Cubs' 2012 start can be mended...in due time

Being the eternal optimist that I am, the Chicago Cubs' 4-12 record to start 2012 isn't the be all and end all of this young season. Yes, it does make for another long summer on the north side of Chicago, but people out there in the media act like we aren't used to it by now. And yes, we're all aware that it has been 103 seasons since the Cubs won a World Series and 66 since they've played in a World Series, dating back through the 2011 season.

The answers aren't going to necessarily going to come this season in the first year of the Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer era in the Cubs front office. These things don't happen overnight, unfortunately. We just have to come to grips with it and deal with it for the time being.

Let's quickly analyze what's going on at each position...
Starting Rotation
Opening Day starter Ryan Dempster just started his first DL stint of the year. Randy Wells took his place in the rotation on Sunday, April 22 and threw well for five innings during his season debut. As of today, Monday, April 23, the rotation looks like this. Matt Garza moves up to the #1. Jeff Samardzija slides into the #2 slot. Chris Volstad, Paul Maholm and Randy Wells round out the bottom 3.
Bullpen
16 games into the season, I would say that the Cubs' bullpen is sub-par at best. James Russell, Rafael Dolis, Luis Castillo, Shawn Camp, Scott Maine and newly signed Rodrigo Lopez all contribute to middle releft roles in the bullpen. Carlos Marmol is the current closer, but we all know that he can be a bit shaky, even with a lead.
Catcher
Geovany Soto is going to be the main starter behind the plate, but there are going to be some games when backup Steve Clevenger will start, due to the fact that his left-handed bat will match-up better against the opposing pitcher.
First Base
Jeff Baker started two of the first three games of the season in the opening series vs. the Nationals at Wrigley, but it was mainly because of pitching match-ups and I don't think that manager Dale Sveum was fully sold on the combination of Bryan LaHair's bat and glove being in the lineup at the same time. The two will share time at first base until one shows more promise, which more than likely will be LaHair.
Second Base
Darwin Barney, enough said. The guy is coming into his own fully and is trying to bring Castro with him when it comes to working their way to becoming on of the best double play combos in the league.
Shortstop
Starlin Castro is setting records for hits by a player his age and he's only going to get better. His only problem is his fielding. He committed 35 errors in 2011 and seems that he's well on his way to that total and possibly beyond, if he keeps it up.
Third Base
Ian Stewart was brought here from Colorado to "replace" Aramis Ramirez. To be honest, you don't just replace a guy like Aramis. I'm guessing that Stewart, Joe Mather and Jeff Baker will all have their turns at the "hot corner" throughout the season.
Left Field
Alfonso Soriano is the guy in left until his contract is up, that is. He needs to get his bat going and quit chasing pitches that are out of the zone and he'll get back to the Soriano of old and be hitting the ball at a .300 clip again.
Center Field
With Marlon Byrd now a member of the Boston Red Sox, it will be a daily wonder of who's gonna patrol the grass out in center. Tony Campana was just recalled from Triple-A Iowa this past weekend. He will also share time with Reed Johnson, mainly, and Joe Mather.
Right Field
David DeJesus was brought to Chicago from Philly for many reasons. I couldn't figure them out during the off-season, but he's now showing why. He's turned into a good leadoff hitter and a great fielder. Hopefully more good things to come out of DeJesus in his first season with the Cubs.

Only time will tell what will happen with the 2012 Cubs. Yes, they're 4-12 to start, but there are still 146 games left in the regular season. Epstein will make some moves.

Go Cubs Go!

Millers swept by Fishers, Carmel next on slate

Game 1 (Wednesday) Fishers 4, Noblesville 3

After dropping four straight on their spring break trip in Knoxville, Tennessee, the diamond Millers came home to try and get things off on the right foot in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. Wednesday at Fishers was their first test and quite the test it was.

Starter Ben Yoder seemed pretty dialed in the first couple of innings, only allowing one base runner via a walk. The Tigers figured out Yoder in the third. Catcher Clay Small began the 3^rd with a walk on the first four pitches. The following pitch to Jon Cordell was grounded up the middle and knocked down by Yoder at the mound. He picked the ball up and instinctively threw to second in attempt to force out Small, but his throw was rushed and late. Cordell reached first on a fielder’s choice (not a hit, like the Fishers scoreboard read) and Small advanced to second, but was out on the play as Wides decided to get the lead runner out at third. Parker Lasch got aboard with an infield single. Garrett Schlotter also got on base with a fielder’s choice, loading the bases. Drew Clark pinch hit for Blake Baumgartner and made his hitting presence felt right away. Clark smoked a three-run double down the left field line, scoring Cordell, Lasch and Schlotter for a 3-0 Fishers lead.

