing in the World, if not the best sports thing period. It's great to be a part of it after (1) last year's debacle and (2) this year's almost-debacle. I'm so excited I even accidentally referred to a pizza place's delivery area as its "delivery bracket" ten minutes ago.

After CBS made things uncomfortable for a minute and announced the Irish in the very last match-up of the tournament, it was time to scramble up some info on Old Dominion and (if all goes according to plan..please) Baylor. A more detailed scouting report will follow in the unbearable three day-Christmas Eve between today and Thursday, but here are some initial thoughts on half of the New Orleans pod.

Respek is important. Most projections had ND coming in at an 8 seed, and we breathed a sigh of relief when the 8/9 game under Kansas featured (1) Northern Iowa and (2) not ND. The basketball gods seemed to be smiling this St. Patrick's week, and maybe they sort of were: a 6 seed showed the committee's respect for ND's late-season run in the toughest conference and conference tourney in America. Very nice. But the compliment was backhanded. Because...

Old Dominion is good. One could make the argument that ND would've landed a better draw as the 8, 12, or even 13 seed in the South. Maybe not. But the Irish's first-round and potential second-round match-ups are less than desirable. Working quietly in the CAA all year, Old Dominion posted an early-season win at Georgetown and rolled through their conference schedule and tournament. A quick glance at the Monarchs' stat sheet shows a balanced scoring attack, led by senior forward Gerald Lee, who averages about 15 and 5 a game (he was also born in Finland, so that's fun). KenPom rates ODU as his 33rd-overall team (five slots ahead of ND), and a top-20 squad in his nerdtastic defensive efficiency ratings.

Baylor is very good. If we slog it out Thursday, we'll likely have to face the Baylor Bears on Saturday, who have been under-the-radar in the fantastic Big XII all year. Perhaps the scariest team in the region. Three wins over Texas, victories over TAMU, Oklahoma State, Mizzou and Xavier. Its two losses to Kansas State were by 2 and 7 points, and it fell to Kansas by 6 in their only match-up this season. The Bears went 11-5 in the second-best conference in the country, and feature a fearsome threesome: First, there's 6'4'' guard LaceDarius Dunn, who averages 19 points, 5 boards and 2 assists a game. Point guard Tweety Carter scores just under 16 a game and drops 6 dimes per contest. Inside, 6'10'' Michigan transfer Epke Udoh scores 14 a game, pulls down 10 boards, and averages 3.9 blocks per game. 3.9 blocks! I don't know about you, but I'd rather play Duke. Or Nova. Or anyone not named Kansas or Kentucky.

But before we get too excited about Baylor, there's Thursday, and before there's Thursday, there are like 90 hours. Read up and go ahead and gnash those teeth in the comments section.

Via CBS 2 Chicago, we learned today that one case of swine flu has been confirmed in northern Indiana. The patient is a young adult of undisclosed name and location. Take all necessary precautions, Coach Weis!

UPDATE: The swine flu patient is a Notre Dame student, either Jimmy Clausen or one of the approximately 11,000 others.

As reported by the AP, Luke Harangody is putting his name in the NBA Draft, but is leaving open the possibility of returning to school. Since the Hooping Irish seem to have a predilection for blogging (see here and here), perhaps Luke will turn to Rakes for guidance. Let's go to the tape.

Point: It's time to get out. Leave now. 

Subpoint 1: Why risk the injury and potential stock plummet? (See Chris Thomas.) Another year in the brutal Big East -- especially without the perimeter help from McAlarney, Ayers, and (sort of) Zeller -- is asking for trouble. He should follow Darius Walker's lead after the 2006 football season and avoid the inevitable physical abuse of a senior year as the only reliable offensive target.

Subpoint 2: Fear of the unknown. The 2009-2010 team will be losing 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists per game as Zeller, Mac, Ayers, and Hillesland depart. Who fills in? Jackson, Nash, Peoples, the redshirted Abromaitis, the inexperienced Scott, a couple of transfers who have been out of game action for a year, and freshmen? Where do the points come from? And who's shooting three's? Will we have to reinvent our offense? Too many questions.

Subpoint 3: It's a weak draft class. Reports say Luke should go late first round or early second round, and how much higher could he really move? His innate, beautiful weirdness inside has nothing to gain from another year in college, and he's physically ready. It's a great time to cash in.

Counterpoint: You'd be crazy to leave. Stay and graduate.

Subpoint 1: Luke Harangody is not Chris Thomas. Besides the freak pneumonia bout, he's made it through three full Big East seasons no worse for the wear. And while it's tough playing inside, the average NBA career has more touches than one in the NFL, so the Walker analogy breaks down. There's no real rush. He should enjoy being the big man on campus and earn his degree. The NBA isn't going anywhere (maybe).

Subpoint 2: The team might be losing a lot, but there's plenty left. Jackson's shooting and game control should be at their best, and Luke would be crazy to turn down a year of Stockton/Malone (or at least Kidd/Gugliotta) two-man dominance. Peoples showed a new level of competence down the stretch, Nash has a nose for the ball and will take some of the load off on the low post, Hansbrough and Martin are proven, Scott is the most athletic guy we've had in years, Abromaitis will be a year stronger and more confident, and have you SEEN the Joey Brooks highlight reel? '09-'10 won't be a rebuilding year, but a take-advantage-of-an-undoubtedly-easier-Big-East-schedule year.

Subpoint 3: What does surprise NBAer Rob Kurz have that Luke lacks? A perimeter jumper. Luke has shown more extended range each year, and he could use his senior year to push that out toward the NBA three-point line. An improved outside game could inch Luke up into the middle third of the first round in 2010.

Plenty of thinking for Luke to do. Leave your wisdom in the comments.

Oops. Seems as if the bookstore ran this ad a few hours before Lou Holtz and crew were scheduled to officially unveil the 2009 Shirt.

I was just as happy to see Ty go as the next fellow, but his Kelly green shirts were perfect. What other school could pull that off? I understand the "Different colors every year means more money raised" argument, but the "Don't look awful" counterargument  is convincing. Maybe these will be better in person. Or perhaps we'll re-live 2005's student section patchwork Sea of DayGlo Yellow, Blue, and Green.