COACH: Mike Brey, 11 years at Notre Dame, seven years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: At-large bid.
GO-TO GUYS: Big East Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough led the Fighting Irish to a second-place finish in the Big East Conference, averaging 18.5 points per game while also shooting 44 percent from the field and 81.4 percent from the line. Combine him with Tim Abromaitis and Carleton Scott, and the Fighting Irish are a tough team for anyone to match up with. Scott Martin and Tyrone Nash don't get as many scoring chances, but are fully capable of blowing up when they get them.
X FACTOR: Three-point shooting. Notre Dame counts on the outside shots in the flow of its offense, and when the threes are raining down the Irish can score quickly. On the other hand, its guards like to shoot from long range a lot more than they like to defend there, so the team tends to give up a lot of three-balls as well.
STRENGTHS: The Fighting Irish are adept at putting the ball in the basket. Notre Dame makes nearly 40 percent of its three-point attempts, and is strong from two-point range and the free-throw line as well. Because pretty much everyone on the team is a threat to score, it's one of the toughest teams in the NCAA tournament to gameplan for, as concentrating on a guy like Hansbrough only means more space for someone else to create offense.
WEAKNESSES: Notre Dame doesn't get a ton of points close to the basket. When the 3-pointers don't fall, the Irish don't have the reliable post scorer to generate tough baskets inside to bide the time until the shooters heat up again. It's also how to gauge how confident the team will be, considering the Irish haven't had much luck in the NCAA tournament in recent years.
