Notes from Notre Dame’s Win over #7 Texas

Who would have thought four years ago that at the end of November we would be talking about the 8th ranked Notre Dame men’s basketball team’s win over #7 Texas in the Maui Invitational while the football team struggles to stay above .500?  Not a whole heck of a lot of you, but we are and hats off to the men’s hoops team for beating a top 10 team this early in the season.

Here are some notes from the game as the Irish prepare to take on the #1 ranked Tar Heels tomorrow night at 10pm on ESPN.

• First off, here are some highlights of the 81-80 win over Texas from ESPN.  I would have embedded them in a post, but it looks like ESPN stop allowing people to embed their videos.  And here’s some photos from the game from the Official site.
• Notre Dame struggled mightily from the free throw line hitting just 10 of 21 including missing 6 free throws from in the final minute to let Texas back into the game.
• Luke Harangody was a beast Tuesday night with 29 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double in four games this year.  He also recorded his first 2 blocks of the season.
• Harangody also banked in a long three pointer near midcourt with the shot clock winding down in the second half.  Those 3 pioints ended up coming in handy.
• Kyle McAlanrey connected on 5 of 9 three point attempts and is now hitting on 46% of his three point attempts this season.  He ended the game with 19 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.  McAlarney also played all 40 minutes of the game – it was the first time this year he played all 40 minutes.
• Just a note: I love saying McAlarney and Harangody while watching the games.  Typing those names out as I write and blog about the games?  Not so much.
• Tory Jackson was impressive again tonight with 16 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists.  Jackson was also connecting on his outside jumper by hitting 2 of 5 three point shots.  If Jackson can continually hit his outside jumper he will add another dimension to this offense and help open things up for Harangody down low.
• Luke Zeller played only 11 minutes and recorded just 3 points and 2 rebounds.  Last night Zeller recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in 21 minutes against Indiana.
• Notre Dame stayed out of foul trouble all game long, but with fouls to give in the second half, the Irish didn’t use them well while AJ Abrams and Texas stormed back.
• The Irish recorded 17 assists to just 6 turnovers as they protected the ball well again tonight.
• As a team, Notre Dame shot 45.8% from beyound the three point line.
• Overall this was a great win for the Irish.  A win over a top 10 team this early in the year backs up the #8 ranking for Notre Dame and should give this team a lot of confidence as it enters its out of conference schedule after the Maui Invitational ends.