Subway Irish Hoops Top 25 for 11/22-11/28

1. Maryland (8-0, W 81-63 vs High Point, W 72-66 @ Illinois)
2. Marquette (7-0, W 65-62 @ Valparaiso)
3. UCLA (5-0, W 88-58 vs Long Beach State)
4. Virginia (4-0, W 81-64 vs Asheville, W 104-63 vs MD-Eastern Shore)
5. Butler (7-0, W 56-44 @ Tennessee, W 79-71 vs Gonzaga, W 83-80 vs Kent St)
6. New Mexico (5-0, W 79-76 vs New Mexico St)
7. Duke (6-0, W 75-47 vs Davidson, W 54-51 vs Indiana)
8. Michigan State (6-1, W 71-53 vs Oakland)
9. Alabama (6-0, W 75-44 vs Texas Southern, W 75-61 vs Louisiana-Monroe)
10. San Diego State (7-0, W 76-72 @ Santa Barbara)
11. Connecticutt (5-0, W 86-55 vs Albany)
12. Clemson (7-0, W 74-50 vs Charleston Southern)
13. Georgia Tech (6-1, L 73-88 vs 4 UCLA, W 77-73 vs Penn State)
14. Iowa State (6-0, W 90-61 vs Lake Superior State)
15. Wake Forest (5-0, W 88-78 vs Appalachian State)
16. Memphis (3-1, W 80-63 vs 15 Kentucky)
17. Wichita State (4-0, W 57-53 @ LSU)
18. Kentucky (4-2, L 63-80 @ 18 Memphis, W 72-61 vs College of Charleston)
19. Xavier (4-1, W 86-68 vs American)
20. Purdue (4-1, W 81-73 vs DePaul)
21. Villanova (4-1, W 70-61 vs Navy)
22. Air Force (6-1, W 83-59 vs Radford)
23. Nebraska (3-0, W 71-43 vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
24. North Carolina State (5-0, W 88-76 vs Gardner-Webb, W 74-67 vs Michigan)
25. Kansas (6-1, W 64-46 vs Ball State, W 82-80 @ Florida, W 83-32 vs Dartmouth)

Best of the rest: Florida (7-1)

Dropped out: 9. Western Kentucky

My Week 13 Top 25

1. Ohio State (12-0, idle)
2. Michigan (11-1, idle)
3. USC (10-1, W 44-24 vs 3 Notre Dame)
4. Boise State (12-0, W 38-7 @ Nevada)
5. Florida (11-1, W 21-14 @ Florida State)
6. Oklahoma (10-2, W 27-21 @ Oklahoma State)
7. California (8-3, idle)
8. Rutgers (10-1, W 38-7 vs Syracuse)
9. Louisville (10-1, W 48-24 vs Pittsburgh)
10. Wisconsin (11-1, idle)
11. Notre Dame (10-2, L 24-44 @ 4 USC)
12. Auburn (10-2, idle)
13. LSU (10-2, W 31-26 @ 6 Arkansas)
14. Arkansas (10-2, L 26-31 vs 15 LSU)
15. Tennessee (9-3, W 17-12 vs Kentucky)
16. Virginia Tech (10-2, W 17-0 vs Virginia)
17. Wake Forest (10-2, W 38-24 @ Maryland)
18. Nebraska (9-3, W 37-14 vs Colorado)
19. Texas A&M (9-3, W 12-7 vs 8 Texas)
20. Texas (9-3, L 7-12 vs Texas A&M)
21. Georgia Tech (9-3, L 12-15 @ Georgia)
22. West Virginia (9-2, L 19-24 vs South Florida)
23. Penn State (8-4, idle)
24. BYU (10-2, W 33-31 @ Utah)
25. South Carolina (7-5, W 31-28 vs 23 Clemson)

best of the rest: Georgia (8-4, W 15-12 vs 17 Georgia Tech), South Florida (8-4, W 24-19 @ 16 West Virginia)

dropped out: 21 Boston College, 23 Clemson

The Mall Cops Are Gone

Several problems were exposed tonight. We had schematic issues, poor execution, and we lack talent. All of these issues are correctable, and our coach wants to win as badly as we do. He has multiple possible courses of action to improve the team, and he wants to win badly enough that it is easy to believe that he will do them.

