Through the Eyes of the Irish: Notre Dame Basketball

By Manuel DeJesus | Jan 26, 2015

No. 8 Notre Dame has made a full 180-degree turn this season from where it stood a season ago. Last year, the Irish only managed to win 15 games. This season, Notre Dame stands at 18-2, which is one of the best records in the country. It’s safe to say that everyone in South Bend, Indiana is ecstatic about their Irish heading towards another NCAA Tournament appearance.

It’s rare to for Notre Dame to have a team that ranks in the top ten, and for the most part, those teams eventually fall off and drop right back to the middle of the pack in the Top 25 by the end of the season. However, students and fans are feeling different about this team.

“Having an elite player like Jerian Grant makes us one of the best teams in the country, and we haven’t had a guy like that in a long time,” sophomore Zach Heller said. “Having a team that has five players on the floor that can score at once is something that we haven’t had.”

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Grant is a mid-season finalist for the Wooden Award leading the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game. Last season the loss of Grant had a major impact in how the team finished, but with Grant back in the lineup with along with senior captain guard Pat Connaughton, emerging sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson and junior center Zach Auguste, this team is one of the most balanced teams in the nation.

“It’s actually fun to go to games,” junior Jason Rink said. “I never really got into basketball until this season since we haven’t really been good for some time now. But now we’re one of the best teams and I’m confident in our chances of making a run at something special.”

Tied for second in the ACC, Notre Dame is finally looking like a serious contender for the ACC title in just its second year in the league. Some fans have expressed that they’re not convinced in Notre Dame’s early success attributing this pessimistic view to the consistent disappointments in Notre Dame sports, but others believe that this season is different.

“What sets us apart this season is that we’ve already won games that make us worthy of being a top-ten team,” Heller said. “We beat Michigan State, North Carolina on the road, lost a close game to No. 2 Virginia and we’re still undefeated on the road in ACC play.”

The biggest test of Notre Dame’s season comes Wednesday when they face Duke at home. Coach Mike Krzyzewkski will be entering South Bend as the first men’s division-one coach to reach 1,000 wins after beating St. John’s earlier today. In a battle of two of the top teams in the ACC, Notre Dame will have to win this contest to truly solidify themselves as a contender in not only the ACC, but in all of the NCAA.

“It’s going to be a lot harder to win on the road, so we have to take care of business at home,” Rink said.

Excitement at Notre Dame is at an all-time high, and if the team continues to succeed the way it has through the first half of the season, fans will have the pleasure of following the Irish on their road towards a top-seed in the NCAA Tournament.