The key for the Irish to win this game is to increase their production from the bench; in their loss against the Huskies Notre Dame’s bench only scored a total of six points.  On the other hand Rutgers looks to improve their rebounding totals, in their last game they were out rebounded 45-33. Neither teams are solid on the boards, so expect that to be one of the main focuses throughout the game.  Jack Cooley will have to capitalize on rebounding tonight if  Notre Dame plans on bringing a victory back to South Bend.  The Irish will again look towards their two leaders, Scott Martin and Eric Atkins, to get another key Big East victory. If the rest of the team does not start providing a boost, the next four games could be a long stretch for the Irish.

The Irish could easily be caught looking ahead to their big game against  #1 Syracuse in South Bend, but I expect them to pull out a come from behind win in Piscataway.  Look for Eric Atkins to have another big game tonight and the Irish to win the rebounding category in order to improve to 12-7. Follow Slap The Sign on Facebook as well as on Twitter @SlaptheSign.

Brey is 34-0 at Purcell Pavillion in November. Some of the teams were even Division I. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

It sucks being a displaced fan sometimes.  Tonight was one of them.

I tried- unsuccesfully, of course– to find a live stream of tonight’s game with Maine. Amazing how many sites that said they had a live stream, only to find, 10 link-clicks later, I need to sign up for some bogus account.

Alas, I had to comb ESPN for a box score, and wait for tweet updates of the game. Not nearly as fun as watching the game, as you might imagine.

Here’s what I found out about the game: (more…)