It has become quite clear that our defensive and kick return schemes are lacking. However, it is not quite so easy for those of us looking in from the outside to know exactly what the problems are. Are the special teams problems caused by Polian, Parmele, or both? Are the defensive problems the fault of Minter, Weis, Lewis, or some combination of the three? Coach Weis has the background to determine which changes need to be made, and he has shown that he wants to win as badly, if not worse, than we do. We can expect to see some changes in the offseason.

We can also expect to see some changes to help improve our execution. From the outside looking in, we do not know if the problem is with individual coaches or other issues, such as the amount of time spent in positional drills. However, we do know that Weis will not rest until he gets the problems figured out, and he will undoubtedly make changes until improvement is made.

Talent is the most easily correctable problem with this team. For example, we cannot generate a pass rush because we do not have much speed on the defensive line. Brian Cushing ran an onside kick back for a touchdown against us. It is hard to imagine Abiamiri or Frome returning it without getting caught. They are not that fast. Likewise, we lack speed, athleticism, and experience at many other positions, as well. This problem was caused by a certain ex-coach who was a lazy recruiter. That ass clown is gone, so the talent level will improve in the coming years.

Let's step in off the ledge, take a deep breat, and realize where the program is right now. We have beaten every team that we have played that had inferior talent to us, and we have probably beaten a few teams that were more talented when you consider the recruiting rankings of the sophomore and junior classes. Once Weis makes some changes in the coaching staff and improves recruiting, a la Holtz in his early years, we will again be a national power. We are getting closer, and I believe that we will reach the promised land in either 2007 or 2008.

---

Top 10 Reasons to Hate USC

10. Conquest and Fight On

9. Their metrosexual, ballroom dancing, former quarterback is friends with Nick Lachey.

8. That stupid fucking horse!

7. Hold me closer, tiny dancer.

6. The Trojan warriors, like the Spartans, had homosexual relationships with young apprentices.

5. Paris abducted Helen.

4. Pac-10 officials (see 1964, 1977, 1982, and 2005)

3. OJ Simpson, Snoop Dog, and Pete Carroll

2. Even the Pope says that wearing Trojans sucks.

1. FUSC!

Top 10 reasons to love USC

10. n/a

9. n/a

8. n/a

7. n/a

6. n/a

5. n/a

4. n/a

3. n/a

2. The Decade of Dominance

1. Song girls!

ND is Athens’ Achilles to Troy’s Hector. Their rotting carcass will be pulled by an Irish chariot.

USC Sucks

FUSC!

11/15-11/21 Hoops Top 25

Once again, I am going strictly by this year's results. Therefore, many good teams, such as Florida, have not earned their way into the top 25 because they have not played any difficult opponents as of yet. Things should work themselves out shortly.

1. Maryland (6-0, W 92-60 @ St. John's, W 62-20 vs Michigan State, W 71-60 vs Winthrop)
2. Marquette (6-0, W 95-62 vs Eastern Michigan, W 87-72 vs Texas Tech, W 73-62 @ Duke)
3. Georgia Tech (5-0, W 103-74 vs Georgia St, W 79-61 vs Purdue, W 92-85 @ Memphis)
4. UCLA (3-0, W 88-63 @ Chaminade, W 73-68 @ Kentucky)
5. Virginia (2-0, W 85-66 vs Morgan State)
6. Butler (4-0, W 62-56 vs IL-Springfield)
7. New Mexico (4-0, W 78-54 vs 6 Kansas State)
8. Duke (4-1, W 75-48 vs UNC-G, W 71-56 @ 2 Air Force, L 62-73 @ Marquette)
9. Western Kentucky (4-0, w 87-69 vs Tennessee St, W 95-72 vs Towson)
10. Michigan State (5-1, W 63-61 vs Texas, L 60-62 @ 7 Maryland, W 66-46 vs 10 Vermont)
11. Alabama (4-0, W 71-62 vs Middle Tennessee State, W 72-60 vs Iowa, W 63-56 vs Xavier)
12. San Diego State (6-0, W 84-48 vs UCSD, W 86-79 vs Cal, W 79-45 vs UCR)
13. Connecticutt (4-0, W 88-59 vs Central Arkansas, W 74-49 vs Fairfield, W 77-59 vs Mississippi)
14. Clemson (6-0, W 79-49 vs Appalachian State, W 78-56 vs Mississippi State)
15. Kentucky (3-1, W 79-56 vs MS Valley St, W 87-81 vs DePaul, L 68-73 vs UCLA)
16. Iowa State (5-0, W 57-49 vs Norfolk St, W 68-63 @ Minnesotta)
17. Wake Forest (4-0, W 73-48 vs Elon, W 88-78 vs Vandy)
18. Memphis (2-1, W 111-69 vs Jackson St, W 77-65 vs Oklahoma, L 85-92 vs Georgia Tech)
19. Wichita State (3-0, W 72-66 @ 16 George Mason)
20. Xavier (3-1, W 70-67 @ Virginia Commonwealth, W 71-66 vs Villanova, L 56-63 @ Alabama)
21. Purdue (3-1, W 82-57 vs Western Carolina, L 61-79 @ Georgia Tech, W 74-71 @ Oklahoma)
22. Villanova (3-1, W 81-68 vs Charleston, L 66-71 @ Xavier, W 89-60 @ Iowa)
23. Air Force (5-1, W 84-46 @ Colorado, L 56-71 @ Duke, W 67-53 vs Texas Tech)
24. Nebraska (2-0, w 73-61 vs Creighton)
25. North Carolina State (3-0, W 63-43 vs Delaware State, W 78-64 vs Valparaiso)

