Notre Dame vs. Wichita State: Early Sweet Sixteen Preview
Notre Dame is in their first Sweet 16 since 2003, Wichita State their second in three years.
The talk of Notre Dame entering the NCAA Tournament was that they were one of the hottest teams in the country, and could make a deep run into the tourney. Some pundits even believed if anyone could beat Kentucky, it might be them. How quickly things have changed.
After two games that went right down to the wire, most believe that the Shockers are better than the Irish, and that while it will be close, they’ll prevail over Notre Dame in the end. The phrase “determined” has been used to describe this Wichita State team, which is understandable. This is their fourth consecutive tournament appearance, which includes the 2013 tourney in which they went to the Final Four, losing to Louisville.
The guard play of Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker helps key this Shocker’s offense, which some believe has better guard play than the Irish. I’ll respectfully disagree with that, especially with the play of Demetrius Jackson in this tournament. But Darius Carter in the post could be their biggest weapon.
Zach Auguste and Bonzie Colson have been solid for their size disadvantage, but Butler’s Roosevelt Jones exposed the Irish frontcourt in the first half of their matchup, torching the Irish inside. Coach Mike Brey made adjustments at the half, and they were able to throttle down Jones en route to the win. But Carter will have the size advantage, and this could be another instance where Brey will give up the inside buckets to Carter, while closing out the three-point opportunities for Wichita State.
For the Irish, scoring from long-range will be critical, as it’s not been there for them so far in this tournament. That’s a strong indicator why they have had such close games in the first two rounds. If they can get the outside shooting on track, there isn’t a team in this field they can’t beat.
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Jackson will need to continue his solid play at the point, and continue to be aggressive and get into the lane. Jerian Grant, who has looked passive at times, needs to step up and be aggressive as well. His versatility and ability to create plays by getting to the line or dishing out to the perimeter shooters is how they got here. No need to abandon that now.
For this team, in the same way that many call the Shocker’s determined, I believe it even more so for the Irish. Pat Connaughton has struggled offensively, but very well may have saved their tourney hopes with his fantastic block at the end of regulation on Butler’s Kellen Dunham. Later he hit a clutch three, followed by another from Steve Vasturia. They haven’t had many, but they have been timely.
Aside from the “unfinished business” that Grant and Connaughton may have, this team will rally around Brey, who lost his mother to a heart attack prior to Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs. He chose not to tell his team, allowing them to focus on the task at hand, a selfless act for a man who just lost his mother.
In March, there is no such thing as a game you “should win”, which has been proven on several occasions already in this 2015 NCAA Tournament. This game should prove to be another exciting one, but in the end I believe the Irish will prevail in a close contest.
Blazek’s Pick: Notre Dame 73, Wichita State 68