Kyle McAlarney leads charge past Syracuse

The Irish improved to 21-5 overall and 11-3 in the conference with their win over Syracuse today.  With the win the Irish are alone in third place in the conference for the first time since before their loss to Connecticut.  

Along with improving their conference record the Irish also improved the Joyce Center winning streak to 36 games.  We all know Memphis lost to Tennessee, and they had the first highest home winning streak.  So now the Irish are second in longest  active home winning streaks behind only BYU who has one 45 games straight. 

Well, on to the game today which was a great win for the Irish.

  Kyle McAlarney played exceptionally well.  He shot 9-11 from the 3 point line including 3 ridiculously deep ones.  9 3s is the best by any Notre Dame player before.  The previous holder was Colin Falls with eight 3s.  Kyle McAlarney looked unstoppable all game shooting over the Syracuse zone, and when the defense came out, he just shot from deeper.  By the end of the game the crowd was yelling SHOOT right when Kyle brought the ball over half court.  McAlarney finished with 30 points, 2 short of his career high.  

Kurz has 15 points for the Irish, and continues to just go out their and do his thing.  After a few early turnovers he settled down and put in a very important contribution to the team.  In the second half he got elbowed right above his eye.  He went into the locker room and got stitches then came out and played again.  Just showing how tough he is, and how physical the Big East Conference is. 

Jackson played well, yet not as amazing as his last few.  Don't get me wrong because he had a terrific game with 10 points and a couple of great assists.  Ryan Ayers also put up double figures with another 10 points.  As for Harangody, if he were any other center in the league he would of had a great game, however he is not.  His numbers were below his usual (14 points and 14 rebounds).  Still a double-double.

A great win for the Irish and that need to get prepared for their next game at Louisville.  Louisville is currently in second in the conference, with one more win over the Irish.  That game will be a decisive one in deciding how the final Big East rankings will look like.

-stuart-