It was Noblesville’s turn to do some scoring. DH Garrett Welch led the fourth off with a nice bloop single over Lasch at short and into shallow left-center.  Garrett Christman and Mike Nichols both reached with one-out walks to load to bases with Millers. John Cola drove home Welch with an RBI single into right field. Brian McLean hit a two-run single to left. Cameron VanderBerg misplayed the ball and it allowed both Christman and Nichols to trot home to tie the Tigers 3-3 after four.

Yoder (4.2 innings) and reliever Brock Hammond (2.1 innings) kept Fishers pretty much in-check from that point. The two combined for 7 strikeouts and 4 hits over the final three frames, but it was the last of Hammond’s three allowed hits that was the most crucial.

Hammond got slightly rattled in the bottom of the sixth, allowing Fishers to start off with a double and a walk from the first two hitters. Brock struck out the side from that point, leaving two Tigers stranded.

Noblesville went 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, with Wides, Nevin Fansher and Welch flying out to center, right and left, respectively.

Hammond struck out Schlotter to start and it seemed that he had full intention of sending this game to extras. The meat of the Tiger order had other plans. Matt Woolwine singled to right-center and Clark walked to put two on with one out for Fishers. DH JP Pena was 0-2 with a walk before his seventh inning at-bat. With a 1-2 count, Pena drilled a walk-off single to right center. Woolwine is quick enough that he tested the arm of CF Steven Jones, but Jones’ throw wouldn’t have been in time. Woolwine crossed the plate, giving Fishers a 4-3 win.

Game 2 (Thursday) Fishers 7, Noblesville 0

Drew Clark kept his bat hot from the night before, leading off the game with a bloop single over Nevin Fansher’s head and just beyond the third base bag. Garrett Schlotter and Matt Woolwine struck out in consecutive at-bats. JP Pena walked and Pena/Clark were driven in by a Cameron VanderBerg two-run double just inside fair territory down the right field line. Jon Simonett accounted for Murphy’s third K of the inning, but it was a 3-0 deficit before the Millers even picked up their bats.

 Fishers starter Justin Rhodes did exactly what head coach Matthew Cherry asked of him. Rhodes didn’t allow his first base runner until the 4^th inning and that was when LF Brian McLean reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jon Cordell, only to be left stranded at second base.

I don’t think that Taran’s arm was getting tired, but I think that Fishers slowly but surely got in the heads of the Miller defense as a whole. Parker Lasch led the fifth off reaching base with a throwing error on Murphy. With one out, Blake Baumgartner came in to pinch hit for Jon Cordell at and play third. Baumgartner blooped a single into shallow right center, giving the Tigers two on. Drew Clark and pinch hitter Ben Pritchett both reached by way of the fielder’s choice, scoring Lasch. Bases were loaded for Matt Woolwine and this veteran hitter knew exactly what to do. The senior centerfielder Woolwine smacked a two-run triple down into the left field corner, scoring Baumgartner and Clark. JP Pena then roped an RBI single to center to end the Fishers scoring for the fifth and the game, sending Woolwine across the plate to put Fishers up by what would be the final score of 7-0.

Noblesville’s bats went 2-for-7 in the sixth and seventh innings, but couldn’t muster enough offense to produce any runs that would help them rally on Thursday night at The Dunk.

Miller relievers Mike Speek and Brock Masterson faced a combined seven Fishers hitters, with four of those becoming strikeout victims and allowing only two runners aboard.

Taran Murphy has been quite the surprise in the Noblesville pitching rotation. Murphy struck out 11 Fishers hitters Thursday night in his 5 innings of work.

The win moves Fishers to 9-3 (2-0 HCC) and drops Noblesville to 2-8 (0-2 HCC) on their respective seasons.

 It’s time for the Noblesville Millers to fully “right their ship,” so to speak. Coach Keever has been experimenting with many different lineup changes throughout the first 10 games. Shifting different players to different parts of the batting order to figure out where players hit best is certainly a frustrating thing for a baseball coach. Patience is going to be the key for the Miller coaching staff. Things will get better and that will happen on Saturday at Dunker Field.

