BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ Providence

March 1, 2006


The calendar flips from February to March and we begin the month which what is very close to a play-in game for the Big East tournament. Obviously, there are many different scenarios that could still play out in the end, but a win tonight over Notre Dame would give the Friars six conference wins and guarantee them finishing higher than the Irish, DePaul (who they beat 2x) and South Florida in the conference standings. They also could end up in a 4-way tie for the final spot at six wins with St. John's, Louisville and Rutgers if they all end up with six wins, if that is the case, Providence still looks to be in good shape with the complicated tie-breaker scenarios.

It looks like the magic number is six to get into the conference tournament. Notre Dame, with two games left, sits at four. They play at Providence tonight and host DePaul this weekend in the final home game for Chris Quinn, Torin Francis and Rick Cornett. However, if the Irish lose tonight, I have yet to find a scenario that would give them an edge in tie-breakers with 5 conference wins. So, it is do or die time for the Irish.

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

Like McDermott, Friars Keep Battling (South Bend Tribune)
Long-Shot Irish Aren't in Charge (Journal Gazette)
PC vs ND Scouting Report (Providence Journal)
Desperate Measures Needed by Friars (Providence Journal)
Coaches, Fans Reward Cornett's Commitment

For our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


Senior night in Providence for the Friars lone-senior, Donnie McGrath, should bring in a fired up crowd, especially with a Big East Tournament bid on the line for Tim Welsh's young squad. McGrath and Herbert Hill are the only upperclassmen on their depleted roster which will also include sophomores Charles Burch and Randall Hanke and freshmen Geoff McDermott, Sharaud Curry, Weyinmi Efejuku and Jonathan Kale in their 8-man rotation.

The Irish counter with a much more experienced rotation with seniors Chris Quinn, Torin Francis and Rick Cornett as well as juniors Colin Falls and Russel Carter, sophomore Rob Kurz and freshmen Kyle McAlarney getting most of the playing time and a few minutes for frosh Luke Zeller. The Irish have been going to a 4-guard look more often in an effort to get their best players on the floor. Although the look is not as athletic or defensively active as the style used by Villanova, the Irish are able to spread the floor and hit 3-pt shots and create a lane for Carter to slash to the basket. It might be the look they go with tonight against Providence.

Providence is a small-ish team, but the do have some athletes with McDermott, Hill and Burch along the front line and Hanke is no slouch getting out and running the floor. Curry is a quick penetrating guard that has really come on strong and McGrath is still a sniper from the perimeter. In their initial meeting, the Irish played bombs away from the perimeter against the PC zone as Falls, Quinn and McAlarney combined to go 13-19 from 3-pt range and score 67 points. The Friars MUST defend the perimeter better on their home court and control the boards if the Irish go small.

Notre Dame enters the game as a 1-point favorite. When the season began, I felt Notre Dame was an NCAA Tournament bubble team, not a conference tournament bubble team. Their painful amount of close losses have been well-documented, however, their loss to Marquette last Saturday was probably the toughest to take. Experienced teams should not have this much trouble winning games down the stretch.

Providence has five conference wins, but they have come against USF, St. John's, Rutgers and DePaul twice. Notre Dame's wins have not been against much better, but they have faced a tougher slate of games and did win on the road against Seton Hall.

It will be a charged up atmosphere, for one night, I think the Friars step up their game enough and send Donnie McGrath off the Dunkin Donuts floor as a winner.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Providence 75 Notre Dame 72