7:00p
What a matchup we have here! Two of the best teams in the conference square off in my featured Game of the Week.
Notre Dame is 11-3 in the conference and tied in the loss colum for 1st place w/ Louisville and Georgetown. They have won 3 straight and 8 of their last 9. The Irish have been dominate @ home but have had their struggles on the road. They lost @ Marquette 92-66, lost @ Georgetown 84-65, beat Nova 90-80, won @ Seton Hall 95-69, Lost @ UCONN 84-78 in OT, and beat Rutgers 71-68.
The Irish have many scoring threats on the floor and bring one of the top offenses in the nation. It all flows around their big man inside Luke Harangody who is a brusing player averging 20+ and 10+ boards. When they need a basket he gives them the lift underneath. Can't talk about making baskets w/o mentioning Kyle McAlarney, who just shoots the lights out. He is fresh off a school record hitting 9 three pointers out of only 11 attempts. He can pull up from anywhere, and is really impressive off the bounce in transistion. When Harangody draws defensive help it leaves his counterpart in the frontcourt Rob Kurz wide open. Kurz loves that short baseline jumper and does step out to the perimiter from time to time. This team really came together when Tory Jackson decided he wanted to get involved. He goes all out every possession on both ends of the court. There is no task to big for him, he can do it all. Give him room and he will pull up, play him close and his quick first step will have you staring at the back of his jersey. Tory will go inside and get big rebounds and has great vision finding open shooters. This kid is one of the most underrated players in the country, let alone the Big East.
Louisville has been red hott as of late and after gettin healthy they are showing why they were preseason top 10 and predicted to share the conference title. The Cards have won 7 straight and 9 of their last 10. Their only loss came by two points @ UCONN. They are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, w/ their relentless pressure that forces you into bad decisions. Louisville might be the deepest team in the country having 9 players who all get quality time. When they are hitting from the outside and not forcing shots, this team can beat anybody.
Their leader is also their captian David Padgett. This guy doesn't get half the credit he deserves. He has battled threw knee surgeries on both knees and then early this season he broke both his knee caps. His career was supposed to be over, but he was determined to get back on the floor for his senior season. He is the best communicater in college basketball and is a coach on the court. The guy is a point center, and the offense runs through him. Terrence Williams is another guy who really makes this offense go. He is a point forward and its very rare to have to guys who run the show and both aren't guards. T Will can do it all and is a sick althete. He is great when attacking the basket and really is another leader on the floor. Ill stay w/ the frontcourt and move on to Earl Clark (E5). He is another very hard player to defend because he can score inside and out, and is one of the best rebounder's in the conference. When those guys are tired the Cardinals don't loss much. Juan (tello) Palacios and Derrick (DC) Carater come off the bench and provide solid mintues underneath. Our guards are there to score. Edgar Sosa is gettin his confidence back , and brings that NY playground game where he is unstoppable going to the rim and can also shoot the ball well from distance. Jerry Smith is our best shooter and the most relentless pressure defender I've seen in a long time. Andre McGee is another guy who can shoot from outside, and plays great defense. Preston Knowles is our freshman and his defense is very solid. The kid never quits and also has a nice jump shot.
Notre Dame has not faced a defense like this all season. Georgetown is just as good but they are more of a half court defensive team. At times Louisville will have 4 guys in the backcourt after a made basket. Louisville will play a matchup zone along w/ some man to man mixed in.
The only advantage ND really has it at the foul line. They are the best in the conference , and Louisville can really struggle at times. They also have a small edge in rebounding, but the cards stats on the boards are misleading.
Notre Dame does not have solid ball handlers besides Tory Jackson, and this is going to be a major problem all night long. The Cardinals depth is going to wear down ND just to get the ball up the court, which will take their legs away and affect their strength which is shooting the 3 ball.
Louisville is so balanced, they have 9 different players who can lead the team in scoring. This is why the team is so dangerous come tourney time because 2 or 3 guys can have an off night and that's fine, because any number of guys can produce.
Score Prediction : Cards 84 - Irish 72
Play
Over 144.5
Big East 15-9 [62.5%] +5.95 units
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 21-5 @ LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 22-6
February 28, 7:00 PM | Freedom Hall
February 28, 7:00 PM | Freedom Hall
What a matchup we have here! Two of the best teams in the conference square off in my featured Game of the Week.