The battle for the White River Rivalry is at The Dunk at 7pm Saturday evening vs. the Carmel Greyhounds. I have a gut feeling that Saturday’s game against Carmel is the game that is going to for sure wake up the bats of the Noblesville Millers! GO MILLERS!!!

2012 Noblesville Classic: Homestead wins 2nd straight title

2012 Noblesville Classic

Game 1: Homestead 3, Noblesville 0

Just one bad inning can doom a team to where it mentally may not let itself get back into the game in either facet. If the Noblesville Millers could erase what happened defensively against the Homestead Spartans in the 1^st inning, they would do it in a heartbeat. This is exactly what happened in the opening game of the 2012 Noblesville Classic meeting between Homestead and host Noblesville.

Austin Plasterer led things off reaching on a throwing error by 2B Nick Miller. Andre Jernigan got on board with an infield single. Pitcher Jake Weber was then walked by Miller hurler Ben Yoder, giving Homestead bases loaded with one out. Yoder walked Michael Redden on four straight pitches, putting the Spartans up 1-0. Their first inning scoring parade continued when Nathan Miller reached base on a ground ball to Nick Miller at second. Miller committed his second throwing error of the inning. This error allowed Jernigan and Weber to score, giving Homestead a 3-0 lead after just the first half inning.

Jake Weber kept Noblesville’s bats quiet for the first few innings. Sam Wides reached on an error in the third, but was caught stealing second base. Freshman Brian McLean got the first of his two singles in the fourth, but was left stranded. The Millers gave it one final attempt in the bottom of the seventh. Garrett Welch struck out swinging, but reached first base on a passed ball on his third strike. DH Mike Nichols flied out to right field. Welch didn’t tag up. Instead, he ran toward second like he didn’t know that there weren’t any outs. Welch was doubled up at first by Brandon Soat’s throw from foul territory in right. Garrett Christman singled, but was left on base as John Cola struck out looking to end the ball game.

Jake Weber struck out 9 Miller hitters. Ben Yoder had 12 K’s for the host Millers. RF Brandon Soat led Homestead, going 2-for-4 with 3 singles, reaching base three times. Brian McLean and Garrett Christman combined for the Millers’ three hits.

Game 2: Cincinnati Moeller 10, Chicago De La Salle 2

The Cincinnati Moeller Crusaders had no trouble at all with the Chicago De La Salle, dominating the Meteors by the count of 10-2. All but two Moeller hitters tallied a hit and also, all but two hitters scored for the Crusaders. SS Jordan Simpson, 1B Zack Shannon and RF Nick Edwards combined to hit 7-for-13 and score six of the 10 runs, including 3 singles by Edwards and a two-run homer over the left center wall from the bat of Shannon. Moeller’s win moved them to 4-1 and De La Salle dropped its record to 6-3.

 Game 3: Noblesville 2, Chicago De La Salle 0

 Noblesville’s Taran Murphy took the mound where he left off Tuesday night when he struck out 7 Northfield hitters. Murphy mowed down 6 Meteors on Saturday afternoon in a three-hit shutout of De La Salle, 2-0 in the Consolation game of the Noblesville Classic.

Murph allowed three total base runners in his first 5 innings of work and just two hits in that span. Taran was in total control of the De La Salle hitters.

The Miller scoring wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to defeat the Meteors and hopefully instill a great deal of confidence for the upcoming week’s Spring Break trip to Tennessee.

3B Luke Porter got things going in the third with a one out infield single. Sam Wides advanced Porter to second with a bloop single into shallow left. Two batters later, John Cola knocked Porter home with an RBI single for a 1-0 Miller lead. Garrett Christman got his own infield single in the 4^th. He scored on Luke Porter’s single, giving the Millers a 2-0 lead, which turned out to be the final score.

Cola, Christman, Wides, Mike Nichols and Porter combined for Noblesville’s hitting attack. It wasn’t the greatest output, but it was enough to keep Chicago’s De La Salle in check and scoreless.

The win improves Noblesville’s record to 2-2. De La Salle drops to 6-4 on their season.

The Millers take the road on their Spring Break trip and have quite a challenge ahead this week. Thursday, they’ll play at Lindsey Neslon Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville vs. Science Hill in the first game of the Kessler’s Classic. After that, they play Jefferson County, Ooltewah and another opponent that is yet to be determined.

