Spring Drills started today, and of course Marcus Freeman had a big press conference. Important points. 1. Marist Liufau, Joe Wilkins and Josh Lugg will be 100 % for the Spring. Esp good news with regards to Liufau who is projected to be a key player on defense. 2. Unfortunately Patterson, Cane Berrong, Avery Davis and RS freshman Pat Coogan who impressed a lot of people last fall with his potential to take over at Center when Patterson leaves for the NFL. They will all be back in the fall though. 3. Lots of other stuff you can read online. As Scott said in another topic... All the freshmen are awesome and the coaches are impressive and we are going to be great in the fall!
As expected, the following were not in action today: WR Avery Davis TE Cane Berrong OL Jarrett Patterson DT Jayson Ademilola CB Cam Hart Offensive lineman Pat Coogan was also not dressed today.
Marist Liufau should be interesting to see this year. He was a lot of the talk around fall camp last year and got injured right before the season started.
Nice write up of Alabama / ND basketball game this afternoon. Tide loves the 3 ball, if they are hot probably no chance. They are also deeper than the Irish, and very well rested. ‘Gifted’ Alabama sobering for high-flying Notre Dame
kp called it. The Alabama team that couldn't shoot showed up today. I don't think I've seen so many athletic drives end up with nothing, they just had a hard time finishing around the rim. That 7 foot center gave us fits inside, but he eventually fouled out. The story of the game though was Cormac Ryan, that guy was on fire, he was why we won today. I was sorry to see that Alabama player go down, I hope it isn't serious maybe a knee strain, but the way he was holding it an ACL seems a likely outcome. The stat line tells it all. Irish 53% shooting to 40% for Alabama. 62% from 3 point Alabama 33%. Surprisingly we out rebounded them slightly. 34-30 Turnovers were pretty even 18 for the Irish to 14 for the Tide. Not a lot of fouls called, Irish went to the line only 11 times, and the tide went 7 times. The Good News is we have 2 NCAA tourney wins after missing for several years. The BAD NEWS is that we get Texas Tech. Unless they just don't show up to play, they will beat us handily.
Irish women got out of the gate vs UMass and it looked like a rout in the making. Then a sloppy 2nd qtr let them back in, a half court 3 at the buzzer sent UMass to the locker room on a high. So far it is a battle in the 3rd qtr. We all know that it's never good to let an underdog hang around.
Irish women closed out UMass in the 4th qtr for a solid win, Olivia Miles had a triple double. Next up is the winner of OU/IUPUI.
Not good news, our first serious injury of the Spring. Notre Dame defensive lineman Aidan Keanaina suffered a torn ACL during Thursday's spring practice per multiple sources. The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder played in three games in 2021 and made his first career tackle against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Keanaaina was set to compete for a spot in the two-deep at one-technique behind Jacob Lacey this spring, so the Irish will likely have some mixing and matching to do along the line as defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola is out following shoulder surgery. Sophomore Gabe Rubio will likely get reps this spring behind Lacey.
Irish Baseball was swept at Louisville this weekend. It's the first series loss by Jarrett at ND. No more #1 ranking that's for sure.
I'm pleasantly surprised that we are only down 1 point at the half vs Texas Tech. Their defense has been smothering on our shooters, not many open three's and when we go inside, they are forcing bad shots or blocking them. Our defense has been pretty good on their shooters, but they are scoring in the paint where they seem to have a big advanatage. Paul Atkins is really struggling to get any position or to get off any shots. But still 26-25 at the half has to be considered a win for the Irish.
Well the Irish had their chances hung with them the whole game, had a lead late. But turnovers and missed foul shots really hurt. At the same time Tech was hitting all their foul shots. We were just at a big physical disadvantage. We really couldn't get anything inside and they got inside a lot and that resulted in either points or foul shots. Neither team really shot the ball all that well, a tribute to the defense both teams played. I didn't expect to win this game, but when we were up a few late I thought maybe, just maybe...then we had some terrible possessions with Wesley losing the ball driving, Hubb losing the ball driving, Wesley throwing the ball away driving...just killers. I think our bad free throw shooting in the 2nd half likely the result of tired legs. Tech shooting well late likely the result of being fresher because they had the deeper bench. While of course all Irish fans are disappointed in the loss, overall it was a pretty good season, esp given where we were in Dec when most gave us no chance of even making the tourney with the bad start to the season.
I agree with Terry's assessment of the game. In a word, ugly, but that's what it looks like when both teams play well defensively. I was disappointed in our turnovers and inability to finish, especially toward the end, but, like Terry said, tired legs. All in all, they accomplished more than I thought they might, so on balance I consider it a very nice finish to an otherwise so-so season.
ND just doesn't appear as physical as the other teams in the playoffs. They're physically outmuscled under the boards time and again. The things that aren't physical, protecting the ball and free throws were a supposed strength and became the cause of the loss. Compared to some of the other teams that played yesterday like Houston, Duke, and Nova....well, we have a way to go.
Seems likely that Irish Hockey will make the Frozen Four playoff, #9 seed. Unofficial of course. Big 10 likely to have 3 teams. Michigan, Minnesota, and Notre Dame.
Wow, Irish women running OU out of the gym. Best 1st half I have seen them play this year and against a quality team who is seeded higher and was a slight favorite going into this game. Dara Mabry was unconscious from 3pt land. We played most of the 2nd period without Maya Dodson who had 2 fouls. OU's coach is a great looking blonde though! 60 - 25 Irish Did I mention that it was a home game for OU?
OU played better in the 2nd half, but the hole they dug in the 1st half was just too deep. Irish set an all time program record in the NCAA tournament with the 108 points. Dara Mabry had a great game with a personal high of 29 points. Next up is ACC Champion NC State, a team we beat in a close game in South Bend in early February. They are a veteran team who is really playing well right now. Will be a tough game to win.