My New Football Top 25

All season long, I have considered head-to-head match-ups as a major criteria in my rankings. I am not going to change this week. However, if the real voters are going to leave Michigan ahead of ND in the standings, then they should be forced to retroactively vote ND the 1993 National Champions. Since they will be unwilling to do this, they have proven their intelectual dishonesty by voting Michigan number 2 and ND numbers 5 and 6 in the two polls that are used in the BCS formula.

The 1993 Subway Irish National Champions: Notre Dame

The Subway Irish Week 12 Top 25:

1. Ohio State (12-0, W 42-39 vs 2 Michigan)
2. Michigan (11-1, L 39-42 @ Ohio State)
3. Notre Dame (10-1, W 41-9 vs Army)
4. USC (9-1, W 23-9 vs 9 California)
5. Boise State (11-0, W 49-10 vs Utah State)
6. Arkansas (10-1, W 28-14 @ Mississippi State)
7. Florida (10-1, W 62-0 vs Western Carolina)
8. Texas (9-2, idle)
9. Oklahoma (9-2, W 36-10 @ Baylor)
10. California (8-3, L 9-23 @ 4 USC)
11. Rutgers (9-1, L 11-30 @ Cincinatti)
12. Louisville (9-1, W 31-8 vs South Florida)
13. Wisconsin (11-1, @ 35-3 vs Buffalo)
14. Auburn (10-2, W 22-15 vs Alabama)
15. LSU (9-2, W 23-20 vs Mississippi)
16. West Virginia (9-1, W 45-27 @ Pittsburgh)
17. Georgia Tech (9-2, W 49-21 vs Duke)
18. Tennessee (8-3, W 39-18 @ Vanderbilt)
19. Virginia Tech (9-2, W 38-16 vs 19 Maryland)
20. Wake Forest (9-2, L 6-27 vs 23 Virginia Tech)
21. Boston College (9-2, W 38-16 vs 19 Maryland)
22. Nebraska (8-3, idle)
23. Clemson (8-3, idle)
24. Penn State (8-4, W 17-13 vs Michigan State)
25. BYU (9-2, W 42-17 vs New Mexico)

My First Hoops Top 10

I am going with the same ranking process that I used for football. I will base my rankings entirely on results from this season, and I will try to avoid allowing perceived strengths and weaknesses of teams compromise my rankings. A win over a quality opponent is a win over a quality opponent regardless of what I think of your teams deficiencies.

Since I am only using this year's results where possible, there will be a disproportionate number of highly ranked mid-majors early on due to upset wins in pre-season tournaments. This should work itself out once the marquee teams start playing against each other. Only a handfull of teams have wins of note this year, so I will rank the bottom teams based upon last year's NCAA tournament results. This will give me a starting point for my next week's rankings.