Game 4: Championship game…Homestead 11, Cincinnati Moeller 4

Homestead was looking to defending their title of the first Noblesville Classic they won in 2011, but it wasn’t going to be an easy task against a 4-1 Moeller squad.

The Crusaders got started right away. A two-out double by Riley Mahan to the right field corner got a rise out of the Moeller bench. Cameron Whitehead drove Mahan home with a gapper to left center for a 1-0 lead.

After going 1-2-3 in the second, Moeller starter Ryan LeFevers got more than just rattled on the mound. Jake Weber led off with a walk that took nine pitches. A Michael Redden single moved Weber to second. Tyler Zimske struck out swinging, but advanced to first on a passed ball, loading the bases. Catcher Nathan Miller hit a sacrifice fly to left center that scored Weber from third. With Redden and Zimske and second and first, respectively, Josh Caccamo dropped down a sacrifice bunt advancing the two one base each. Matt Volz singled on a hit to shallow center, but the runners stayed aboard, for some odd reason. Austin Plasterer drove in Redden with a single. Brandon Soat hit a single to right, sending Zimske home to score, giving Homestead a commanding 5-1 lead after two innings.

Moeller looked like they were trying to put a dent in that four run deficit. Brian Butz led off with a walk. That was haulted by the great defensive play of Homestead SS Andre Jernigan. With one out, Justin Wampler hit a sharp grounder to Jernigan at short. The ball was hard-hit enough that Jernigan was knocked on his butt, but he tossed the ball to second and Plasterer then to first to complete a dramatic double play to ignite the Spartans.

Redden hit a single just over the infield into shallow left field to lead off. Nathan Miller and Josh Caccamo also singled to load the bases. Volz hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Redden. Plasterer  singled to once again load the bases. Brandon Soat cleared the bases with a three-run double on a one-hop hit to deep right center. That big inning widened the gap to 9-1 in favor of Homestead.

Cincinnati Moeller was set to rally in the fifth. Jimmy Rodenberg walked and advanced to second on a grounder to the mound. Ty Amann singled and eventually scored on a passed ball that brought the score to 9-3. Moeller got one more crack at the plate. After three walks to get the Crusaders’ confidence up, Brad Macciocchi hit a sac fly to center, scoring Spencer Iavocone.

Homestead decided it was time to “put the nail in the coffin” on this Noblesville Classic title. Zimske walked, followed by Joe Ault getting plunked on the head, right on his earhole, giving the Spartans two base runners aboard. Austin Plasterer finished off the Homestead scoring with a two-run triple that turned out to be the dagger. Andy Harkness pitched the sixth and seventh, sealing up the 11-4 victory for Homestead, giving them their second straight Noblesville Classic championship.

Austin Plasterer was the star at the plate in the championship, going 5-for-5 with four singles, a two-run triple and 3 RBI’s. Not far behind him in the stat categories was Brandon Soat, who was 2-5 with 4 RBI’s. 

Homestead stayed its course and is now 4-0 after the Noblesville Classic championship. Cincinnati Moeller is 4-2.

2012 NOBLESVILLE CLASSIC: ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

P          Jake Weber (Homestead) – 9 strikeouts, 2 hits, walk, shutout

P          Ben Yoder (Noblesville) – 12 strikeouts, 3 hits, two walks

P          Zach Williams (Moeller) – 9 strikeouts, 6 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks

P          Taran Murphy (Noblesville) – 6 strikeouts, 3 hits, walk, shutout

C          Brad Macciocchi (Moeller) – 1-for-6, single, RBI,

1B        Zack Shannon (Moeller) – 2-for-6, 2-run HR, single, two runs/RBIs

2B        Austin Plasterer (Homestead) – 6-for-9, triple, 5 singles, 3 RBIs

SS        Andre Jernigan (Homestead) – 2-for-7, run, RBI, 2 assists, putout

3B        Luke Porter (Noblesville) – 2-for-2, run, RBI, 4 assists, putout

OF        Brian McLean (Noblesville) – 2-for-5, two singles

OF        Brandon Soat (Homestead) – 4-for-9, 4 RBIs, double, 3 singles

OF        Nick Edwards (Moeller) – 3-for-4, 3 runs, 3 singles, putout

Util      Garrett Christman (Noblesville) – 2-for-5, run, 4 assists

Noblesville Millers drop home opener to 2A #3 Northfield, 4-3

The Noblesville Millers opened up the 2012 home schedule with a little extra hop in their step. After Monday night’s 9-0 whipping of the Pike Red Devils on the road, the Millers were anxious for their first home game and that welcomed the 2A #3 Northfield Norsemen.

