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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been playing bad basketball this year. On top of that, it is extremely boring offensively. There are just too many times throughout games that the offense bogs down completely. Saturday was no different as Notre Dame was defeated by the Virginia Tech Hokies by a -score of 67-59. This is what we learned.
The End Is Near
I have had enough of this year. The loss on Saturday was the tipping point. Notre Dame needs to hit the reset button. The team just does not have what it takes to compete in the ACC. They are too young and are playing with zero confidence. I am sure Mike Brey will have his team playing hard (not good) until the last second of the last game, whenever that may be. But as a fan, I am checking out and waiting for next basketball season to get excited again.
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Double Double Machine
The bright spot this year has been John Mooney. What an improvement he has shown to all facets to his game. He continues to put up quality numbers and is making double doubles seem easy. He finished Saturday with 12 points and 10 rebounds. I always hear people say, “every bad team has a player who has to put up some numbers.” I do not agree that John Mooney’s numbers are just because Notre Dame is a bad team this year. He is a solid basketball player that is holding his own in the talented ACC.
Who Is Going To Step Up?
This is more of a big picture question I was thinking during the game. Notre Dame will need a leader and scorer to step up next year. That could be John Mooney but in today’s game you need a wing or guard to lead the scoring. I have yet to identify a player who that will be. I would hope for D.J. Harvey to be this guy but his offensive game is just out of whack. This next offseason will be important for all the guards and wings. One of those guys has to become “the guy.”
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Well, Notre Dame is now 13-14 and even an NIT bid is looking to be unlikely. It does not get any easier as they travel to Florida State for big Monday. The Seminoles had won 8 in a row before dropping a game to North Carolina this past weekend.
At this point, please just play exciting basketball.