Friday, February 11, 2005

Friday Afternoon on the Island of Notre Dame Du Lac | by Pat

It's getting down to crunch time in college basketball and the Fighting Irish made a stronger case for their invite to the Big Dance with a win over the previously undefeated BC Eagles. However, Brey's team still isn't anywhere near a lock and will need to play well down the stretch. (How's that for insightful!)

Reviving a February staple of his, El Kabong on ndnation.com is offering up his "If the Big East Tournament Started Today..." post. It's a good look at where the Irish stand in relation to the rest of the conference.

Another good article on where the Irish currently stand is Jeff Shelman's take on ND's chances to get back to the field of 64. His opinion is that Notre Dame still has plenty of chances to sell itself to the selection committee but will need to keep playing with the chemistry it displayed in the Boston College game.

The BC game was also an example of Notre Dame's newfound balance. While this is still Chris Thomas' Irish team, the senior guard no longer has to do everything. A year ago, if Thomas didn't score, Notre Dame didn't usually win. Thomas' scoring average is down by about six points per game this season, but he's third in the Big East in assists. That's the result of Notre Dame having more options. Colin Falls (seven three-pointers against Boston College) is scoring more, as is Chris Quinn. Inside, Arizona transfer Dennis Latimore is taking some of the pressure off of Francis.
And in bluegraysky's first (and last) foray into photojournalism, here's a picture taken by a BGS staffer from the rafters at the end of the Notre Dame/BC game that would make Georges Seurat proud.



Notice the masterful composition, the interplay of light and dark...oh, who are we kidding. It's a snap from a crappy cell phone camera.