Monday Top Play
If there was any indication that the Big East is the best conference in college basketball, look no further than Georgetown's schedule in the last week. The Hoyas opened up conference play on the road at No. 2 UConn with a huge 11 point win over the Huskies. Five days later, they found themselves hosting a superior Pittsburgh squad that ran the tempo all night long en route to a 70-54 Panther victory. Then, you fast forward to today where the Hoyas face Notre Dame, their third Top 10 opponent in eight days. Holy shit. In looking at tonight's game -- and Georgetown in general -- there is definitely a loophole in one of the nation's best defenses. Certain styles of play are able to foil the stellar Hoya defense; Pitt found a way on Saturday and Notre Dame should crack it as well. What Georgetown does better than any team in the country is exploit weaknesses in its opponent's offensive attack. John Thompson III knew that UConn wasn't a very great shooting team, so he stuffed the lane and made the Huskies get comfortable from three-point land. Advantage: Georgetown. However, when well-rounded Pittsburgh came to town, the Panthers showcased their versatility on offense as they were able to convert from anywhere on the floor. What was the key you might ask? Spreading the floor. Attacking the basket. Having your guards get a piece of the paint and kick the rock out to the wing or dump it down low in the post. Panthers' point guard Levance Fields was fearless in slashing to the basket and it paid off. That's how you beat Georgetown -- make the zone defense collapse. That's how Pitt did it, and that's how ND has to execute tonight. Like Fields, Irish point guard Tory Jackson is a hard-nosed playmaker that doesn't shy away from a challenge. He uses his quickness and athleticism to break through pressure and find the open man. And his guys knock down big shots. Jackson has two stellar sharpshooters in the backcourt in Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney, a 45 percent shooter from deep that possesses the sweetest shot in college basketball. Notre Dame entered Saturday's contest against St. John's as the seventh best team in the nation from behind the arc at a 42 percent clip. Go figure, the Irish shot a dismal 4-for-17 in their 71-65 loss. You know full well that great shooters have short memories and with ND returning to its home floor, McAlarney and Co. are going to come out firing. Oh, did I mention All-American forward Luke Harangody yet? The reigning Big East Player of the Year has been exceptional this season averaging 24 points and 13 rebounds per contest. I love the way he matches up against Georgetown's young frontcourt tonight. Harangody is a very hard worker that uses his large frame to overpower defenders and drop step to the bucket. He's old-fashioned, but he gets the job done. One more stat real quick: Notre Dame has an unbelievable 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (19 assists to 9.5 turnovers per game). This tells you that the Irish don't make stupid mistakes and they move the ball incredibly well, which as I said above, is the key to beating Georgetown. Lay the small chalk as the Irish come out fired up on their home floor and look to extend the nation's longest home winning streak to 44 games.
PICK: Notre Dame (-3) - 30 dimes