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  • Notre Dame matchup can pose problems for Kentucky

    By LARRY VAUGHT



    Despite Kentucky demolishing West Virginia 79-38, Notre Dame showed why in an 81-70 victory over Wichita State Thursday night that it could pose major problems for No. 1 Kentucky Saturday.

    The Irish shot 55.6 percent (30 of 54) from the field, including 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from 3-point range. The Irish had five players score between nine and 20 points and the top four scorers went a combined 25-for-40 from the field and 8-for-16 from 3-point range.

    “Kentucky is a whole different bag of tricks with their size,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey after his team’s win. “We can spread people out, our spacing has really been good and when you have a guy like (Pat) Connaughton as your second big guy, it's a very, very difficult matchup, and we're able to play that way because then he can go and get 10, 11 rebounds from the undersized four spot. So that could be a challenge on Saturday but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

    Wichita State coach Greg Marshall said Notre Dame was “hands down” the best defensive team the Shockers had faced all season.

    “We gave them too many easy looks inside and we can live with the 3’s but they just shot layup after layup, it seemed like, and we just for whatever reason couldn't stop them,” Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet said. “They stretched the floor with guys that could shoot it. Any time you've got four guys out there that are knocking down ‘3s with a five man that's going to roll and work hard and get points in the paint, it puts pressure on the defense.”

    “Any time you can stretch the floor with four basically guards that can shoot it like they can, it's tough to defend the screen and roll. They just shot the ball, shot the cover off of it in reality. Never seen a team shoot it like they have today,” Wichita’s Ron Baker said.

    Guard Demetrius Jackson led Notre Dame with 20 points -- 7-for-10 shooting, 4-for-5 on 3-pointers — along with four rebounds and three assists.

    “He's so quick off the dribble. I think that was a guy that we would let take that shot and he knocked them in,” VanVleet said.

    Forward Pat Connaughton was 7-for-12 from the field and had 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. He played all 40 minutes.

    “He's one of those kids that's kind of in between a 3-4 but he handles it like a 3, but he can bruise with you down low. Obviously he can shoot really well. So deadly weapon obviously, that can stay in the corner or even post up occasionally,” Baker said.

    “He's a heck of an athlete and probably their best shooter and he just competes,” VanVleet said.

    Guard Jerian Grant went only 3-for-8 from the field and finished with nine points in 40 minutes. But he had 11 of Notre Dame’s 18 assists and along with three rebounds and two steals while also playing all 40 minutes.

    Teammates Steve Varturia and Zach Auguste both had 15 points. Auguste was 6-for-6 from the field.

    “There's nobody you can cheat off of. Each one of those five guys, and they play a lot of minutes, are dangerous. Demetrius Jackson is so good off the bounce, and we were able to keep him out of the paint and away from the rim for the most part, but then he knocks down four 3’s,” Marshall said.

    “Demetrius Jackson, I think, was the catalyst today in knocking down those shots. He did it at the beginning and then he did it after we took the one-point lead. So I've never seen a one-point lead get out of hand so quickly, and it did tonight because of their fire power.”

    Connaughton said Notre Dame’s defense, which limited Wichita State to 40 percent shooting, sparked the 11-point win and big second half run that broke the game open.

    “So with defense, that definitely sparks it, and then going through it, it's like, you know, it's something that you just feed off of, it's like blood in the water, you feel it and you want to keep getting stops so you can keep running, it's something you can't get enough of,” Connaughton said.

    “When we get on those runs we're just playing. I feel like when other teams try to counter us, they play a little quicker, kind of get out of their rhythm and try to counter our offensive attack, which is almost impossible to do, so we definitely feel that and we just like to keep going and keep playing,” Grant said.

    That feeling didn’t change when asked about a potential matchup with No. 1 Kentucky before the Cats beat West Virginia in Thursday’s second game.

    “We’re really confident right now,” Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson said. “Our confidence is at an all-time high and it’s a great feeling. It’s a great feeling to be where we’re at. They’re just another team and we know what they have done this season and they know what we’ve done. It’s just another team that we’re playing.”

    Colson also said playing in the ACC has helped Notre Dame.

    “The ACC is the toughest conference in the country,” he said. “That prepares us for games like this and what we have coming up.”
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    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

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