Notre Dame Takes On Villanova

Tonight’s match-up features (10) Villanova (23-6) at Notre Dame (16-12). The Fighting Irish hung in with second ranked-Connecticut for 40 minutes in Storrs on Saturday, but the Huskies won that contest 72-65. Does this mean Notre Dame is out of the NCAA tournament? Not at all. A victory against the Huskies would of propelled them in the polls, but did not eliminate them from the tournament.

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So what will Notre Dame have to do to secure a victory against the Wildcats? They’re going to need more from Luke Harangody than what he’s given them lately. The Big East’s leading scorer at 23.6 points per game, Harangody averaged 17.3 points on just 36.5 percent shooting in his last three games. Guard Kyle McAlarney will also have to flex some offensive power to defeat Villanova. Harangody and McAlarney came up big in Notre Dame’s most recent meeting with Villanova. Harangody had 25 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and McAlarney had 30 points in a 90-80 win in Philadelphia last season. On defense, the Fighting Irish must shut down Scottie Reynolds. ‘Nova’s junior guard knows how to light up the score board. Villanova is 9-0 when Reynolds scores 18 points or more and 10-1 when he shoots above 40.0 percent. Reynolds has averaged 19.7 points in three career games against Notre Dame.

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