BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: South Florida @ Notre Dame

February 15, 2006


Notre Dame finally had something to smile about in their last game, a romp over Rutgers. Tonight, they welcome the winless (in conference play) South Florida Bulls to South Bend and will be looking for some more smiles as they shoot for their 2nd conference win in a row.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

USF at Notre Dame Preview (St. Petersburg Time)
Bulls Are Destined for History (Tampa Tribune)
Time is Tight in Big East (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette)
Irish Hoping to Make Big East Conference Tourney Push (Forty Wayne News Sentinel)
USF Can Relate to ND Pain (South Bend Tribune)


Due to time constraints, this preview is going to be a little short and sweet!
The BUlls have lost 12-straight games and sit at 0-10 in the conference, staring at the real possibility of going 0-16 in their inagural Big East season. They have had their share of close losses, as seven of their ten defeates have been by 6 pts or less, but that is probably no solace for the short-handed Bulls.

The Irish know all about close losses, too, losing by just 6 pts or less in all 8 of their conference games. At 2-8, the Irish actually outscore Big East opponents 80-78.5 in conference play, yet are just 2-8!! That, to me, is an astonishing stat. It also shows Notre Dame's inability to win close games, which has exposed the flaws of their team.

However, tonight, I expect the Irish to come up big at home and put this game out of reach early. The shooting ability of the Irish and playing at home will have them in good position to tighten up the race for the final Big East tournament spot. The Irish are 14-pt favorites and this one should not be close.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 82 South Florida 65