Notre Dame Women’s Team Eliminated from Tournament
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers were too much for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team Sunday. The Irish lost 74-64, and thus were eliminated from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen. It was a good run for the Irish , though. They advanced farther than their male counterparts, and they put up a good fight against a very good team. But it was not to be. There is always next year.
Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from the past season of women’s college basketball in South Bend. The Irish were right near the top of the Big East all season long. They ended the regular season with an overall record of 25-9, and a conference record of 11-5. They won ten straight in the middle of the season, which included victories over some tough ladies teams, like Valparaiso, Boston College Purdue and Michigan. Charel Allen was a force all season long, and she should turn out to be a fine professional basketball player some day very soon.
Now, we have to focus on getting ready for the Notre Dame football season… that, and all of the other fantastic sports and athletes at Notre Dame.
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Checking in With Notre Dame Sports
The Irish football team didn’t do so well in 2007. They began the season terribly, only got a rhythm near the end, and weren’t even a slight consideration for a bowl, despite the favoritism they would have received if they were even marginally good. The Fighting Irish men’s basketball team was another story. They got off to an awesome start, went through the season winning big games and ending near the top of the Big East, and had a nice AP Poll ranking to finish the regular season. However, in the Big East Tournament they failed to win a game, and in the NCAA Tournament they were eliminated in the second round. A disappointing finish. But now that the two big college sports are done, we can give the Notre Dame sports that usually don’t get as much attention some well-deserved hype.
Women’s basketball is still going strong. Notre Dame is in the Sweet Sixteen, where they hope to upset Tennessee on Sunday.
Men’s hockey is in the thick of the postseason as well. The Irish will play New Hampshire in the Western Regionals for their first game.
Men’s lacrosse is beginning their season, and as everybody know, baseball season is about to get underway. Both Lacrosse and Baseball are expected to do well this season, so a couple of championships could be within reach soon.
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Check Out the Game Preview at UND.com
The Irish women’s basketball team is set to play Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, and you can get the whole scoop on the game before it happens by checking out UND.com. If you’ll remember from the men’s game previews, you can always count on UND.com to give you the most fact-filled analysis of the game, including previous meeting scores and highlights, all of the historical perspective on the game, the current streaks, and possible keys to the game. It’s a great resource for anybody- from the casual fan to the guy who has to announce the game.
So what did happen when the Irish last met the Lady Vols? Well, it happened earlier this year, back in December. The Irish lost the game 87-63 at the Joyce Center, despite a good game by Charel Allen. Will history repeat itself this Sunday? Or do the Irish have a better chance, knowing what the Lady Vols will try to do this time around?
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Notre Dame Women’s Team in the Sweet Sixteen
The men might be done playing, but the women are still alive in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Fighting Irish women’s team has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they are scheduled to play the No. 1 seed Tennessee Lady Volunteers. The task before them is monumental, as the Tennessee Lady Vols are one of the best teams in the tournament, they are almost always in Final Four, and they are coached by the winningest women’s college basketball coach of all time, Pat Summitt, who just earned her 100th all time win in the Tournament.
Check out this Associated Press article about the Lady Irish and their latest win over Oklahoma. They had to use overtime to do it, but Notre Dame’s Charel Allen scored 35 points and came up big late in the game to push UND over the top and one step closer to a national title. If you have been standing on the sidelines with the women’s basketball team this year, now is the time to get out to a game. The Irish are headed to Oklahoma City, so if you want to see your favorite team in some intense college basketball, now is the time to do it.
To get Notre Dame Women’s Basketball tickets, go to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Tickets page at StubHub.com.
So Do You Root For Washington State or Not?
Sometimes when you lose too early in a tournament format, you root for the team that knocked you out. That way, if they wind up the national champion, you can say that you lost to the best. There’s no way of telling whether or not you would have made it all the way to the finals if you hadn’t lost to the best team too early.
That’s the logic at least. Of course, putting that into practice is another thing all together. It’s hard to switch gears like that. It’s hard to consider the Wazzu a friend suddenly if you blame them for the grief you’re getting in your bracket pool right now.
TOP FIVE TEAMS NOTRE DAME FANS SHOULD ROOT FOR
NOW THAT THE IRISH ARE FINISHED
1. Villanova
2. Xavier
3. West Virginia
4. Davidson
5. Louisville
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Cougars Maul Irish in Second Round
The dance ends early for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball team. Unfortunate news, folks, but somebody has to bring it to you after the fact, though you are probably avoiding all contact with the outside world after the performance you saw on CBS the other day. The Irish put on a horrible offensive showing- one of the worst outings all season long- against the No. 4 seed Washington Cougars in what turned out to be one of the most boring second round games of the tournament. Washington controlled the pace, smothered Big Luke, and kept the Irish from getting hot from outside the whole game, walking to the Sweet Sixteen with a 61-41 victory.
