BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: NOTRE DAME @ CINCINNATI

February 4, 2009


Notre Dame looks to snap their five-game losing streak when they hit the road once again to take on Cincinnati. Over the weekend, ND played just down the Ohio River in Pittsburgh and saw an early 10-point lead behind some hot three-point shooting evaporate as the Panthers ran them out of town, 93-80. The Irish now sit at 3-6 in the Big East and in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament if they do not turn thing around VERY quickly.

Cincinnati had won four of five, including a home game with Georgetown, and were looking to begin to push their way onto the NCAA bubble when they traveled to meet Villanova on Sunday. The result was not pretty as the 'Nova defense was turned up in the second half and the Bearcats went down, 71-50, and fell to 4-5 in the Big East.


Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the web:

Irish Come Skidding into Town (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Harangody Needs Some Help on Offense (Gary Post Tribune)
Irish in Dire Need of a Victory (Journal Gazette)
Notre Dame Knows it is Now or Never (Chicago Tribune)
Time Running Out on Irish Season (South Bend Tribune)


We all know that Notre Dame has lost five games in a row and, out in cyberspace, panic has set in among the Irish faithful and fueled by those looking to stir the pot. However, closer in spection of those losses reveals that four of them have come at the hands of teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the country and the other was to #20 Syracuse on the road (when they were ranked in the top 10). So, what we have probably learned is that the Irish are NOT a top-10 team. Now, we shoudl be able to really see what they have. Their recent 5 game slide is probably a slide that 90% of the Division 1-A teams in America would also be on with those five games.

That is not to say there are not some alarming traits with this club. Obviously, their defense is as spotty as it comes. In their three road losses during the slide, they have given up an average of 91 points a game! Their rebounding outside of Luke Harangody has been non-existent. Luke Zeller, the starting power forward who stands at 6'11, had what amounted to a season's-best game against Pitt on Saturday, draining six threes and scoring 18 points in 21 minutes. However, Zeller did not grab a single rebound or block a single shot. Pitt's 6'3 guard Jermaine Dixon had 5 rebounds and was able to register a blocked shot. Also, Kyle McAlarney is just nine of 38 from the field in the last three games, including seven of 23 from 3-pt range. Since nobody has stepped up on the perimeter consistently, teams have gone all out to shut down McAlarney. While Luke Harangody is still getting his points, averaging 26.6 in the five losses, he has taken 116 shots, over 23 a game, to do so. Not very efficient.

When Cincinnati began with three straight losses to start conference play, it was their defense that was letting them down. Two of those losses came at home as they were being blitzed from beyond the arc. Notre Dame will have to hope that porous defense returns tonight.

The Bearcats have made improvements defensively, but they still have not really been tested in that regard. Their best win was over a slumping Georgetown team and this game will be played at the US Bank Arena in downtown Cincinnati, not their normal on campus home at Fifth Third Arena in the Shoemaker Center.

Deonta Vaughn is still the one to make UC go, they have been getting more help from the supporting cast, including Yancy Gates and Mike Williams, but it has not been as consistent as they had hoped to this point.

The early NCAA basketball betting odds have the Irish as a 3 1/2-point road favorite. At first, that was a little bit of a surprise. Looking closely at the game, seeing it is at US Bank and the schedule the Irish have faced, we think they do come out and put things together for a nice win tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 75
Cincinnati 68