Update: Too much basketball, too quick in writing leads to confusing which game got to overtime. It was Syracuse and Kansas that when to OT. Stupid Big Blue Monkey!
"The Fighting Irish might be ranked eighth in this week’s Associated Press poll, but after their performance in Tuesday’s 81-80 semifinal victory over No. 6 Texas, it’s no stretch to say that, four games into the season, Mike Brey’s squad is the second-best team in college basketball."
That's a huge stretch, actually.
First of all, take a look at that score. 81-80. It wasn't a blowout. It was decided by a barely missed shot from midcourt. Texas almost won this game, and really, if they had stayed true to what they were doing in the first half, they probably would have won this game. Oh, and King forgot to mention--it was a win in overtime. And one of the reasons that it was so close was this nonsense: "There was a scramble for the ball far from the basket and the shot clock was winding down. Harangody grabbed the ball and let fly from 40 feet with the ball banking in as the buzzer sounded to give Notre Dame a 66-60 lead with 7:47 to go".
Don't get me wrong. I agree with Texas coach Rick Barnes when he says (as quoted in King's article) “On any given night, they can beat any basketball team in the country.” Absolutely true. But that does not automatically make them the 2nd best team in the country behind UNC.
Prior to this win over Texas, who has Notre Dame beaten? South Carolina Upstate, Loyola Marymount, and an Indiana team that's about two years away from becoming respectable again. Texas was their first quality win, and it barely happened. And this Texas team is full of young guys who will only get better as time passes.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, is relatively experienced. They should be good out of the gate. But don't expect them to get a lot better as we get deeper into the season.
Jason King continues--saying that by calling Notre Dame the #2 team in the country, is specifically calling out Big East Rivals "No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 Pittsburgh...right now, Notre Dame is better than all of them."
After seeing what Syracuse did tonight, I'll put them ahead of Notre Dame, as well. And call me a homer, but I think the Hoyas could do a number on Notre Dame, too.
Basically, Jason King is arguing that Notre Dame is the best team in the Big East, and that's laughable on its face. His one piece of evidence supporting it is a win against a young Texas team that had the game won and took their foot off the gas. And still almost won the damn thing.
You are going to hear a lot of praise for Notre Dame in the next couple of days, and possibly weeks. And then they will hit the Big East schedule, and they will lose more than they win. They will prove themselves to be the 5th or 6th best team in a very tough conference, and that should translate into Top 20 status, absolutely. But Top 2, or even Top 5? Laughable.
I'm not sure they are better than Davidson or Gonzaga. Better than Oklahoma? Better than UConn? No way in white boy gym rat hell. And let's see Luke Harangody play against Hasheem Thabeet or Blake Griffin before we start calling him NBA worthy. Jason King calls the Texas frontline one of the most physical fronts Notre Dame will see all year, and name checks willowy outside shooter Connor Atchley as part of his proof. Ridiculous!
I'll be fucking shocked if this Notre Dame sees the Elite 8.
1 comment:
Did you just give props to 'Cuse? Wow... that must have been difficult!
Post a Comment