Irish Upset #8 West Virginia 70-68

Isn't it amazing? The Irish hanged on to win a thriller tonight and it had everything a typical big Notre Dame game has; early success, misleading leads, frustration, anger, despair, and hopelessness. But this game had one thing most don't, a happy ending.

The Irish started the game off to a 21-4 run. People were shocked and stunned, some looked actually worried about what kind of mysterious powers were making this happen. The Irish seemed to be playing strong defense and literally couldn't miss from anywhere on the floor. We were perfect from the field for about ten minutes. We were giving up offensive rebounds but come on, when do we not? If we were rebounding as well, the crowd would then turned to being deeply concerned; concerned that that this was a sign the world was ending. The Irish led 45-25 at half.

The second half looked more like what most expected this game to be. West Virginia started nailing their shots and suddenly everyone came to the realization the Irish were never playing that good D. West Virginia was just missing every shot they took. WV took advantage of every offensive rebound and before we knew it the lead was cut down to single digits by the 12 or 13 minute mark. The crowd got knocked out of the game (at least they didn't have to prepare for the End anymore) and morale was at a low. Every true Irish fan realized that this was going to come down to the final buzzer. It did.

The score was 70-68, West Virginia ball with around 15 seconds left. It was easy to lose all hope at this point. I actually said aloud, let them take a lay-up. I mean how many times do we have a defensive collapse at this point and let them win? At least this time we were up 2 and not only up 1 or tied. Right when WV in bounded I had that terrible feeling that they were going for a 3. Then I witnessed a miracle. The Irish made a smart play on defensive! With 4 seconds to go Abro fouled Butler. We had a foul to give so it disrupted their whole offensive play. The ball was inbounded and Butler took a few dribbles and shot up a contested 3...It seemed to hang in the air with true Irish fan knowing the ball was going in...It didn't! It banked off the backboard and rolled around the rim and out. We got lucky and it was a messy finish. But hey, we beat the eighth team in the country.

Carleton Scott has shockingly taken an indefinite leave from the team. It was for personal reasons. The Tribune reported some theories, as well as that Scott and Brey could be meeting next week. I ask Carleton Scott, or whoever is holding him back to please come back/let him come back to play. Joey Brooks got some quality time and played great, but it's not like he is taking anyones spot. Brey has said himself Brooks would fit in the rotation even if Scott chose/chooses to come back. Please come back Carleton Scott, your our only hope for a 8 man rotation and your athleticism is something we cannot replace. A 8 man rotation would mean so much for the team, we cannot expect to not wear out with just 7 people playing, that extra player makes all the difference.

If Scott chooses not to come back...please Brey still have more than 7 man rotation. One of the main reasons the team collapsed last year was simply because the players got tired and over-used.

We playing the Bearcats next weekend. We have a break, so lets sort out this problem. We never play well at their court so lets rest up so we can win. Mark my words, if Carleton Scott comes back (and Brooks plays too) we will beat Cinnci and have a more successful season overall.

SCOTT COME BACK-WE NEED YOU!

Up and Running and Ready to Go

The blog was down for a few weeks due to a few issues, but we are going strong now (just like the Irish!).

2-1 Conference Start.   Its gonna be a tough year.  Whadd'ya say we knock off West Virginia huh?