BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ DePaul

February 8, 2007


The Big East moves focus to the Midwest tonight as Notre Dame travels to Chicago to take on DePaul. The Irish have a strong following in the Windy City and this should bring some nice energy on a cold evening in Chicago. Look for top notch efforts from both teams, something that has hardly been a consistent trait of either lately.



Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Burns, Depaul Can't Wait for Another Shot at DePaul (Chicago Sun-Times)
What a Difference a Schedule Can Make (Daily Herald)
Irish Reserves Give Sneak Peek on Foes (Journal Gazette)
No Need to Wait His Turn (Chicago Tribune)
Will the Real Blue Demons Please Stand up (South Bend Tribune)


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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





Notre Dame fans were jumping for joy after the Irish earned their first road win last Tuesday when they demolished Syracuse in the Dome. The Irish poured in 61 1st half points on their way to a 103-91 win and things seemed to be clicking. Then, last weekend, we saw the up and down nature of the Irish as they managed to score 63 points total in a 69-63 loss at South Florida. The Irish are 6-4 in the conference, but only have won once away from South Bend in Big East play, also losing at St. John's, Georgetown and Villanova, in addition to the Bulls.

DePaul brings a 4-6 conference record into the game tonight, however they have lost four of their last five. Three of those losses did come on the road, so coming home where they are 9-2 on the season will certainly do the Blue Demons some good.

For Depaul, the key will be their shooting. If Draelon Burns can continue his hot streak and take some pressure off Sammy Mejia, the Blue Demons will be very dangerous. They need their duo of Mejia and Wilson Chandler to be much more effecient offensively. Chandler, along with a rotation of Keith Butler, Wesley Green, Lorenzo Thompson and Marcus Heard have to play tough and strong against the Irish frontcourt of Luke Harangody, Rob Kurz, Zach Hillesland and Luke Zeller. The Irish were beaten badly on the boards in their loss to South Florida and the Blue Demons need to make their presence felt on the boards tonight.

Jabari Currie seems to be the point guard of the week for DePaul, however he is coming off a really poor game against the Syracuse zone, leading DePaul to play without a true point guard for much of the contest. The Irish utilize a pair of freshmen point guards since Kyle McAlarney's suspension with Tory Jackson getting most of the time and Jonathan Peoples backing him up. Seniors Colin Falls and Russell Carter are dangerous scorers and the athletic and strong backcourt of DePaul will have to concentrate on stopping them from getting on a roll.

Notre Dame seems to be the much more rounded team. They have several players who can hurt you offensively, especially if Rob Kurz is healthy. DePaul has seemed to rely almost exclusively on Mejia and Chandler and other teams have sold out trying to stop the talented pair. Of late, Draelon Burns have made teams pay for this tactic, but nobody else has been able to step up. They have a revolving door in the paint and at the point and Karron Clarke seems to be the invisible man far too often.

DePaul is a 2-pt home favorite tonight, you get teased often with their ability and look for them to put things together more consistently. The visit from the Irish should bring out a little more fight and a consistent effort on both ends of the floor for the entire 40 minutes. The Irish should be breathing a little fire after their loss to South Florida, but they might be running into a tough situation tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 69 Notre Dame 66