The importance of getting a conference win in Big East basketball, especially on the road, should never be understated, and as much is can be said about Notre Dame’s 92-82 win over DePaul Wednesday evening in the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., a building in which the Irish now have just a 7-12 record all-time.
As usual, the Irish were paced by the efforts of junior forward Luke Harangody who posted his seventh double-double of the season with 26 points and 16 rebounds, while fellow 2007-08 Big East first-teamer Kyle McAlarney managed to fight through tight man defense, again, to contribute 13 points to go with six assists. If the Irish can get close to 40 points from their two stars combined, consider that a success, and perhaps even a key to victory.
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McAlarney and the rest of the starters must be ready to take on big minutes for the Irish this season.
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But it was the Irish role players in the starting rotation who stole the show for the Irish New Year’s Eve in Chicago. Ryan Ayers was able to come through with 14 points, including four three pointers that gave the Irish a necessary perimeter threat to the offense with McAlarney so tightly guarded. He was aggressive with his shot, and it paid off with a trio of three-pointers midway through the second half that helped the Irish keep their feet on the throats of the Blue Demons with a double-digit lead.
Tory Jackson also hit some critical shots en route to his 12-point night, and Zach Hillesland rounded out the starters in double figures with a career-high 17 points. And Hillesland’s performance was promising because it gave the Irish another scorer around the basket.
"I think with Zach, I think he has a feel who he can take off the dribble. Nobody has ever been bashful in my system offensively. Nobody is ever looking at the bench," said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey after the game. "We want guys that can attack and go for it. Tonight obviously, I felt he really set the tone with his drives and finishes."
And as the Irish look ahead to the rest of the Big East schedule, Wednesday night’s performance should give Brey and his bunch confidence that they have the starting lineup to run with any team in the league. And when the Irish get into a sprint, they usually have the firepower to come out on top.
In Notre Dame’s victories this season, they’ve outshot their opponents from the field in nine of the ten games and have done so by an average of 48.3% to 39.8%. In their two losses, they’ve been outshot in each game, and by an average of 39.9% to 48.0%.
The blueprint for beating the Irish has been exposed in the two losses, as well as two close wins over Texas and Boston University, and if teams convert on a high percentage of their field goals, guard the perimeter and win the rebound battle, that should be enough to keep Notre Dame manageable.
But perhaps what’s more concerning about the struggles in those games - and it was evident again Wednesday night as the Irish opened Big East play - has been the absence of the bench, which has averaged just 7.5 points in close games or losses, and contributed just 10 points and 6 rebounds against DePaul.
It’s almost certain that the Irish won’t be able rise to the level of the elites in the Big East if they can’t get a more solid effort from the bench rotation. And as the conference season wears on, what will effect will that grind have on the starting rotation come tournament season? Consider Notre Dame’s early exits from last year’s Big East and NCAA Tournaments, and the common culprits were poor shooting, especially from beyond the arc, and rebounding.
It seems likely that rebounding will be a weakness for the Irish in Big East play, as some of the conference’s more physical teams figure to dominate Notre Dame on the boards. Harangody has gotten little assistance in the paint outside of Zach Hillesland, who is the only other player on the roster averaging more than five rebounds per game.
While the Irish managed to outrebound the Blue Demons last night, the ease with which DePaul was able to grab offensive rebounds and convert second-chance points in clutch moments has to make one wonder what teams like Pitt, UConn and Marquette will do with their athletic rosters and impressive stats on the boards.
When things get dicey on the boards, Brey hopes that the Irish will be able to score their way out of such problems.
"Sometimes I get to the point where, ‘let’s just score more,’ and it will take care of it," he said prior to Big East play. "It sounds real simple, but given who we are, sometimes we have to look at what gets us into a better offensive efficiency where (rebounding) doesn’t come back to bite us and we put enough numbers on the board."
But the Irish aren't going to be able to just "score more" every night in the Big East, and at some point Notre Dame must be able to rely on players like Luke Zeller and Ty Nash, who at least seem to possess the tools necessary to contribute as rebounders. Zeller stands near 7-feet tall, and Nash’s muscular 6-foot-8 frame should allow him to bang with the physical teams in the league.
Jonathan Peoples has shown the ability to contribute in a number of capacities, but he often replaces specialists in either McAlarney (shooting) or Tory Jackson (ball-handling), leaving his role tough to define.
But it appears most likely that Brey will try to work with as tight a rotation as possible with those players he’s most confident, which at this point suggests the Irish rarely going beyond seven-deep. The Irish get enough production from the starting five that they should be able to navigate the conference schedule to earn respectable seeding in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. Will they have the juice to make memorable runs is the question.
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