There were a lot of things that went wrong in the game, and we could take a few hundred blogs here discussing the outcome and why it happened like it did. But for now, let’s take some time to sit and sulk. It’s okay to feel bad. The Irish had a stupendous regular season and they deserved to at least make things interesting in this game. It’s a huge bummer how things turned out. We’re not even going to try to spin this thing in a positive way for a few days. When you love a team and they fail, it hurts. Love hurts.
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Notre Dame Easily Advances, Will Face Washington St. in Second Round
Before the Notre Dame game started last night the second round opponent for the winner of the contest had been decided. Washington State had beaten Winthrop in an earlier game, so the winner of the UND-George Mason game knew they would face the Wazzu in the second round. The Irish kept their eyes on the prize, though, and easily defeated the George Mason Patriots 68-50. It wasn’t a particularly good offensive game for the Irish, but they were effective at holding Patriots down, and a win is a win right now. There is little time to reminisce or to celebrate. There is much work to be done before the Irish are to face the No. 4 seed Washington State Cougars.
Everybody expects that this will be a good game, a much closer contest than the George Mason game. Wash St. has some experienced guards who have won big games in the Tourney before. They finished 3rd overall in the Pac-10 standings, with an overall record of 25-8. The Cougars have beaten tournament teams like Baylor, Gonzaga, Portland St., USC and Oregon.
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Know The Facts: Go to UND.com
The Official Notre Dame Athletics Web Page is all set for the NCAA Basketball Tournaments- both men’s and women’s. Notre Dame’s basketball programs are in the midst of March Madness, so you’d better catch the insanity. If you check out the preview page for the men’s game versus the George Mason Patriots, you’ll get to know all kinds of interesting facts about the tournament game coming up for the Irish.
For example, did you know that the last time the Irish were a No. 5 seed was only a few years back, and they went all the way to the Sweet Sixteen! Did you know that Notre Dame has never before played George Mason? Even though they do not have a history of games to work from, the Irish are a perfect 12-0 versus Colonial Athletic teams, historically.
Alright. Enough talk. Get to the game right now! It’s in Denver, but surely there is a huge Notre Dame fan base in the Rockies who will show up in force to cheer for the Golden Domers today. Go Irish!
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
How Tall is an Irishman? George Mason?
If you’ve visited the SportsIllustrated.com college basketball web page, you’ve probably seen one of their headline article, a four-pager by Grant Whall about the importance (or lack thereof) of height in the modern game of college basketball. Some teams, like Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina and Georgetown, base their game plans around their big guys. Others (like Duke, Texas, and Louisville) do not have the size, but rather win games with speed and outside shooting. The debate rages- is it better to be taller? Overall, taller teams are superior in college hoops, but once you cross a certain threshold of height, having too many big guys might be a hindrance. Other teams just seem to work better in a run and gun style than in the half court game. Which brings me to my point: How tall is Notre Dame?
According to the stats at BasketballProspectus.com, Notre Dame’s Average Minutes-Weighted Height (inches) is 77.2, ranked 71st in the country. While that’s not elite, it is MUCH better than George Mason’s (76.2, 201st). We have the size advantage in this game, so let’s use it, Irish.
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets go to StubHub.com.
Preparing for George “By George” Mason
Notre Dame has drawn George Mason in the first round, and if the Irish want to keep dancing past Thursday night, they’ll have to do some scouting. The George Mason Patriots were the darling of the dance a few years ago, but now is a different time, and the Patriots only have a couple of hold-overs from their Cinderella squad. They won the Colonial Athletic Conference title and secured the conference auto bid to get into the Tourney. They finished the season with an overall record of 23-10. To get the in-depth analysis of the Patriots, go to the team scouting page at Basketball-Prospectus.com.
A couple of the things that the Patriots Blog noticed when we began crunching the numbers:
- Both the Irish and the Patriots are bad at getting turnovers on defense.
- If it comes down to a free-throw contest, the Irish have a clear advantage.
- Notre Dame is much better on the glass, especially in offensive rebounding.
- Notre Dame has a much better outside shooting percentage.
To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.