1. Virginia (1-0, W 93-90 vs Arizona)
2. Air Force (3-0, W 81-45 vs Ark Pine-Bluff; W 69-68 @ Long Beach St; W 79-45 @ Stanford)
3. Western Kentucky (2-0, W 96-55 @ Kennesaw; W 70-67 @ Georgia)
4. Butler (3-0, W 77-37 @ Tulane; W 71-69 vs Notre Dame; W 60-55 vs Indiana)
5. Georgetown (2-0, W 69-59 vs Hartford; W 86-70 @ Vanderbilt)
6. Kansas State (2-0, W 70-60 vs Wm & Mary; W 55-41 @ Rutgers)
7. Maryland (3-0, W 102-75 vs Hampton; W 81-63 vs Vermont; W 93-54 vs Florida A&M)
8. Southern Utah (2-0, W 76-73 @ Utah; W 74-68 @ Denver)
9. New Mexico (3-0, W 94-54 vs Abilene Christian; W 92-56 vs Sacramento St; W 106-65 vs Colorado)
10. Vermont (2-1, W 82-65 @ New Orleans; L 63-81 @ Maryland; W 77-63 @ Boston College)
11. Oral Roberts (1-1, L 65-68 @ Loyola-Marymount; W 78-71 @ Kansas)
12. UCLA (1-0, W 86-69 vs BYU)
13. Nevada (2-0, W 85-62 vs Alaska Anchorage; W 75-47 @ Oregon St)
14. Southeastern Louisiana (3-0, W 76-69 vs Cal Poly; W 65-63 @ Oregon St; W 63-55 @ Richmond)
15. Florida (2-0, W 79-54 vs Samford; W 86-40 vs Norfolk)
16. George Mason(1-0, W 79-74 @ Cleveland St)
17. LSU (0-0, idle)
18. Villanova (1-0, W 97-60 @ Northwood)
19. Memphis (0-0, idle)
20. Connecticut (1-0, W 53-46 vs Quinnipiac)
21. Texas (2-0, W 103-44 vs Alcorn St; W 92-66 vs Chicago St)
22. Gonzaga (3-0, W 90-75 vs Eastern WA; W 88-50 vs Rice; W 78-69 vs Baylor)
23. Wichita State (2-0, W 71-47 vs Rockhurst; W 76-64 vs Chicago St)
24. Duke (2-0, W 86-43 vs Columbia; W 72-48 vs Ga Southern)
25. Alabama (1-0, W 96-65 vs Jackson St)

Use Your Bench, Stupid!

Mike Brey used his bench tonight and had predictable results. ND beat an outgunned Lafayette squad 92-60 and wore them out with waves of Big East caliber players. This is the same Lafayette team that hung with Indiana for 32 minutes the night before. Nine Irish played double digit minutes, and only Colin Falls logged 30 minutes.

However, Mike Brey tempered the excitement of today's win with stupid comments in the Chicago Tribune:

"We could use a marquee guy. We've got a lot of good players here, guys who can develop. Here's who we are, really. When you look at our program, our four guys in the NBA (Matt Carroll, Troy Murphy, Pat Garrity, Chris Quinn), none of them was a McDonald's All-American. Those are the kind of guys we get. The problem is, the league we're in, the league we signed up for … whew, it's brutal."

Way to throw your team under the bus, Mike. Notice that he failed to mention the four McDonald's All-American's that he has coached. He also failed to mention that Butler is a mid-major and not one of the programs in that "brutal" "league we signed up for." Does he really expect anyone to believe that Notre Dame does not have enough talent to beat Butler?

Same Shit Different Year

Mike Brey is back to his usual tricks. Check out this quote from the South Bend Tribune:

"You're able to rebound better, because nobody's tired," said Brey whose team out rebounded IPFW 54-28 and received 35 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals from reserves. "We're beating people down the floor, Again, it's fresh guys.

"I tell them, 'Don't pace yourself. Play your spurt and we'll get a guy in there fresh.'"

Now, check out the minutes played from tonight's loss against Butler.

15 Falls, C 39
44 Harangody, L 20
43 Carter, R 31
23 McAlarney, K 37
31 Kurz, R 34
40 Zeller, L 18
42 Ayers, R 9
33 Hillesland, Z 9
2 Jackson, T 3

Only six players played more than ten minutes. This is the exact opposite of what he said he was going to do, and it ended in predictable results. The Irish collapsed late in the game. It was the exact same ending as so many close losses from a year before.

Brey is running out of time. BYU was Tyrone Willingham's Waterloo, and tonight's loss was...well...

Same Shit Different Year

Mike Brey is back to his usual tricks. Check out this quote from the South Bend Tribune:

"You're able to rebound better, because nobody's tired," said Brey whose team out rebounded IPFW 54-28 and received 35 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals from reserves. "We're beating people down the floor, Again, it's fresh guys.

"I tell them, 'Don't pace yourself. Play your spurt and we'll get a guy in there fresh.'"

