Irish Down Patriots, Look Forward to WSU

Heading into Thursday's opening round of the NCAA tournament, the Nasties Crew had several concerns about the Men's team:

1. Notre Dame needs to play well on the road.
2. Harangody/KMac need help from a third player on offense.
3. The Irish need to take their opponent out early.

After hitting 6 of their first 8 three point attempts and starting the game on a 23-7 run, the Irish were definitely able to satisfy the 1st and 3rd keys to victory, and a strong performance by Ryan Ayers off the bench (12pts on 5-10 shooting) rounds out the trifecta. In addition to putting in a strong offensive performance, Notre Dame was able to showcase a little Big East defensive grit, holding the Patriots to 33% shooting and shutting down 2 of GM's 3 central players. And as long as I'm talking about good things from last game, it was great that Brey was able to give 3 freshman (Nash, Proffitt, and Abromaitis) some valuable tournament experience.
However, don't expect Saturday's game to go as smoothly; Notre Dame was able to take Vaughan (6'3") and Campbell (6'4") almost completely out of the game on Thursday night (combined 7 points on 2-19 shooting), but Thomas (6'7") was able to put up half of George Mason's points. Washington State plays two capable 6'10" forwards in Aron Baynes (10.5 ppg) and Robbie Cowgill (7.3 ppg), so the noticeable height advantage ND had against George Mason will be more neutralized. Notre Dame has done a decent job of collapsing the zone on big men (making it tough for them to score), but the size could be a factor in the rebounding game.
Also, while 62% of GM's scoring was accounted for by only three players, WSU spreads the ball around much more: 4 starters average double figures, and the team has a good combination of inside and outside scoring.
One element of the game that shouldn't change too much is the pace. George Mason scored an average of 69 ppg throughout the season, and Washington State averages a comparable 67 ppg. In a 68-50 victory Thursday night, ND proved that it can play a low scoring game, but it is definitely to their advantage if they can get out to an early lead and force WSU to play the uncomfortable role of catch-up.

Keep Dancing, Go Irish! Beat Cougars!