PREVIEW- Notre Dame: An Irish Blessing

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 8, 2013

Well that day of days is nearly upon us. What will certainly go down as one of the more emotional Senior Days in program history is just mere hours away, as the 8^th ranked Cardinals 25-5(13-4) brace for the number 24 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame 23-7(11-6) to invade the KFC Yum! Center. The 4pm tip-off and Red-Out in The Ville, broadcasted to a national audience on CBS has already been called by Coach Pitino “the most important game ever played at home, for a variety of reasons.” Of course we’ve come to know Coach to be master of the dramatic overstatement but there’s no question that he’s onto something very tangible here. In what could be the last game in this series for at least one season with the ACC agreeing to bring in Notre Dame a year early, and the Cards relegated to wait one year in the purgatory of the new so-called “American-12 Conference” with a win the Cards would guarantee themselves at least a share of the Big East regular season championship, as well as no worse than the two seed at next week’s conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. However, with a win and Syracuse defeating Georgetown in addition to St. John’s knocking off Marquette, the Cards would find themselves the outright regular season champs and the number one seed in the Big East Tournament.

Though the postseason implications are important, Senior Days are always emotional in and of themselves. Some are just more so than others. Saying goodbye is always hard especially when the players involved are long time fan favorites such as Kyle Kuric who won the hearts of Card Nation with his performance in Freedom Hall’s last stand; or Preston Knowles the year before last; or 2005’s version that saw Francisco Garcia, Larry O’Bannon, Otis George and Ellis Myles take to the home court for the last time. However, this year seems even more special. Of course tomorrow’s game features a matchup of elite Big East programs, but it is the players taking part in it that truly make it so. First is Peyton Siva. The McDonald’s All-American point guard from Seattle not only became a team leader and fan favorite, but also a favorite of Coach Pitino as well. In his four seasons in Louisville, Siva has placed team accomplishments ahead of personal statistics and accolades, and has been a steadying influence on his teammates, in particular fellow backcourt starter Russ Smith.

Joining him in the festivities is Gorgui Dieng. The gentle giant from Senegal came to the program three years ago a raw player from Africa, still relatively new to the U.S. and the game of basketball, and was known for being little more than a shot blocker. Yet in his time here Gorgui has transformed into one of the finest big men in the college game and will likely be selected in the first round of the NBA draft this summer. Yet more so than just his dominating play on the court, Gorgui has endeared himself to the fans forever because of his kindness and wisdom that is well beyond his 23 years.

We would also be remiss to forget about Mike Marra. Though his career has been cut short by serious knee injuries in his junior and senior seasons, Mike established himself as a defensively responsible swingman, who could heat up from behind the arc and chip in much needed scoring. Though perhaps burdened from the lofty praise heaped upon him coming out of high school, and someone who early on made me nervous when shooting the ball, Mike made me a believer and proved capable of taking over games from long range, such as in his freshman season at Providence and Syracuse, as well as in the Big East Tournament against Marquette in 2011.

Yet there still is a game to be played and one where revenge may be on the minds of the boys in red. While the Cards come into tomorrow’s contest winners of six straight since the exhausting and heartbreaking 104-101, five overtime defeat to the Irish in South Bend, Notre Dame enters sporting a 4-2 record since February 9, a span which saw them need overtime to defeat DePaul at home, then be embarrassed in a double digit loss at Providence (sounds familiar?). However the records matter little when these two teams square off. If it seems as though Louisville and Notre Dame games always go into overtime, it’s because they in fact do more often than not. Since the Cards joined the Big East for the 2005-2006 season UofL and Notre Dame have played a total off eleven times, seven of which have gone into overtime; saying that tomorrow’s showdown may well require more than forty minutes to decide a winner isn’t exactly a stretch.

While he was limited to 32 minutes before fouling out in last month’s contest, the Irish’s best player is 6-9 senior (though it seems like he’s been at Notre Dame for forever) power forward Jack Cooley. In that span he still attained a double-double, scoring eleven points and grabbing eleven rebounds. A Naismith College Player of the Year candidate and member of the John R. Wooden Midseason Top 25 Watch List, Cooley averages a double-double, leading his team in scoring at 13.8 points per game while ripping down 10.7 rebounds. The Cards also must be wary of junior guard Jerian Grant who is a threat to score from anywhere on the court, as well sharpshooters in Eric Atkins and Scott Martin (most famous for this), both of whom are shooting well above 40% from three point range.

