Denver, CO (UHND) – Notre Dame’s bid for its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003 was derailed by a stingy Washington State defense that held the Irish to a season low 41 points.
Notre Dame’s high octane offense which had averaged over 80 points a game during the regular season was completely and emphatically shut down during Saturday night’s second round matchup with Washington State. After scoring five points in the game’s first minute, Notre Dame managed just 36 over the final 39.
Washington State’s defensive game plan revolved around stopping Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody, and they carried it out to perfection. Notre Dame’s sophomore center connected on just 3 of 17 field goal attempts en route to just 10 points – his second lowest total of the season.
Harangody did not handle the constant double teams well. Instead of dishing the ball out to an open teammate, he forced quite a few shots as evidenced by exceptionally poor field goal percentage. Even when he did kick the ball out, the Irish were unable to capitalize.
As a team Notre Dame shot just 24.5% from the field and a paltry 17.6% from three point range. Junior Kyle McAlarney led the team in scoring with a mere 12 points while hittng only two of eight three point attempts.
The offensive futility displayed by Notre Dame Saturday night marked the worst offensive performance in the Brey Era. In fact, the 41 point total was the fewest by the Irish since 1984 and the fewest they have ever scored in an NCAA Tournament game.
No one wearing a black uniform could get into any sort of offensive groove Saturday night. McAlarney and Harangody were the only Irish players to manage double figures with 12 and 10. Rob Kurz ended his Notre Dame career with just eight points, Tory Jackson added seven, and Zach Hillesland and Jonathan Peoples each contributed just two.
Washington State’s suffocating defense forced Notre Dame into 13 turnovers while they committed just seven of their own.
Lost in Notre Dame’s woes on the offensive end was some pretty respectable defense. Rarely can a team say it played good defense in a 20 point loss, but Washington State did only score just 61 points – a total that would usually mean an Irish victory. In fact, Notre Dame would have won any other game this season had it held its opponent to 61 points.
Washington State didn’t exactly shoot the lights out at the Pepsi Center either. The Cougars only shot 44.4% from the field and just 23.5% from three point range.
Notre Dame also out rebounded Washington State 38 to 36 thanks to Luke Harangody’s career high of 22 which included seven on the offensive glass.
Despite all of Notre Dame’s offensive struggles, the Irish did make a 9-0 run in the second half to get within seven, but Washington State put an end to the Irish comeback bid and led by double digits for much of the rest of the game.
The scoring burst was the only time the Irish resembled the team that had won 24 games this season. Unfortunately, the run was exception and not the norm for the Irish Saturday night and they only looked like themselves over that two minute run in the second half.
The loss ends Notre Dame’s season with a 25-8 record – quite a remarkable record for a team picked to finish 9th in the Big East this year. The great regular season success experienced by the Irish, however, will likely render Saturday night’s loss a disappointment for most Notre Dame fans who felt a trip to the Sweet 16 would be needed to label this season a “success.”
