I told myself I would be more than satisfied if this team made the elite 8 but now, I REALLY want to beat Kentucky. Especially after hearing Coach Cal tell his team about Notre Dame- "They will have to play real basketball".
I think a big key is going to be ND's ability to bring back the lost art of the mid range jumper. UK will not leave ND's shooters at the arc and will try to funnel drives to their many shot blockers, so the ability to to stop and pop from 15-17 will be huge. Unlike most teams who seem uncomfortable doing this, it is a strength of guys like PC and JG. SV and DJ have been unbelievable at going to the rim and into the body of opposing shot blockers and while that will still be somewhat important in this game, ultimately UK just has too many interior bodies. Both of these guys can also hit a pull up jumper so I hope coach Brey really instills that mindset going into Saturday.
I also expect UK to press quite a bit for 2 reasons. First to try to wear down ND with their constant influx of fresh legs. Secondly because it likely will lead ND into quicker shots and prevent ND's surgical half court offense from setting up and getting into a rhythm. This will require ND to play with extreme discipline and not force shots that although may seem "open" are not in the best interest of the overall game flow required to beat a more talented opponent. That being said, if the Irish get hot, let it fly...that's never a problem for a Brey team. Off the defensive glass DJ and JG REALLY need to push to try and get to the rim before the giants get back and set up their D.
On defense, ND just doesn't have many choices. I do expect to see some guys we haven't seen in a while, Torres and Burgett and maybe even Geben, if for no other reason then just to use some fouls. The conventional wisdom would be to play a zone and force the shooters to beat you but I don't think a "short" zone would even have that effect. They'd still pound it down low and just shoot over the back line of the zone. I think ND will still try to go man and trade 2's for ND's overall offensive efficiency, while sending every available body to the boards. DJ's pressure on the ball will be huge. ND will have to make post entry passes as uncomfortable as possible and one of the matchups on this end of the floor I really like is DJ's uncanny ability to pressure the ball without fouling. Jerian will really have to sell out on this end as well...He turns up his D at times and is an outstanding defender. Other times he seems to rest a little on D, which is not a knock on him, as he is asked to do so much on O but Saturday he must be all in on D. When playing a big team the denial of entry passes is often over looked but ND's 2 guards have the ability to really make a difference here. I don't see ND pressing too much, again the large bodies just allow UK to keep the ball high and beat most full court pressure relatively easily. Zach needs to be very patient and take his lumps. He's going to get abused in the post but we'll need him late in a close game; so just play straight up, don't foul and go get boards.
I'm very happy UK only has 1 day to prepare for ND. They will not be used to such a fluid well coached offense with so many shooters and cutters. I think we've got a chance and I just hope ND is able to slice up their D early and maybe get them a bit frustrated. If we can do that, it will put pressure on their offense and pressure does strange things to teams in March, especially younger teams. Lastly, some random thoughts:
Zach needs to explode to the rim and not settle for layups
I don't think that will be a problem for DJ. I expect him to posterize somebody tomorrow, that kid has so much desire!
JG needs to be his creative self and not force ANY shots...pass, pass, pass. If it's close at the end he'll get his chance to score
PC needs to shoot like he can and somehow get his 10 boards. We'll need 20 &10 from him.
As a player or coach I would LOVE this opportunity. It's a chance for a legendary win and those don't come around very often. Play loose and punch them right in the mouth and see how they respond.
Let's go Irish!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think a big key is going to be ND's ability to bring back the lost art of the mid range jumper. UK will not leave ND's shooters at the arc and will try to funnel drives to their many shot blockers, so the ability to to stop and pop from 15-17 will be huge. Unlike most teams who seem uncomfortable doing this, it is a strength of guys like PC and JG. SV and DJ have been unbelievable at going to the rim and into the body of opposing shot blockers and while that will still be somewhat important in this game, ultimately UK just has too many interior bodies. Both of these guys can also hit a pull up jumper so I hope coach Brey really instills that mindset going into Saturday.
I also expect UK to press quite a bit for 2 reasons. First to try to wear down ND with their constant influx of fresh legs. Secondly because it likely will lead ND into quicker shots and prevent ND's surgical half court offense from setting up and getting into a rhythm. This will require ND to play with extreme discipline and not force shots that although may seem "open" are not in the best interest of the overall game flow required to beat a more talented opponent. That being said, if the Irish get hot, let it fly...that's never a problem for a Brey team. Off the defensive glass DJ and JG REALLY need to push to try and get to the rim before the giants get back and set up their D.
On defense, ND just doesn't have many choices. I do expect to see some guys we haven't seen in a while, Torres and Burgett and maybe even Geben, if for no other reason then just to use some fouls. The conventional wisdom would be to play a zone and force the shooters to beat you but I don't think a "short" zone would even have that effect. They'd still pound it down low and just shoot over the back line of the zone. I think ND will still try to go man and trade 2's for ND's overall offensive efficiency, while sending every available body to the boards. DJ's pressure on the ball will be huge. ND will have to make post entry passes as uncomfortable as possible and one of the matchups on this end of the floor I really like is DJ's uncanny ability to pressure the ball without fouling. Jerian will really have to sell out on this end as well...He turns up his D at times and is an outstanding defender. Other times he seems to rest a little on D, which is not a knock on him, as he is asked to do so much on O but Saturday he must be all in on D. When playing a big team the denial of entry passes is often over looked but ND's 2 guards have the ability to really make a difference here. I don't see ND pressing too much, again the large bodies just allow UK to keep the ball high and beat most full court pressure relatively easily. Zach needs to be very patient and take his lumps. He's going to get abused in the post but we'll need him late in a close game; so just play straight up, don't foul and go get boards.
I'm very happy UK only has 1 day to prepare for ND. They will not be used to such a fluid well coached offense with so many shooters and cutters. I think we've got a chance and I just hope ND is able to slice up their D early and maybe get them a bit frustrated. If we can do that, it will put pressure on their offense and pressure does strange things to teams in March, especially younger teams. Lastly, some random thoughts:
Zach needs to explode to the rim and not settle for layups
I don't think that will be a problem for DJ. I expect him to posterize somebody tomorrow, that kid has so much desire!
JG needs to be his creative self and not force ANY shots...pass, pass, pass. If it's close at the end he'll get his chance to score
PC needs to shoot like he can and somehow get his 10 boards. We'll need 20 &10 from him.
As a player or coach I would LOVE this opportunity. It's a chance for a legendary win and those don't come around very often. Play loose and punch them right in the mouth and see how they respond.
Let's go Irish!!!!!!!!!!!!
