No. 1 seed Notre Dame (31-2) will be gunning for its 18th straight win this season in first-round NCAA Tournament action tonight on its Purcell Pavilion home floor when it hosts No. 16 seed Montana (24-8), the winners of both the regular season and tournament titles in the Big Sky Conference. The No. 2-ranked Irish are favored to make their fifth straight Final Four but will have a difficult path in the Oklahoma City bracketl.
The Grizzlies are making their 21st NCAA Championship appearance and Big Sky Coach of the Year Robin Selvig ranks 8th in NCAA Division 1 history with 845 career wins. It's a veteran team with three senior starters, led by Big Sky Co-MVP and point guard Kellie Rubel, who is averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Montana is especially noted for its defense. It is allowing opponents to shoot only 34 percent from the floor and blocks 6.2 shots per game which ranks ninth. Those numbers and its past tradition is why Irish head coach Muffet McGraw offers the hyperbole that "it's probably the best 16 seed that's ever been in the tournament."
However, while Montana's field-goal defense is 4th, Notre Dame's 49.8 field-goal percentage is second in the nation to UConn, and it is fourth in scoring with an 81.2 average per game.
The Irish attack is led by espnW Player of the Year Jewell Loyd (20. 5 points per game), freshman center Brianna Turner (13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and a national high .676 field-goal percentage), improving soph forward Taya Reimer (10.1 ppg), featured on the home page, classmate and point guard Lindsay Allen (9.9 ppg with ACC high 170 assists), and the time-share tandem of guards Michaela Mabrey and Madison Cable (each averaging 6.7 ppg). Freshman forward Kathryn Westbeld is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Playing the first game at 5 p.m. will be No. 8 seed Minnesota (23-9) against No. 9 seed DePaul (26-7). The winners play Sunday night.
Prediction: Notre Dame 78, Montana 53
This post was edited on 3/20 1:27 PM by Lou Somogyi
This post was edited on 3/20 1:30 PM by Lou Somogyi
The Grizzlies are making their 21st NCAA Championship appearance and Big Sky Coach of the Year Robin Selvig ranks 8th in NCAA Division 1 history with 845 career wins. It's a veteran team with three senior starters, led by Big Sky Co-MVP and point guard Kellie Rubel, who is averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Montana is especially noted for its defense. It is allowing opponents to shoot only 34 percent from the floor and blocks 6.2 shots per game which ranks ninth. Those numbers and its past tradition is why Irish head coach Muffet McGraw offers the hyperbole that "it's probably the best 16 seed that's ever been in the tournament."
However, while Montana's field-goal defense is 4th, Notre Dame's 49.8 field-goal percentage is second in the nation to UConn, and it is fourth in scoring with an 81.2 average per game.
The Irish attack is led by espnW Player of the Year Jewell Loyd (20. 5 points per game), freshman center Brianna Turner (13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and a national high .676 field-goal percentage), improving soph forward Taya Reimer (10.1 ppg), featured on the home page, classmate and point guard Lindsay Allen (9.9 ppg with ACC high 170 assists), and the time-share tandem of guards Michaela Mabrey and Madison Cable (each averaging 6.7 ppg). Freshman forward Kathryn Westbeld is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Playing the first game at 5 p.m. will be No. 8 seed Minnesota (23-9) against No. 9 seed DePaul (26-7). The winners play Sunday night.
Prediction: Notre Dame 78, Montana 53
This post was edited on 3/20 1:27 PM by Lou Somogyi
This post was edited on 3/20 1:30 PM by Lou Somogyi
