Good & Bad With Notre Dame’s NCAA Draw
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
Notre Dame got a good draw in the sense that it will get to play fairly close to home in Dayton, Ohio, but one look at the opening game opponent and you realize the Selection Committee didn’t do the Fighting Irish any favors.
Mike Brey’s team received a No. 7 seed in the West Region and faces No. 10-seed Iowa State at 9:45 p.m. March 22 at the University of Dayton Arena in Ohio.
If the 25-9 Irish get by the Cyclones, they’ll likely face No. 2-seed Ohio State, the Big Ten Tournament winner (assuming the Buckeyes beat No. 15-seed Iona). That would be a real nightmare matchup for Notre Dame, especially when you consider Ohio State would be playing in its backyard, around 75 miles from its campus.
Notre Dame’s draw was made more difficult because it didn’t receive a better seed. A soft nonconference schedule – playing one ranked team (Kentucky) – didn’t help the Irish case to get a better seed even though it knocked off the tournament’s top No. 1 overall seed Louisville in that five overtime classic and beat Marquette, who earned a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance, in the Big East quarterfinals.
This is Notre Dame’s fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth in seven years.
“It’s very exciting,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “This is a big day for our program.
“We have our hands full as we head to Dayton. We have a heck of a challenge with Iowa State.”
Iowa State, coached by Fred Horberg, will present plenty of problems to the Fighting Irish.
All five Cyclone starters are scoring threats and Notre Dame better do a good job with its perimeter defense as ISU loves the three-point shot. In fact, 44 percent of the Cyclones’ shots come from beyond the arc.
This will be a battle of tempo. Notre Dame likes to play in the halfcourt, while Iowa State is about getting out in transition.
Iowa State is fourth in the country, averaging nearly 80 points per game (79.6).
“We’re going to have to score some because we’re not going to shut them down,” Brey said.
The Cyclones score a lot, but they also give up a lot, too. They were ninth in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing 71.2 points per game.
Iowa State lost a pair of regular-season overtime games to No. 1-seed Kansas and went on to finish fourth in the Big 12 with an 11-7 record.
ISU is led in scoring by senior swingman Will Clyburn, who averages 15 points per game.
Clyburn is one of four Cyclone players to average double figures in scoring. Two others average more than nine points a game.
Senior guard Tyrus McGee is deadly from long range. He’s shot nearly 200 three-pointers this season and hit 90 (45.7 percent) to help ISU lead its conference in three-point shooting (37 percent).
Notre Dame will also have its hands full with Cyclone forward Melvin Ejim (6-foot-6, 230 pounds). He led the Big 12 in rebounding, pulling down 9.3 boards per game.
Thanks to Ejim, ISU is very impressive on the glass. It was second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin (+4.7).
The Cyclones finished the regular season on a high note, winning six of their last eight, and were eliminated from their conference tournament by eventual champion Kansas.
“They’re a tough team,” Irish guard Eric Atkins said. “It’s going to be a good game. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
This NCAA Tournament seems as wide open as ever, especially since there’s not a dominant team in college basketball. There’s not a lock for the Final Four and not very many locks, period.
“Forget the numbers and the seeds away, it’s going to be hard to advance,” Brey said. “Our objection is to win a first-round game and see where it goes from there.”
