Here Come the Irish: Top Five Matchups for 2008-09

Notre Dame Top Five Matchups

Every game in the Big East is huge. It is the toughest conference in college basketball, so anytime you can get a win, it’s a good day.

Notre Dame comes into this season with a lot of hype surrounding it. With this hype comes the naysayers, which I think is valid; anyone that doesn’t live in South Bend or in the Notre Dame bubble just doesn't know how good this team can be. They don’t have marquee names; even though Luke “The Gody” Harangody is quickly becoming one, they are the true definition of a team, and it is going to take a total team effort to live up to the expectations the “experts” have set for them.

Without further ado, here are the top five games for the Irish this season.

1. Hosting Georgetown, Jan. 5, 2009

Notre Dame comes into the season with an active home winning streak of 37 games.  Georgetown was picked to finish seventh in the Big East, but I don’t put too much stock in preseason rankings. Georgetown will be good and physical.

The tough part about this game is the students won’t be back on campus yet until Jan. 13th from winter break. I have no doubt the Joyce will still be loud, but when the students and band are at “The Joyce” it gives that extra boosts to the players and the other fans.

2. Hosting UConn, Jan. 24, 2009

UConn has the ability to come into South Bend being the No. 1 team in the country. This is a huge game—so big, in fact, College GameDay will make a pilgrimage to The Joyce Center. That’s right, Digger Phelps and his matching tie and highlighter will be coming back to campus!

This will be the first Big East game the students and band will be at, and I have no doubt the Joyce Center will be rocking. Maclarney, Ayers, and Tory Jackson must play the game of their lives to upset the Huskies. When Notre Dame falters in games, it’s usually because the guards don’t show up to play.

3. At Louisville, Jan. 12, 2009

The Irish look to bounce back after a tough loss at Freedom Hall last season. The Irish were down big, more than 20 at one point, but fought back, just coming up short of a victory. Harangody went off, scoring 40 points, so look for Louisville to try and shut him down, but they mustn’t forget about Maclarney and Ayers on the perimeter, which both players were almost not existent in last year’s matchup. Notre Dame would love to redeem themselves and give a very good team a loss on their home court.

4. At UCLA, Feb. 7, 2009

I can’t talk about this game without bringing up Notre Dame snapping UCLA’s 88-game win streak, and I’m sure the announcers on CBS will bring it up a couple dozen times. It will be interesting to see how the Irish do on the West Coast.

I really think this is a tossup game—anyone can win. Notre Dame is a nice balance of run and gun and physicality. Zach Hillesland, Zeller, and Ayers will need to step up to pull out a victory in L.A. The Irish have had a soft non-conference schedule in the past, I’m very happy to see them throw some marquee teams on their schedule from other top conferences.

5. Hosting Indiana (Maui Invitational), Nov. 24

I don’t know why these two schools don’t play every year. Indiana is supposed to have a down year, but all bets are off when the Hoosiers and Irish match up against one another.

Tom Crean knows Notre Dame very well, from coaching at Marquette, and I’m sure Indiana will be very prepared for this game. Harangody will use his brute force in the paint to get the Irish rolling. Look for Brey to go eight or maybe even nine deep in this game, using either Carlton Scott and Tyrone Nash for their athleticism.