Too little to late, Notre Dame falls to Louisville, 90-85

The Irish played terrible in the first half.  Simple as that.  Louisville played intense, loud and aggressive on defense.  They applied full-court pressure which the Irish couldn't handle.  Notre Dame reminded me of the team 2 years  ago playing the way they did tonight, not the team that beat Syracuse and Pitt with confidence. 

The second half was an improvement I guess.  The Irish played like they were nationally ranked in the second but that was not enough.  The Irish needed to play like that in the first half for the game to even be close. Every ranked opponent in the Big East, the Irish have lost to on the road.  You could look at that two ways.  One well the only games they lost were really tough ones or two they can't beat tough opponents.  Notre Dame still hasn't proved they could beat the tough teams on the road and tonight was there last chance. This game might have an affect on how high the Irish are seeded in the NCAA Tournament.

The only bright spot for the Irish was Harangody who finished with 40! A career high and  another double-double for the big guy. McAlarney, Kurz and Jackson all struggled. The late comeback was miraculous, but it was just too little too late.

If everything clicked like it did in the final 5 minutes of the game for the whole thing then we knows what would have happened.  The good news is that the Irish have an easy final 3 games so if it plays out right the Irish will finish the season with a little bit of a streak.

-stuart-