Now, check out the minutes played from tonight's loss against Butler.

15 Falls, C 39
44 Harangody, L 20
43 Carter, R 31
23 McAlarney, K 37
31 Kurz, R 34
40 Zeller, L 18
42 Ayers, R 9
33 Hillesland, Z 9
2 Jackson, T 3

Only six players played more than ten minutes. This is the exact opposite of what he said he was going to do, and it ended in predictable results. The Irish collapsed late in the game. It was the exact same ending as so many close losses from a year before.

Brey is running out of time. BYU was Tyrone Willingham's Waterloo, and tonight's loss was...well...

My Week 11 Top 25

1. Ohio State (11-0, W 54-10 @ Northwestern)
2. Michigan (11-0, W 34-3 @ Indiana)
3. Notre Dame (9-1, W 39-17 @ Air Force)
4. USC (8-1, W 35-10 vs 16 Oregon)
5. Rutgers (9-0, W 28-25 vs 3 Louisville)
6. Boise State (10-0, W 23-20 @ San Jose St)
7. Louisville (8-1, L 25-28 @ 14 Rutgers)
8. Arkansas (9-1, W 31-14 vs 15 Tennessee)
9. California (8-2, L 20-24 @ Arizona)
10. West Virginia (8-1, W 42-24 vs Cincinatti)
11. Florida (9-1, W 17-16 vs South Carolina)
12. Texas (9-2, L 42-45 @ Kansas State)
13. Oklahoma (8-2, W 34-24 vs Texas Tech)
14. Wake Forest (9-1, W 30-0 @ Florida State)
15. Wisconsin (10-1, W 24-21 @ Iowa)
16. Auburn (9-2, L 15-37 vs Georgia)
17. LSU (8-2, W28-14 vs Alabama)
18. Georgia Tech (8-2, W 7-0 @ North Carolina)
19. Maryland (8-2, W 14-13 vs Miami, Fl)
20. Tennessee (7-3, L 14-31 @ 10 Arkansas)
21. Oregon (7-3, L 10-35 @ 7 USC)
22. Boston College (8-2, W 28-7 vs Duke)
23. Virginia Tech (8-2, W 23-0 vs Kent State)
24. Nebraska (8-3, W 28-27 @ Texas A&M)
25. Clemson (8-3, W 20-14 vs North Carolina State)

Dropped out: 21 Oregon State

Defying Expectations?

ND basketball faces low expectation headed into the 2006-07 season. The Irish have been picked to finish eleventh in the Big East by the coaches, and they have to replace their leading scorer, Chris Quinn, and their leading rebounder, Torin Francis. All this comes after a 16-14 2005-06 and three straight years of missing the NCAA tournament. However, there is reason to believe that ND will perform better than expected.

A key area of improvement for the Irish is the addition of Gene Cross as assistant coach. Cross replaces Lewis Preston, who has moved on to the University of Florida. Cross has won at every stop in his coaching career. In 2005-06 he joined the coaching staff at the University of Virginia, where he helped lead the Cavaliers to an NIT berth despite being picked to finish twelfth in the twelve team ACC. Prior to joining the Cavaliers, he helped lead Depaul to a 58-34 record over three seasons. Cross is considered and excellent recruiter and defensive coach. The Irish will need his acumen in both areas of Coach Mike Brey is to retain his job beyond this season.

Another reason to suspect improved play from the Irish is improved depth. Mike Brey has developed a reputation of not playing more than 7-8 players in his primary rotation. However, there is reason to believe that this is changing. No one has scored more than 17 points in either of ND’s two preseason games, and Brey has used a solid ten-man rotation thus far. It appears that Brey has much more faith in his bench this season than he has had in years past.

Finally, this year’s schedule is more conducive to winning. The Big East expected the past two squads to finish near the top of the league, so ESPN and the conference conspired to give them a marquee, made-for-TV schedule. This year, the coaches do not expect them to finish highly, and their schedule is much easier because of it. Their home-and-away series are against Depaul, Villanova, and USF. This should be much easier than playing Pitt, UCONN, and Syracuse twice each as ND has done in the past. The easier schedule could lead to ND being the next West Virginia and being the surprise team in the conference.

Overall, I am very excited about the chances for this year’s team to have a good season. I expect ND to make the NCAA tournament with 19-21 wins for the season. As Charles Barkley would say, “Anything less would be uncivilized.”

