Hockey Preview: Michigan St. Vs. No. 2 Notre Dame

Friday and Saturday’s contest between Notre Dame (25-5-3, 19-4-3-3) and Michigan State (10-19-5, 7-15-4-3) should be an exciting match-up. The Fighting Irish have been red hot all season. Notre Dame has scored 48 power play goals and ranks first nationally with a .240 percentage. Meanwhile, the Spartans have scored just 19 power play goals with a .114 percentage. The Spartans are having a hard time finding the back of the net. They’ve registered a mere 56 goals in 34 games (1.65 per game), ranking 57th out of 58 teams.

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For the Irish to maintain their momentum—6-1-0 in their last seven games—they’ll have to beat  5-foot-6 senior Jeff Lerg, who has been the backbone and face of the Spartans’ program for the past four seasons. Lerg, who led the Spartans to the 2006-07 national championship, has 76 career victories to his credit. Success has been much harder to come by this season as defections, graduation and suspensions have hit Rick Comley’s team hard. Michigan State enters Friday’s action tied for 10th in the CCHA with just 21 points—23 less than the Irish.
Spartan opponents have taken 1,216 shots on goal compared to Michigan State’s 833. That averages out to 11.2 more shots per game by Spartan opponents.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 27, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Defeats Rutgers

Notre Dame routs Rutgers 70-65 on Wednesday night. The Fighting Irish have won four of their last five games since a seven-game losing streak. That has helped Notre Dame improve to 16-11 and 7-8 in the Big East, again making it a viable contender to the NCAA Tournament.

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Notre Dame’s explosive offense took over the game. Luke Harangody had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and made two free throws with 12 seconds left to give the Fighting Irish a five-point lead and seal the victory. Tory Jackson,  added 18 points for Notre Dame, which rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first half, and Kyle McAlarney chipped in with 13 points. Rutgers (10-18, 1-14) tried to spark some offense with Mike Rosario’s 20 points, but couldn’t muster enough points to pull off an upset.

Notre Dame now looks ahead to their next opponent. They will travel to Connecticut and play against the hostile Huskies. The last meeting between the two teams left the Irish licking their wounds. Notre Dame lost that contest 69-61 on Jan. 24 to snap their home winning streak at 45 games. The Huskies had a 41-30 rebounding edge and held Notre Dame to 33-percent shooting in beating the Fighting Irish for the fourth time in the last five meetings. Will the Fighting Irish seek redemption and pull off a victory?

Permalink - Posted in General on February 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Host Rutgers

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-17) head to Indiana in a match up against Notre Dame (15-11). Although the Irish started the season ranked 9Th in the nation and have slipped in the polls, their offense looks to light up the boards. Look for G Jonathan Peoples to give the Fighting Irish the same spark against Rutgers as he did in the previous game against West Virgina. In that contest, Peoples scored eight points in 13 minutes, then followed that up with 14 points while playing 28 minutes at Providence. Not bad for a player coming off the bench. He will join G Randy Ayers, F Luke Harangody, and G Kyle McAlarney.

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Notre Dame knows they have a shot at the NCAA Tournament . They are  favored to beat Rutgers and ST. John’s down the stretch. The Irish are worried about top competitors such as Connecticut and a pivotal home game against Villanova.

Rutgers look to battle the Irish with their own offesive power house. Mike Coburn had eight points, three assists and two steals off the bench with only one turnover. He will be joined by teamates Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique. Both players have been oustanding. Mike Rosario finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting against WVU. It’s the 18th time in 27 games the freshman has led the team in scoring while Greg Echenique led the team with seven rebounds against the Mountaineers, to go along with his 11 points. He also blocked three shots, the 12th time he’s knocked away at least that many this season. Don’t miss this action against these two exsiting teams.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 25, 2009 - Post a comment

Hoops World Abuzz about Irish’s Shot at Tourney

The college basketball world seems as though it’s getting right back to loving Notre Dame.  One of the popular preseason Final Four picks, Notre Dame had it all heading into the season.  They had a high ranking, the inside scorer, the outside shooting, the role players, and after a couple of sub-par football seasons in South Bend, people were pumped about the UND basketball team’s chances.  However, in the middle of a tough Big East Conference schedule, the Irish lost seven straight games.  The streak was broken in a big way versus Louisville, and then the Irish won again at Providence. This week they play Rutgers. According to an Andy Katz article, one of many you’ll find out there praising the Irish for returning from the dead, UND coach Mike Brey had this to say:

“We continue to make it interesting. It’s going to be a photo finish and we want to be in it. We got through an amazingly tough stretch and all we strive to do now is be in the discussion.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 24, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Blows by Providence 103-84

If you blinked you probably missed the defense, but that’s just fine with Notre Dame fans who watched the Irish’s latest game against the Providence Friars. UND was more than equal to the task of putting up points on the road, as Notre Dame sped past Prov-town 103-84. Luke Harangody, who you’d think would have gone for 35 points and 15 rebounds, only ended up scoring 18 points and snagging eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Ryan Ayers scored 28 and Kyle McAlarney scored.  On the Friars’ side, Weyinmi Efejuku led the way with 31 points.

