Typically when a game doesn't mean much not a lot can go wrong, today was different...
Boston College was heading into this afternoon's contest coming off of a ten day pause and four losses, in the midst of all that the Eagles lost two of their three leading scorers and their head coach. Yet they still came out with more energy than Notre Dame. The Eagles were led in scoring by four players, three of which average less than nine points a game. Notre Dame's defense couldn't stop much of anything today as the Eagles went for 94 points ( the highest of any opposing team of Notre Dame's all season). Notre Dame's defense was the worst it has been all year and that's saying something. The Irish had no success guarding Boston college's young wings man to man, so they dropped into a 2-3 zone, the 2-3 caused rebounding issues and left shooters wide open so Brey dropped into his recently developed 1-3-1. Nothing worked...
Just like their defense, Notre Dame is back to square one. After a fun stretch where it seemed like the Irish were finally going to turn it around, here we are. Three straight losses against unranked opponents, it has been thirteen days since the Irish last won a game. That exciting night in Cameron Indoor Stadium when the Irish looked unstoppable seems like ages ago. Throughout this season we've had the excuse that Notre Dame can beat teams on their level but just not above them, a loss like this puts that theory in serious doubt.
Offense isn't the issue, when you put up 90 points and shoot 58.5% from the field, there isn't much more you can do. This game is all on the defensive effort, the Irish just didn't have the fire that they normally do, the fire that has shown up in spurts over the last few months was nowhere to be found. Even though the Irish were able to put themselves in striking distance and make this one look somewhat respectable, it wasn't enough. To make tournaments and have successful seasons these are the types of games a team like Notre Dame has to win.
If the Irish had finished this season strong it would've been a lot easier to be optimistic about their deep team returning next year, but right now it's up to this group. Paul Atkinson and a few inexperienced (talented) players can only make so much of a difference. It's up to this year's core to produce next season. Let's hope this group develops over the summer, but if they don't there isn't an easy solution. Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick recently told Irish Illustrated that they have been focused on how to get better with Brey rather than his job status. For the time being it seems the Irish will have to find a way to improve with Brey rather than getting a spark from a new coach and structure change within the program. After arguably the worst loss in the Brey era, the chances of that seem slimmer than they have ever been in the past.
For now, the Irish will have one final chance at the tournament in Greensboro, outside of that the uncertainty of the NIT and their below .500 record make it a near certainty that their stay in Greensboro will be their last until next season. For a team that had legitimate tournament aspirations and enough talent to get there, this is rock bottom.
Follow us on twitter @NDBballanalysis for more Notre Dame Men's Basketball Content.
Comments