Knowing The Enemy: Notre Dame

Slap the Sign: “Notre Dame’s success has come through their core players, especially guys like Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell. Since the beginning of the season, these two have been the leaders of this team and when they click so do the Irish. Notre Dame doesn’t have much depth this year, so they’ve relied heavily on their starters to win games. Fortunately, for the Irish, they’ve developed one of the most talented and hardworking starting fives in the country. But, once again, leading this talented set of players is Colson and Farrell. When Colson wins the battle in the paint, and Farrell builds momentum in the frontcourt, this team is nearly unstoppable.”

Slap the Sign: “To beat Notre Dame you need to wear them out. With the lack of depth the Irish have, the way to beat them is by running. Since their loss to Purdue, Notre Dame is yet to score 80 points in a game. It isn’t that they are having trouble scoring, it’s that they’ve learned the key to winning is slowing the game down. Their core seven need to be able to play for almost the entire 40 minutes. If the Hokies want to pull off an upset in this one, they need to be able to wear Notre Dame down. Once the Irish tire, they begin to struggle offensively which is where Virginia Tech can take advantage.”

Slap the Sign: “Bonzie Colson is one of the best forwards in the NCAA. At 6’5, he’s one of the most undersized big men in the country, but night after night he wins the battle down low. Even games where he looked outmatched, Colson was able to produce double-doubles. There’s a lot of threats outside, and by shutting Farrell or Steve Vasturia down, the Hokies gain a big upper hand in this game. But when it all comes down to it, you can’t beat the Irish by shutting a certain aspect. Notre Dame is to well-rounded, and when one player struggles there’s four more to pick up the slack. Notre Dame controlling the paint will be their biggest advantage, but even if Colson has an off night, Notre Dame can find a spark from their frontcourt.”

Slap the Sign: “One, Virginia Tech needs to shut down Colson. If Notre Dame begins to dominate in post, and Colson begins putting up big numbers in rebounds and points, the Irish don’t lose. You aren’t going to be able to shut him down, but keeping it tight on the boards can cause some frustration for Colson. Two, Virginia Tech can’t allow V.J. Beachem to get hot. During his two-game slump where Beachem scored a combined eight points, Notre Dame barely escaped Pitt and Louisville. If the Hokies keep Beachem contained, they take away a major aspect of the Irish’s offense. Three, they cannot let Notre Dame control the tempo. The Irish loved to run at the start of the season. But since their back-to-back second half collapses, they keep the game very slow. If Virginia Tech wants to win, they will have to outlast Notre Dame by exhausting them. That could be a tough task for the Hokies because much like the Irish, they lack depth as well, but if they want to pull off this upset they’ll need to tire Notre Dame.”

Slap the Sign: “Notre Dame should be able to pull of a victory in Virginia Tech. The Hokies are going to have too much trouble stopping Colson in the paint, and with that the Irish will build momentum. Unless VT is capable of keeping a fast pace of game, the Irish will walk away with a somewhat easy win. I say the final score sits somewhere near 75-62.”