Notre Dame improves to 15-11 overall and gets another Big East Conference win, so they’re 6-8 heading into the last four games of the regular season. If they win out, they’d be 10-8 in conference and 19-11 overall, a fine record for the Selection Sunday Committee to take a look at before the Tourney starts. Knock on wood. The Irish will host Rutgers this Wednesday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 23, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame to Play at Providence this Weekend; Baseball Preview

Head on out to the Dunkin Donuts Center in Rhode Island this week to see the Irish play a road game at Providence.  Notre Dame enters the game after a poor performance versus the West Virginia Mountaineers earlier in the week. Providence is coming off a recent blowout loss to Louisville.  According to the stats on efficiency at Kenpom.com, Providence is actually ranked much lower than Notre Dame. If you’re looking for some good stats on the game, historical and otherwise, check out the preview at UND.com.

Also, Notre Dame sports fans might be interested in the Fighting Irish baseball preview. No surprise here: Notre Dame is supposed to have another stellar season. If you have a spare three hours you might be able to get through the whole preview. It’s pretty exhaustive. There’s nothing you won’t know about the Irish.

Enjoy the basketball game and have a great weekend. We’ll see you back here at the Notre Dame Blog on Monday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 20, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Drops One to WVU

West Virginia used a strong second half spurt to get past the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last night. WVU won 79-68, but was at one point in the second half up by as much as 17 points. Da’Sean Butler scored 19 points, and Alex Roff scored 24 points to lead the way for the Mountaineers. Luke Harangody was his usual self, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.  Notre Dame went cold after the half, shooting 3-14 from three point range and 8-24 from the field.

With the loss Notre Dame falls to 14-11 overall and 5-8 in the Big East. The Irish had been on a two game win streak after a seven-game losing streak, and hopes were high that the Domers might be on the way up after a long fall from the heights. Certainly this is disappointing news for Notre Dame sports fans, as each loss, each missed opportunity pushes the door closed on a Tournament bid.  There’s still time left, yet. Make sure you get out to the games and give this team your all as they attempt to win out in the regular season.

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 19, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame-West Virginia Game Tonight!

If you have the night off grab a car, plane, train or hot air balloon to get out to West Virginia. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to play the Mountaineers in a crucially important conference road game.  As we mentioned yesterday, the Mountaineers occupy the spot just above the Irish in the Big East standings. And as the month of March draws near, getting good road wins will be pure gold to the selection Sunday committee.

Check out this article at the South Bend Tribune.com, which goes over some of the basics of the matchup. Historically, the Irish have done very well when playing West Virginia, but with the current road game trend the Irish are on, and the way WVU usually plays against conference teams when they’re at home, who knows. Well, the one thing we do know is that it will be a hard-fought game. The Irish are desperate, and they’re looking better and better each game. Hope you have tickets to see the game!

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 18, 2009 - Post a comment

“Still Breathing” Notre Dame to Play West Virginia on Wednesday

Notre Dame is “still breathing” according to ESPN’s Weekly Watch by Andy Katz. Apparently the Irish’s home win versus Louisville and their next home win against South Florida put the Irish on the radar of at least one famous college basketball writer.  That the Irish are still breathing is of course a good thing, considering the situation the team was in on Wednesday of last week. Still, breathing won’t get you into the Tournament, which is why the Irish need to come out strong this Wednesday against West Virginia.

Let’s look at some of the West Virginia basics. Right now the Mountaineers occupy the spot directly above the Irish in the Big East standings. They’re 6-6 in conference and 17-8 overall. The biggest scoring threat Notre Dame will have to look out for is DaSean Butler, also one of the best rebounders on the team. Devin Ebanks will cause trouble down low as well. It will be imperative that Notre Dame keep Luke Harangody in the game and playing defense.

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 17, 2009 - Post a comment

Sunday Funday! Irish Top South Florida 67-57

Notre Dame continued their scramble back to the forefront of the Big East (hopefully) with another win this Sunday.  UND knocked off South Florida 67-57 in a home game that left fans feeling even more optimistic than they had been after their recent home game win over Louisville.  Even though South Florida is one of the easier teams in the Big East, a win is a win, and the Irish need all they can get at this point.

Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney both scored a game-high 19 points. Even though the Irish let the Bulls get close in the second half, they turned on the defense and pulled away near the end. Their defensive effort gets special accolades from the Notre Dame Blog today, because (when combined with the stiff D played against Louisville) it shows from real improvement from just a few weeks ago.

Is this a major momentum swing? Will the Irish continue their great defense? We will find out soon enough. Notre Dame will play

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Permalink - Posted in General on February 16, 2009 - Post a comment


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