NOTRE DAME LOOKS TO BUILD MOMENTUM

February 15, 2009



The frustrations of seven consecutive losses were unleashed in a perfect storm Thursday night as Notre Dame blasted Louisville, 90-57, at the Joyce Center in South Bend. With the perimeter shots falling and Luke Harangody finding room inside for an efficient 32-point effort, the Irish blew the Cards right out of the building from the get-go.

With confidence restored, the Irish will look to start a revival of a season gone awry on Sunday afternoon when South Florida visits South Bend. The Bulls are 3-8 in conference play, just one-game behind the Irish, who are 4-7. USF is coming off a 15-point home loss to Providence last week. They have won once on the road in conference play, at DePaul, and a fourth conference win would be their most since joining the Big East.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on today’s game:

Notre Dame Preview Capsule (Post-Tribune)
Tyrone Nash Searching for Consistency for Notre Dame (Chicago Tribune)


Even the big win over Louisville probably has not emptied the tank of frustrations that have built up for the Irish, who were ranked among the top 10 in the nation before a seven-game losing streak set in. The key for the Irish is to get offensive production from others to open the paint for Luke Harangody, who should find plenty of opportunities against a small and thin USF front line.

If Kyle McAlarney is hitting from the outside, it energizes the home crowd and extends the defense. Add in a few a threes from Ryan Ayers and a solid floor game from Tory Jackson and that is the Irish squad we expected in the preseason. That team showed, for the first time in quite some time, in the win over Louisville. As a 13-point home favorite, will it come again on Sunday?

The Bulls have a solid backcourt, led by dynamic scoring guard in sophomore Dominique Jones and senior Jesus Verdejo. They will have opportunities to score against the Irish defense, which is not very stout, but can the Bulls keep up offensively? Probably not…


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 80
South Florida 65