Friday, January 30, 2009

What happened to Notre Dame?

As I've often mentioned, I picked Notre Dame to win the 2009 NCAA Tournament. I thought they had the experience and toughness to win the formidable Big East, receive a favorable seed, and then storm their way in and through the Final Four in Detroit.

The season is far from over, but with a record of 12-7 (3-5 in the Big East) and a 4-game skid, the Fighting Irish don't look like they have enough fight in them. If anything, they remind me of short-staffed Duke squads of past seasons, without the overachieving conference play. Their exceptional starters can only get them so far. I hold out hope that they can make a late-season run, but I've already prepared myself to be very, very wrong.


West Regional (Glendale, AZ)
01. Oklahoma: Stories of the season? Big East, ACC, them.
08. Xavier: Maybe they're 2 seed material after all.
09. Marquette: Flying high, but they'll level off soon.
16. Clemson: Probably won't crack ACC's top 3.

South Regional (Memphis)
02. Wake Forest: Now 2-0 along the Tobacco Road.
07. Pittsburgh: A little vulnerable after the Nova loss.
10. Texas: Admit it. You've forgotten about them too.
15. Purdue: Squeaking in on strength of last 5 games.

East Regional (Boston)
03. Connecticut: And now the hard part of their schedule.
06. North Carolina: Comeback vs. FSU both classic and annoying.
11. Villanova: More than just guards and a well-dressed coach.
14. Memphis: Again in the Conference USA driver's seat.

Midwest Regional (Indianapolis)
04. Louisville: Always athletic, now significantly more cohesive.
05. Duke: Even the legendary 1992 squad lost in Winston-Salem.
12. Michigan State: Suddenly the Big Ten looks competitive.
13. Butler: Newish coach and players, same outstanding result.


Also considered: Gonzaga, Providence, UCLA, West Virginia.

4 comments:

pilgrimchick said...

My father is a fan of Notre Dame. When I am at home, I can generally tell the level of his dissatisfaction with the team by his decible level when yelling at the TV screen during one of their games.

Unknown said...

Hey, don't count out Penn State...they are hot.

Neel Mehta said...

Pilgrimchick: this is not a good year to be a Notre Dame fan.

Mainline Mom: You're right. With Michigan State and Purdue losing after I posted this, I'll have to re-evaluate the Big Ten.

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