Pace: 66. Slightly below an average pace.
Efficiency:
Notre Dame--123
Wichita State--106
Sizzling second half. To be fair to the talking heads, I don't think Wichita State played as well as they did against Kansas--but make no mistake, the Shockers didn't lose this game, Notre Dame won it. Really solid all-around performance.
Offense: Four ND starters with 15 points or more. Surprisingly, Grant was the only one to not reach double-digits (nine points), but contributed a very nice 11 assists. And it wasn't like he had a crazy inefficient nine points, made 3-for-8 FGA's. Auguste was 6-for-6 from the field for 15 points, in addition to 6 rebounds. Vasturia had 15, Connaughton had 16 plus 10 rebounds, and Jackson led them all with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting (4-for-5 from 3's).
Defense: Almost identical to the usual recent trends. Their "big man"--Darius Carter--went off for 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and they even had a guard do really well. PG Fred VanVleet led them with 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting.
But ND absolutely shut their other guards down. Baker only 2-for-10, Cotton only 2-for-10, and Wessel 0-for-1.
Identity Stats:
1) Effective Field Goal Percentage[/I]: 64 percent. Huge checkmark here. The Irish actually only shot 45 percent eFG% in the first half, so this was a MONSTER second half. They finished the game 21-for-35 from two's (60 percent), and 9-for-19 from three's (47 percent). For context, Notre Dame averages 58.5 percent on the season (No. 2 best nationally,) and Wichita State was Top 20 in defensive efficiency.
2) Turnover Rate[/I]: 11 TO's in 66 possessions, rounds up to a 17 percent turnover rate (about one every six possessions). This is a checkmark considering Wichita State ranks No. 41 nationally forcing a 21 percent turnover rate. 17 percent is slightly worse than ND's season average of 14.6 percent, which ranks No. 3 nationally. Also, a couple of these game very late in the game when I felt like ND got a little lackadaisical with an impossible to overcome lead.
3) Free throw differential[/I]: Wichita State earned 19 FTA's on 65 FGA's, a 29 percent free throw rate. Notre Dame only earned 15 FTA's, but on 54 FGA's, so that makes a 28 percent free throw rate--pretty much even.
Summary: I've been hammering balance as a big key in Notre Dame's recent big successful run, and that's exactly what we saw tonight. Realize that even adjusting for strength of schedule, the Shockers were Top 20 in the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They were "supposed" to be the more balanced team coming into this one, and the talking heads echoed this sentiment with their pregame comments about ND's defense.
And while Wichita State may not have played like they did against Kansas, Notre Dame was the dominant and more balanced team tonight. 1.23 points per possession is incredibly hard to pull off against a Top 20 defense, and holding a Top 20 offense to 1.06 points per possession is also tough to do. But ND pulled off both feats.
I'll say this. If ND does draw Kentucky, and they play like did tonight, I think they have much more than a fighters chance. Can they play like tonight again against the Kitty Cats? I guess we'll all have to see, assuming they win.
Suggestions for what I'm supposed to do until Saturday night are welcome. I already can't wait.
This post was edited on 3/26 10:05 PM by Jordan Wells
Efficiency:
Notre Dame--123
Wichita State--106
Sizzling second half. To be fair to the talking heads, I don't think Wichita State played as well as they did against Kansas--but make no mistake, the Shockers didn't lose this game, Notre Dame won it. Really solid all-around performance.
Offense: Four ND starters with 15 points or more. Surprisingly, Grant was the only one to not reach double-digits (nine points), but contributed a very nice 11 assists. And it wasn't like he had a crazy inefficient nine points, made 3-for-8 FGA's. Auguste was 6-for-6 from the field for 15 points, in addition to 6 rebounds. Vasturia had 15, Connaughton had 16 plus 10 rebounds, and Jackson led them all with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting (4-for-5 from 3's).
Defense: Almost identical to the usual recent trends. Their "big man"--Darius Carter--went off for 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and they even had a guard do really well. PG Fred VanVleet led them with 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting.
But ND absolutely shut their other guards down. Baker only 2-for-10, Cotton only 2-for-10, and Wessel 0-for-1.
Identity Stats:
1) Effective Field Goal Percentage[/I]: 64 percent. Huge checkmark here. The Irish actually only shot 45 percent eFG% in the first half, so this was a MONSTER second half. They finished the game 21-for-35 from two's (60 percent), and 9-for-19 from three's (47 percent). For context, Notre Dame averages 58.5 percent on the season (No. 2 best nationally,) and Wichita State was Top 20 in defensive efficiency.
2) Turnover Rate[/I]: 11 TO's in 66 possessions, rounds up to a 17 percent turnover rate (about one every six possessions). This is a checkmark considering Wichita State ranks No. 41 nationally forcing a 21 percent turnover rate. 17 percent is slightly worse than ND's season average of 14.6 percent, which ranks No. 3 nationally. Also, a couple of these game very late in the game when I felt like ND got a little lackadaisical with an impossible to overcome lead.
3) Free throw differential[/I]: Wichita State earned 19 FTA's on 65 FGA's, a 29 percent free throw rate. Notre Dame only earned 15 FTA's, but on 54 FGA's, so that makes a 28 percent free throw rate--pretty much even.
Summary: I've been hammering balance as a big key in Notre Dame's recent big successful run, and that's exactly what we saw tonight. Realize that even adjusting for strength of schedule, the Shockers were Top 20 in the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They were "supposed" to be the more balanced team coming into this one, and the talking heads echoed this sentiment with their pregame comments about ND's defense.
And while Wichita State may not have played like they did against Kansas, Notre Dame was the dominant and more balanced team tonight. 1.23 points per possession is incredibly hard to pull off against a Top 20 defense, and holding a Top 20 offense to 1.06 points per possession is also tough to do. But ND pulled off both feats.
I'll say this. If ND does draw Kentucky, and they play like did tonight, I think they have much more than a fighters chance. Can they play like tonight again against the Kitty Cats? I guess we'll all have to see, assuming they win.
Suggestions for what I'm supposed to do until Saturday night are welcome. I already can't wait.
This post was edited on 3/26 10:05 PM by Jordan Wells
