Notre Dame coach Mike Brey clearly had a unique take on how to contain Duke prodigy Jahlil Okafor on Wednesday night: he didn't. His strategy was to let Okafor do his thing and focus on attacking Duke in other areas. The approach was commendable, because Okafor mauled the Irish with 22 points and 18 boards on 10-18 shooting. Yet Brey stuck with a four guard approach and punished the Blue Devils on the perimeter for most of the evening. Jerian Grant did as he pleased all evening and was a pleasure to watch. Anyone who shoots 9/15 for 23 points against one of America's most talented teams is truly impressive. But that wasn't stat that stood out the most for Grant: he had TWELVE assists. Collectively, the Irish buckled down defensively late, and Duke struggled mightily in the final minutes after being extremely efficient for most of the game. Oh, and a little luck never hurts either.
At this point, with wins over Miami, at NC State, at North Carolina, and now Duke, Notre Dame being the real deal is no longer up for debate. This team is winning big games that a 2 or 3 seed would. The Irish are 5-2 against the top 50 with no bad losses. However, Notre Dame's non-conference slate is truly laughable. I'll leave you a list of good wins they accumulated in non-conference play and then list the bad programs they beat:
Out of Conference Good wins: (RPI)
Michigan St. (42)
Out of Conference Wins against Cupcakes: (RPI)
Binghamton (335)
Navy (265)
Coppin St. (315)
Grambling (348)
Chicago St. (347)
Farleigh Dickensen (282)
Mt. St. Mary's (166)
Northern Illinois (209)
Hartford (215)
This list alone is bad enough, but the Irish had a composite out of conference strength of schedule of 324 and played ZERO road games. There is absolutely zero excuse for an ACC school to put together that kind of pre-conference slate. The selection committee will have a dilemma on March 15th. They've said time and time again that non-conference scheduling matters and makes an impact on seeding and selection. While the Irish don't have to worry about getting selected for the field, they can probably kiss any hopes of a 2 seed goodbye. The highest they can climb with that embarrassment of a schedule will be the 3 line....that is, if the Selection Committee follows through on their clearly defined expectations for scheduling.
Out of Conference Good wins: (RPI)
Michigan St. (42)
Out of Conference Wins against Cupcakes: (RPI)
Binghamton (335)
Navy (265)
Coppin St. (315)
Grambling (348)
Chicago St. (347)
Farleigh Dickensen (282)
Mt. St. Mary's (166)
Northern Illinois (209)
Hartford (215)
This list alone is bad enough, but the Irish had a composite out of conference strength of schedule of 324 and played ZERO road games. There is absolutely zero excuse for an ACC school to put together that kind of pre-conference slate. The selection committee will have a dilemma on March 15th. They've said time and time again that non-conference scheduling matters and makes an impact on seeding and selection. While the Irish don't have to worry about getting selected for the field, they can probably kiss any hopes of a 2 seed goodbye. The highest they can climb with that embarrassment of a schedule will be the 3 line....that is, if the Selection Committee follows through on their clearly defined expectations for scheduling.
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