Irish Advance to Maui Final

(UHND.com) – Notre Dame advanced the final of the 2008 Maui Invitational Tuesday night with an 81-80 victory over #7 Texas. The Irish survived a furious Texas comeback led by AJ Abrams in the final minute of the game to hold on to the victory and earn a spot in the final against top ranked North Carolina and pre-season Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough.

The Irish took an 8 point lead with just over a minute to go after a pair of made free throws by junior center Luke Harangody, but the Longhorns were able to cut the lead to just 1 with 6 seconds remaining thanks to a trio of three pointers in less than a minute.

One last three pointer from Abrams from ¾ court came up just short, however, to preserve the Irish win and propel Notre Dame into Wednesday’s final against North Carolina.

Notre Dame struggled from the line in the final 60 seconds, as they did all game. The Irish missed 6 free throws in the final minute and connected on just 10 of 21 for the game. Notre Dame’s struggles were very uncharacteristic for a team which shot 73.8% from the foul line a year ago.

Luke Harangody led the way for Notre Dame with 29 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double in four games this season. Harangody also added his first two blocks of the season and banked in a three pointer from near half court in the second half with the shot clock at one for what turned out to be three points which came in handy.

Notre Dame’s other two star players were also at the top of their game during the one point victory over the previously unbeaten Longhorns. Kyle McAlarney added 19 points on the 5 of 9 shooting from three point range and Tory Jackson scored 16 points while collecting 5 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists for another well rounded game. Jackson also shot well from the outside with 2 three pointers on 5 attempts.

It was promising to see Jackson shooting well from the outside Tuesday night. One of the few weaknesses in Jackson’s game has been his outside shooting. If the junior guard can improve his shooting and become a consistent force from the outside he will add a new element to the Irish offense and help create opportunities down low for Harangody.

Despite all of the positives from this game, however, there were a few causes for some concern. With fouls to give during the final minute, the Irish defense was allowed to get off multiple open looks from three point range. Mike Brey needs to make sure his defense doesn’t allow that to happen in similar situations as it nearly cost the Irish the win on Tuesday night.

Still, anytime you can get a win over a top 10 opponent this early in the year you have to be thrilled. With the Big East easily being the toughest conference in the country this year, getting a win over a team like Texas should give the Irish a lot of confidence heading into Notre Dame’s out of conference schedule. A win like this will also look very good on a NCAA Tournament resume come March when seeds are given out.

Next up for Notre Dame will be the top ranked Tar Heels Wednesday night. North Carolina made short work of Oregon in the other semi-final Tuesday night in a 98-69 win. The Tar Heels will offer another tough task for the Irish and will be a very early measuring stick for just how good this year’s team is. Tuesday’s win over Texas was very promising, but a win over North Carolina Wednesday night would be monumental for the Irish.

Upsetting North Carolina will take a much stronger effort from the free throw line from the Irish along with continued hot shooting from three point range. Luke Harangody vs. Tyler Hansbrough will be a rather intriguing matchup to watch as well as both are pre-season All Americans and will be Player of the Year candidates all season long.

In case you may have been wondering when the last time Notre Dame beat a #1 ranked team was, it was February 1, 1987 when the Irish upset the then #1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16 that year with Digger Phelps winning Coach of the Year honors.