Notre Dame, The Fall From Grace (More Than A Tough Schedule)

On Thursday night, in anticipation of what I imagined to be (and was) an easy beating of the Seton Hall Pirates, I watched the Notre Dame "Fightin" Irish.  Though, in fairness to all the other players that have worn the uniform in years past for NBC's team, the term 'fightin' is to be taken quite lightly.

They'd wind up losing to West Virginia, never getting much closer than 10 or so points.  They started the game down 17-2, and from there things rarely got better.

Earlier in the season, I'd say around the first week of January, I made a bet with a kid from work about Notre Dame.  Having travelled to the Joyce Center last year, having seen them destroy Syracuse not only that time but on many other occasions, I was convinced that this year the Irish would again, easily, make it the NCAAs.  No questions asked. 

My friend was sold that they wouldn't make it.  Convinced he was the fool (how stupid I turned out to be only amazes me), I bet him five dollars Notre Dame would make the tourney.  If I'd had a million dollars on me, I'd have bet that much.  I was that sure.

What followed you already know.  They lost their Top 25 ranking soon thereafter (a seven game conference slide will do that to you), and even found themselves losing three conference games at home this year after having won 20 Big East home games in a row.

And so, each time Notre Dame got a chance to play a big time opponent, which seemed to be every other night, I kept thinking that this was the night they'd turn it around.  The trouncing of Lousiville really had me thinking they righted the ship, but a road loss to, conveniently, WVU derailed any serious momentum.

Watching on Thursday, I tried to see what went wrong.  Besides a tough schedule (as Mike Brey will have you believe was the only reason), Notre Dame just didn't have it this year. 

What was it?

It was rebounding, outside of Luke Harangody.  It was anyone that could consistently get their own shot off, outside of big Luke.  It was a true point guard (sorry, Tory Jackson).  It was top notch effort (the defensive switches and rotations were generally pathetic).  It was Kyle McAlarney, who for the life of him couldn't get open.

McAlarney was really the main issue.  Statistics won't bear it out (ppg, 3PT% and 3PT made were all up this year from last), but he seemed to randomly drop in and out of games.  West Viriginia's game on Thursday as a microcosm of the whole season, McAlarney showed a few things.  One, that if he's face guarded, he's going to have a hard time getting open unless there's two or three really good screens set.  And two, he can't shoot off the dribble.  Oh, oh.  Sorry, and three, when he's out of sorts, he's generally worthless.  Then again though, most streak shooters tend to be.

Still, while I for one will never feel bad for any Notre Dame failing sports team, this one has to go down as one of the more disappointing seasons for an Irish basketball team in quite a while. 

The schedule was certainly rough, but Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, Connecticut and Villanova were able to handle it.  Maybe they just weren't that good.

The AP Poll is Right, The ESPN/USA Today Poll is Wrong

If you never watch college basketball, start. But if you're unfamiliar, there are two competing polls that determine which teams are the Top 25 in the country. The bias teams receive from these polls often determines their NCAA tournament status, or at least within a seed or two, so neither poll can be taken lightly.

This week, the Associated Press Poll, better known as the AP Poll, accurately omitted Notre Dame from the Top 25. At 13-7 prior to Monday night's defeat at home to Eighth-Ranked Marquette, the Fighting Irish had the most losses among any Top 25 team. With the loss Monday to the Golden Eagles, the Irish now have eight defeats. Georgetown had the second most, with six, and they're ranked #25.

The ESPN/USA Today Poll, on the other hand, decided to rank Notre Dame 22nd in the country. That's despite the fact that the Irish didn't win a game last week, even though both games were against ranked teams. (@ #8 Syracuse, vs #3 Connecticut)

There are two reasons, in my estimation that the Irish still received some love from the voters of the ESPN/USA Today poll, even though the Irish has now lost four straight:

1) They're Notre Dame.

2) They lost to good teams.

That's it. For those of you who think that's enough reason to keep them in the Top 25, fine. Or as Dennis Green would say, "if you want to crown their ***, crown 'em!" But they are not at all deserving of that ranking.

Instead, they're overrated.

That's my take, anyway. But here's the argument for both sides of this, and you the reader can decide which you like.

The Case For Them:

Notre Dame has gone through a tough stretch, yes. But look at the teams they've played recently? Their last four games have been losses, true, but the Irish has lost to ranked teams each time. (@ #23 Louisville, @ #8 Syracuse, vs #3 UConn, vs #11 Marquette) And, Notre Dame beat Texas, albeit on a neutral floor, but Texas was #6 at the time. And, the Domers beat Georgetown, when they were ranked #11 at home by six. They've had some good wins, and they've weathered a brutal schedule that has had them face seven ranked teams already. This is definitely one of the Top 25 teams in America. They're only at this record because they play in arguably the toughest conference in the country. If Butler is in this group, we should be too. (Butler is #13)

The Case Against Them:

This is ridiculous! This team is 13-8. No matter what your schedule, you should be better than that to be ranked. And they say they're schedule is so tough, but if they were really that good, wouldn't they have more than two wins against ranked teams? 2-5 against the best competition is all you need to know. They shouldn't be rewarded for wins over Loyola Marymount or South Carolina Upstate. This team played North Carolina on a neutral site court and lost by 15. In the Dean Dome, you could understand it. But in Maui, a loss by 15? When you're supposed to be the #7 team at the time? They lost to Ohio State at home. They lost at St. Johns, a team that is 11-8. This team is only ranked because they were supposed to be good, and the media is slowly starting to learn they're not so good. Good teams win some of these games. Notre Dame is a talented team, but if they were Top 25 worthy they'd actually win some games where they're tested.

Where do you stand? Feel free to post a comment...