Notre Dame: Tourney Team or Not?

• athlete37

  

  ND is about to go to 20-10, 9-8 in BE with a win over UConn tonight. In the past week they've beaten Pitt by 15, won at Georgetown by 14, and now beaten UConn. Add in a win over West Virginia, a sweep of South Florida, a win over Cincinnati, and what do you guys think? Also have bad losses at Rutgers, Seton Hall, vs. St. John's, and vs. Loyola Marymount. Finish at Marquette this Saturday before heading to the Big East tournament with 2 byes in all likelyhood.
• Mulva

  

  The bad losses are beyond bad, they are horrible losses. Luckily for ND the bubble is as weak as it's ever been this year (how people can watch this season and still argue to get 32 more teams in the tournament is beyond me), so I think they're in good shape as of right now.
  
  Winning @ Marquette would lock it up. If they lose they will be one of the last 4 in or out heading into the BE tourney.
• athlete37

  

  I think if they win at Marquette and don't get upset in the BE tourney you could see them as a 10 seed or higher, but I am biased lol
• Non

  

  I think they need to beat Marquette.
  
  The Big East is jammed up. Even for being a deep league they can't take everybody. 10-8 looks a lot better than 9-9 in the conference, I think.
• rock_knutne

  I'm with Non, they have to beat Marquette and it should be a lock. Lose to Marquette and they will need definitely one, maybe two wins in the Big East tournament.
  
  BTW, how about Mike Brey, this guy staves off being fired or the talk of firing him yet again.
• cbus4life

  Beat Marquette and they are pretty much in, IMO. And, at least one win in the BE tournament, ideally two, and they are a lock.
• centralbucksfan

  rock_knutne wrote: I'm with Non, they have to beat Marquette and it should be a lock. Lose to Marquette and they will need definitely one, maybe two wins in the Big East tournament.
  
  BTW, how about Mike Brey, this guy staves off being fired or the talk of firing him yet again.

  Not sure I would go with "lock", but they are right there.
  
  As for Brey...as long has he keeps ND mediocre...which they are, and have been under him...ND Adim is obviously happy. Which at a place like ND...is beyond me. Its all about expectations...which they obviously have none for mens basketball. Its kinda a shame for a place like ND. If they would ever decide to put some money into the program...I think they could have something.
• rock_knutne

  centralbucksfan wrote: Not sure I would go with "lock", but they are right there.
  
  As for Brey...as long has he keeps ND mediocre...which they are, and have been under him...ND Adim is obviously happy. Which at a place like ND...is beyond me. Its all about expectations...which they obviously have none for mens basketball. Its kinda a shame for a place like ND. If they would ever decide to put some money into the program...I think they could have something.

  
  I said "should" be a lock.
  
  I agree with you about ND's basketball program, they have all the tools and play in agruably the best basketball conference in America but no drive to go forward. All they need is a big time coach and the recruits would follow.
• athlete37

  

  Have you seen the gpa's of ND's basketball team? They recruit a different type of player
• centralbucksfan

  athlete37 wrote: Have you seen the gpa's of ND's basketball team? They recruit a different type of player

  And thats part of the problem. Just as with football, ND can loosen the admissions up a little bit. As I said, when ND wants to make mens bball important...they could. Right now, they are content to be mediocre.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Basketball recruiting has to be much tougher at ND than even football. Football is the big one, where they will bend their rules and allow someone who isn't the best student. I just don't know if there's any around that in basketball.
  
  But Duke gets it done with similar standards.
• rock_knutne

  thedynasty1998 wrote:But Duke gets it done with similar standards.

  Exactly.
• rock_knutne

  athlete37 wrote: Have you seen the gpa's of ND's basketball team? They recruit a different type of player

  I agree with you but there's no reason they can't recruit better even with the academic requirements. As mentioned above, Duke does it with no problems at all. Maybe ND should look at how Georgetown and Villanova go about it, they aren't exactly chopped liver when it comes to academics but they understand that they need to loosen up the standards in order to have a top notch team every year.
• cbus4life

  Georgetown and Duke are, IMO, better than ND as far as academics are concerned. And they do just fine.
  
  The academics excuse is old as hell, as other universities with higher academic standards than ND put competitive, national championship contenders on the floor, are consistent winners, etc.
  
  Hell, even Wake, Vanderbilt, Villanova, etc., who are on par with ND as far as academics are concerned, have arguably better programs than ND. Well, maybe not Vanderbilt, but certainly Wake and Villanova.
  
  The whole "we have to recruit smart kids" excuse is lame as hell.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  If that big goofy white dude, who happens to be really good, is out, they shouldn't even put them in the tournament.
• Azubuike24

  

  SQ_Crazies wrote: If that big goofy white dude, who happens to be really good, is out, they shouldn't even put them in the tournament.

  3 of their 4 quality wins are without him. I say don't let ND in if he's gonna come back. They are clearly better without Harangody.
• athlete37

  

  You mean the same Georgetown who is rated below ND in academic ratings and has lost to ND the last two seasons (including a 14 pt loss at home this year)? That Georgetown? And a basketball recruit is different than a football recruit. The reason Duke is so successful is because they have their pick of the best white guys
• rock_knutne

  ^^^^^No reason why ND can't have their pick of the best white guys either and IMO, Brey isn't going to attract them. BTW, that's the same Georgetown that was in the Final Four 3 years ago.
• slingshot4ever

  No reason that either them or UConn should be in. Fortunate for them they play in the Big East and the committee will probably put them in eventhough it isn't deserved.
• athlete37

  

  Assuming the Irish hold on (up 4 with 3 and half left in OT and Hayward just fouled out) I would now consider them a lock barring a terrible loss in the BE tourney
• killer_ewok

  

  slingshot4ever wrote: No reason that either them or UConn should be in. Fortunate for them they play in the Big East and the committee will probably put them in eventhough it isn't deserved.

  Why?
• slingshot4ever

  Because neither is in the top 65 in the nation.
• athlete37

  

  Really? So you would like to play the Irish after they just dismantled Pittsburgh, Georgetown in DC, beat UConn by 8, and went to Marquette and won after the Golden Eagles had won 9 out of their last 10 games? You're telling me if your are a 5 or a 6 seed this is the team you want to see in the 11 or 12 spot against you? Those four wins to finish the season are better than some teams best four wins all season, and that doesn't even include a win over WVU and a sweep of South Florida or the 10-8 finish in BE
• killer_ewok

  

  Notre Dame just beat Marquette @ Marquette and have beaten G'town, Pitt and WVU this season and they're clearly a better team since Harangody went out with the injury. He returned today and they still won.
• slingshot4ever

  UConn isnt a tourney team, Gergetown has lost 4 of 5 games (not a good win) and Marquette isn't even ranked. Everyone puts the BE on such a pedestal. Can't wait to watch all of those average BE teams go down in the tourney during the 1st round.