Same As It Ever Was

Notre Dame's win over North Carolina on Saturday was reminiscent of ND's other wins this season. The offense looked very good, and the defense looked good on most of its plays. However, the defense was plagued by a few big plays that marred the total effort.

With the exception of UNC's touchdown on a kick-off return, Saturday's problem stemmed from Terrail Lambert and the safeties. UNC repeatedly picked on Lambert, who was not physical enough to combat UNC's freshman wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. For whatever reason, ND's safeties were unable to help Lambert, which has been a recurring theme this year.

Offensively, Jeff Samardzija broke Derrick Mays's school record for career touchdown receptions, and Brady Quinn threw for 346 yards passing. Meanwhile, Ohio State's Troy Smith threw for a pedestrian 108 yards against Illinois, and he fumbled once. Both quarterbacks played against terrible teams. One threw for 238 more yards than the other and had one fewer turnover. Meanwhile, the other quarterback, is still considered to be the Heisman frontrunner.

Week 10 Top 25

1. Ohio State (10-0, W 17-10 @ Illinois)
2. Michigan (10-0, W 34-26 vs Ball State)
3. Louisville (8-0, W 44-34 vs 3 West Virginia)
4. California (8-1, W 38-24 vs UCLA)
5. Notre Dame (8-1, W 45-26 vs North Carolina)
6. Boise State (9-0, W 45-21 vs Fresno State)
7. USC (7-1, W 42-0 vs Stanford)
8. Texas (9-1, W 36-10 vs Oklahoma State)
9. West Virginia (7-1, L 34-44 @ 9 Louisville)
10. Arkansas (8-1, W 26-20 @ South Carolina)
11. Auburn (9-1, W 27-0 vs Arkansas State)
12. Florida (8-1, W 25-19 @ Vanderbilt)
13. LSU (7-2, W 28-24 @ 12 Tennessee)
14. Rutgers (8-0, idle)
15. Tennessee (7-2, L 24-28 vs 13 LSU)
16. Oregon (7-2, W 34-14 vs Washington)
17. Oklahoma (7-2, W 17-16 vs Texas A&M)
18. Wisconsin (9-1, W 13-3 vs Penn State)
19. Wake Forest (7-1, W 21-14 vs 17 Boston College)
20. Georgia Tech (7-2, W 31-23 @ NC State)
21. Oregon State (5-3, idle)
22. Maryland (7-2. W 13-12 vs 23 Clemson)
23. Boston College (7-2, L 14-21 @ Wake Forest)
24. Virginia Tech (7-2 W 17-10 @ Miami, Fl)
25. Nebraska (7-3, W 34-24 vs 24 Missouri)

Best of the rest: 7-2 Hawaii, 7-3 Clemson, 6-3 South Florida, 6-3 Pittsburgh

Dropped out: 18 Pittsburgh, 20 Washington State, 23 Clemson, 24 Missouri

Hoops Strenghts and Weaknesses Post Rockhurst

Granted, this was not a quality opponent, but I think there were some encouraging things to take away from tonight’s game.

Strengths

1. Bam Bam looked really good. He appeared to be a natural, smooth low post scorer, and he was a very aggressive rebounder.

2.Tory Jackson looked very comfortable playing college basketball. He did not show the timidity I expected to see from a freshmen point guard. He is very athletic and played very under control.

3. Russell Carter’s ball-hawking defense. At several point in the first half, he attempted to jump a pass, and he was successful in disrupting the offenses rhythm. Then, he finally swiped one in the second half and threw down a dunk.

4. Defensive fundamentals! The Irish did a good job, particularly in the first ten minutes, of moving their feet and using their hands to disrupt passing lanes. For once, ND looked like a well disciplined team.

5. The Irish rebounded very aggressively, particularly Rob Kurz and Bam Bam.

6. KMac and Tory Jackson pushed the ball up the court. Aggressive point guard play has been lacking for awhile now.

Weaknesses

1. I noticed several concentration lapses tonight. At times they came in the form of lazy passes and poor shot selection, but most notably was Carter’s five second violation.

2. On several occasions, ND lost the open man against their zone defense. The man-to-man looked very good, but the zone needs some work. I expect to see this be an area of focus against Belarmine.

3. According to Jack Nolan, ESPN’s contract with the Big East will only allow ND to broadcast one non-televised, non-conference game via the internet this year. This is yet another reason that conference affiliations suck. They force schools to forfeit their media sovereignty.