Though the Cards currently sit as twelve point favorites, history tells us that the game will be much closer than that. Expect the Cards to prevail late in an emotion fueled Senior Day victory, and certainly do not be surprised to see at least an extra five minutes of basketball at the Yum! Center. Before parting ways with Peyton, Gorgui and Mike with the old Irish Blessing let’s use this game to springboard us into postseason play, and one more amazing month of Louisville Cardinals basketball!

Side Notes

I hope Coach breaks back out the Denny Crum red sport coat again:

Since the 2005-2006 season the Cards are 6-5 vs. Notre Dame, and 4-1 when facing them in Louisville.

The Cards are 4-3 vs. Notre Dame when games have gone into overtime.

I’m convinced Luke Harangody and Jack Cooley are the same person:

Since 2005 the Cards are 6-1 on Senior Day, with the only loss coming last year to USF.

Stephan Van Treese will not be taking part in the senior day festivities, indicating that his medical redshirt will be retroactively applied to grant him an additional year of eligibility. This is great news since the team will be in need of a veteran center without Gorgui next season.

This is an Irish Wolfhound:

I think I could saddle and ride that dog like a horse.

The King’s famous monster dunk on the Irish.

Bobby Knight and Digger Phelps are the worst commentators ever. Literally.

Uh, what’s going on here Ben Hansbrough?

Remember: The game is a Red-Out, so wear red. Don’t be that guy (or girl)!

And finally, follow me on twitter @e_rich19

Go Cards, Beat Notre Dame!

Louisville Cardinals Season Statistics:

Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FG%	FT%	3P%
Russ Smith	30	29.9	18.4	3.7	2.9	2.1	0.0	2.6	.403	.829	.319
Chane Behanan	29	27.0	10.5	7.1	1.1	1.6	0.5	1.7	.498	.518	.091
Gorgui Dieng	23	31.5	9.9	10.0	2.0	1.3	2.5	1.8	.506	.682	.000
Peyton Siva	30	31.0	9.8	2.2	5.9	2.0	0.1	2.8	.411	.887	.299
Wayne Blackshear	29	21.2	8.3	3.4	0.7	0.8	0.2	0.6	.428	.667	.327
Luke Hancock	30	21.9	7.1	2.7	1.4	1.0	0.0	1.1	.393	.721	.366
Montrezl Harrell	30	16.7	5.5	3.8	0.2	0.6	0.7	0.7	.563	.468	.000
Kevin Ware	29	17.0	4.2	1.9	0.8	1.1	0.1	1.2	.415	.667	.367
Stephan Van Treese	27	11.4	1.9	3.0	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	.677	.667	.000
Zach Price	14	8.1	1.4	1.4	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.4	.533	.667	.000
Tim Henderson	18	3.4	0.7	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	.333	.000	.250
Michael Baffour	4	2.5	0.5	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	.000	1.000	.000
Logan Baumann	4	2.8	0.5	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	.000	1.000	.000
Jordan Bond	5	3.4	0.0	0.6	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	.000	.000	.000
Totals	30	—	74	38	15	11	4	13	.445	.706	.322

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Season Statistics:

Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FG%	FT%	3P%
Jack Cooley	30	30.0	13.8	10.7	0.8	0.7	1.3	1.4	.590	.685	.500
Jerian Grant	30	36.4	13.5	2.7	5.6	1.2	0.1	2.8	.427	.726	.364
Eric Atkins	30	38.4	11.8	2.8	6.0	1.5	0.1	2.1	.455	.641	.431
Pat Connaughton	30	31.8	8.2	4.6	2.3	0.5	0.4	0.9	.420	.744	.325
Scott Martin	18	29.7	7.9	5.9	1.3	0.7	0.4	0.7	.450	.632	.463
Cameron Biedscheid	30	18.1	6.8	1.4	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.9	.384	.850	.330
Garrick Sherman	25	14.7	6.6	3.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.1	.539	.659	.000
Tom Knight	23	16.7	4.9	3.5	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.6	.527	.636	.000
Zach Auguste	20	10.4	4.1	2.7	0.2	0.4	0.6	1.0	.548	.650	.000
Austin Burgett	15	2.5	0.4	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	.400	1.000	.000
Patrick Crowley	12	2.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.1	.333	.000	.000
Totals	30	—	71	37	18	5	4	11	.473	.697	.373