Notre Dame is 11-3 in the conference and tied in the loss colum for 1st place w/ Louisville and Georgetown. They have won 3 straight and 8 of their last 9. The Irish have been dominate @ home but have had their struggles on the road. They lost @ Marquette 92-66, lost @ Georgetown 84-65, beat Nova 90-80, won @ Seton Hall 95-69, Lost @ UCONN 84-78 in OT, and beat Rutgers 71-68.
The Irish have many scoring threats on the floor and bring one of the top offenses in the nation. It all flows around their big man inside Luke Harangody who is a brusing player averging 20+ and 10+ boards. When they need a basket he gives them the lift underneath. Can't talk about making baskets w/o mentioning Kyle McAlarney, who just shoots the lights out. He is fresh off a school record hitting 9 three pointers out of only 11 attempts. He can pull up from anywhere, and is really impressive off the bounce in transistion. When Harangody draws defensive help it leaves his counterpart in the frontcourt Rob Kurz wide open. Kurz loves that short baseline jumper and does step out to the perimiter from time to time. This team really came together when Tory Jackson decided he wanted to get involved. He goes all out every possession on both ends of the court. There is no task to big for him, he can do it all. Give him room and he will pull up, play him close and his quick first step will have you staring at the back of his jersey. Tory will go inside and get big rebounds and has great vision finding open shooters. This kid is one of the most underrated players in the country, let alone the Big East.
Louisville has been red hott as of late and after gettin healthy they are showing why they were preseason top 10 and predicted to share the conference title. The Cards have won 7 straight and 9 of their last 10. Their only loss came by two points @ UCONN. They are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, w/ their relentless pressure that forces you into bad decisions. Louisville might be the deepest team in the country having 9 players who all get quality time. When they are hitting from the outside and not forcing shots, this team can beat anybody.
Their leader is also their captian David Padgett. This guy doesn't get half the credit he deserves. He has battled threw knee surgeries on both knees and then early this season he broke both his knee caps. His career was supposed to be over, but he was determined to get back on the floor for his senior season. He is the best communicater in college basketball and is a coach on the court. The guy is a point center, and the offense runs through him. Terrence Williams is another guy who really makes this offense go. He is a point forward and its very rare to have to guys who run the show and both aren't guards. T Will can do it all and is a sick althete. He is great when attacking the basket and really is another leader on the floor. Ill stay w/ the frontcourt and move on to Earl Clark (E5). He is another very hard player to defend because he can score inside and out, and is one of the best rebounder's in the conference. When those guys are tired the Cardinals don't loss much. Juan (tello) Palacios and Derrick (DC) Carater come off the bench and provide solid mintues underneath. Our guards are there to score. Edgar Sosa is gettin his confidence back , and brings that NY playground game where he is unstoppable going to the rim and can also shoot the ball well from distance. Jerry Smith is our best shooter and the most relentless pressure defender I've seen in a long time. Andre McGee is another guy who can shoot from outside, and plays great defense. Preston Knowles is our freshman and his defense is very solid. The kid never quits and also has a nice jump shot.
Notre Dame has not faced a defense like this all season. Georgetown is just as good but they are more of a half court defensive team. At times Louisville will have 4 guys in the backcourt after a made basket. Louisville will play a matchup zone along w/ some man to man mixed in.
The only advantage ND really has it at the foul line. They are the best in the conference , and Louisville can really struggle at times. They also have a small edge in rebounding, but the cards stats on the boards are misleading.
Notre Dame does not have solid ball handlers besides Tory Jackson, and this is going to be a major problem all night long. The Cardinals depth is going to wear down ND just to get the ball up the court, which will take their legs away and affect their strength which is shooting the 3 ball.
Louisville is so balanced, they have 9 different players who can lead the team in scoring. This is why the team is so dangerous come tourney time because 2 or 3 guys can have an off night and that's fine, because any number of guys can produce.
Score Prediction : Cards 84 - Irish 72
Play
Over 144.5
Big East 15-9 [62.5%] +5.95 units