2A #3 Northfield wasted no time getting to Noblesville senior starter Taran Murphy. Shortstop Adam Roser led off with a walk and eventually scored in the first on a Ryan Keaffaber single to center. Murphy tallied two strikeouts in the inning, nonetheless.

Murphy settled in after Keaffaber’s RBI single in the first. He struck out the side in the second and another couple K's in the third to give him seven batters fanned in just three innings of work. 

In the bottom of third, 2B Nick Miller got the Miller bats going with an infield single. Sam Wides dropped down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Miller to second. Noblesville got on the board when freshman CF Brian McLean roped a single to center field, scoring Miller from third to tie the game at 1-1. 

Junior Mike Speek took the mound for Noblesville in the fourth. After walking his first hitter, Joseph Ross, Speek forced Dallas Hovey to pop out to Nevin Fansher in foul territory. Andy Maggart hit a soft liner to Nick Miller at second. Miller leaped to make the catch for the second out and then caught Ross leading off first base and doubled up Ross to end the inning with a double play. 

Speek seemed to be in a groove to start the fifth, but only briefly. Striking out DH Jared Kirtlan and Hunter Wells flying out to right in the first two at-bats, Speek was comfortable. Adam Roser dropped a single over third base and between third baseman Garrett Christman, shortstop Nick Vallier and L Garrett Welch. Tanner Chamberlain reached with an infield single, giving the Norsemen two aboard. Catcher Andy Roser was in control, up with a 2-0 count. Roser took a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence for a three-run home run, extending Northfield's lead to 4-1 through five. 

Miller junior reliever Tyler Chapman took the hill after Andrew Waldon laid down a perfect bunt halfway down the third base line off Speek. Chapman struck out three in his 2 1/3 innings of work, keeping the Northfield bats in check.

Noblesville started a two out rally in the sixth. Garrett Welch smoked a single to center. DH Mike Nichols smacked a double over the head of Tanner Chamberlain in center, scoring Welch and closing the Norsemen lead to 4-2.

The Miller bats were back at it for one final shot in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch hitter Luke Porter led off with a single to left. Justin Holloway pinch hit for Wides and walked for two on for Noblesville. Fansher K'd on three straight pitches. Brian McLean drilled a single to center, scoring Porter, making the score 4-3 with Northfield still in front. With a 2-2 count, Nick Vallier hit a ball in the infield to short for a force out at second, Vallier was safe with a fielder's choice at first. Wides, came back in to run for Holloway, who pinch hit for him. Wides tried scoring from second on the Vallier hit. Sliding head first into home, Wides slid his left hand to the back side of the plate, trying to avoid the tag. Wides was called out on the play and the ballgame was over.

Quite the dramatic finish to Tuesday's home opener, but the Millers fell to the 2A #3 Northfield Norsemen, 4-3.

The loss drops Noblesville to 1-1 on the new season. Senior Garrett Welch and freshman Brian McLean were the Noblesville bright spots at the plate. With each going 2-for-3, Welch had a double and McLean two RBI's, both in their varsity debuts. Despite only three innings of work, starter Taran Murphy struck out 7 batters and allowed just two hits to his credit. 

Noblesville has a lot of inexperience at the varsity level, but with 13 seniors on the roster in 2012, there is a lot of leadership to help Coach Justin Keever's team.

This Saturday is the Noblesville Classic. The Millers play Homestead at 11 a.m. Game 2 is Chicago's De La Salle vs. Cincinnati Moeller at around 1:30. The consolation game will be played at 4 pm, followed by the Noblesville Classic championship game at around 6:30 pm.  

Irish escape South Florida in Big East quarters, 57-53 in OT. Seven-seeded Louisville next for 3-seed Notre Dame

In the Big East quarterfinal night cap on Thursday, Notre Dame knew that it would face a pretty feisty South Florida Bulls squad. This was honestly a true battle of two teams that have learned to succeed through running the "Burn Offense." For those of you who aren't familiar with this style, it's very simple. With the Burn Offense, that particular team slows the tempo of the game down so that their opponent cannot succeed on defense, while using a majority of the shot clock and keeping the control of the game in their hands. It caters to their offense getting exactly what it wants and the defense being stymied because it completely throws off their game plan.

Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, you just had a feeling that #23 Notre Dame was going to do whatever it had to do possible to get the win and advance to play Louisville in the Semifinals Friday night.

Neither team shot anything close to good. South Florida shot 38% and Notre Dame 39%. The two matched each others' three-point shooting, with the Bulls shooting 8-17 (47%) and the Irish knocking down 8-16 (50%).

Up by a narrow 28-26 halftime lead, Notre Dame tried to do what it could to pull away, but there's no pulling away from this USF team. The Bulls outdueld the Irish 19-17 in the 2nd half to knot things at 45-45 to take this Big East tilt into overtime.

The leadership of sophomore Eric Atkins showed up big in the overtime frame. Atkins scored all 6 of his points in overtime, but he does much more than score for Notre Dame. The Irish point guard also grabbed four rebounds, dished out six assists and nabbed a couple of steals. If he's not scoring, that's exactly what you want out of your point guard!

If you want my honest opinion, there should have been an over-the-back foul called on USF's Augustus Gilchrist when ND's Jack Cooley grabbed a rebound in the waining seconds of regulation. The call was a jump ball and we headed to overtime. I think it really only motivated the Irish to dial it up a notch in the extra period.

That said, Notre Dame took the overtime 12-8 and won the quarterfinal 57-53. Tonight (Friday), the 3rd seed Irish play in the 2nd Big East semifinal against 7-seed Louisville. Notre Dame won the regular season meeting at Louisville, 67-65 in double overtime.

Freshmen Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant led Notre Dame with 12 points a piece in a very shared offensive effort for the Irish. Scott Martin notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Somewhat of a quiet night for center Jack Cooley with 9 points and 3 blocks (just one rebound). Eric Atkins filled up his stat line with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals to his credit. Alex Dragicevich dropped in 8 points (2-2 on 3's) off the bench. Tom Knight also spelled Cooley well during his time off the bench, grabbing two rebounds.

St. John's snaps #18 Notre Dame's 9-game winning streak at MSG, 61-58

I knew it would happen. I had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning about the front end of this east coast Big East weekend wrap-around road trip for the Fighting Irish and I should have put my money where my thoughts were. Notre Dame's nine-game winning streak came to a hault on Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden to the St. John's Red Storm, 61-58.

Notre Dame shot poorly throughout the game and it honestly haunted them and kept the Irish from fully overtaking the Red Storm in the second half. ND reverted to their old style of basketball, living and dying by the three, where they were 4-of-31 (13%) in Saturday's game at Madison Square Garden. St. John's, however, was a little more picky when it came to their three-point shot selection (3-for-11), but still only shot 27% from outside the arc.

The homestanding Red Storm outrebounded Notre Dame 34-29 and capitalized when it needed to down the stretch to keep the Irish from taking the lead and extending their winning streak to ten games. If Notre Dame would have been able to keep up with St. John's in transition and stop them on fast breaks, it could have been the difference and a factor that may have helped Mike Brey's team get a huge road win at MSG. Instead, SJU had 13 fast break points to Notre Dame's 4, an obvious difference in the game's outcome.

A group of five freshmen start and lead the way for St. John's. It's something that's unheard of in college basketball or any sport, for that matter. Moe Harkless (18 points, 9 rebounds), D'Angelo Harrison (15 points), Amir Garrett (11 points), God'sgift Achuiwa (5 points, 6 rebounds, and yes, that's his real first name!) and Sir'Dominic Pointer (4 points, 8 rebounds) are five of the six that contribute to the Red Storm on a normal basis. They don't have much depth at all, one bench player saw the floor today. The win moves them to 13-16 (6-10 Big East) and they also have good program wins over Cincinnati and West Virginia.

Notre Dame was led by both Scott Martin and Jack Cooley, who dropped in 18 points a piece. The two also combined for 17 of the Irish's 29 rebounds and also 16-of-24 from the floor between them. Unfortunately, they didn't received enough help from their teammates to make a difference in their bid for a comeback win. Pat Connaughton, Alex Dragicevich, Eric Atkins, Jerian Grant and Tom Knight produced the other 22 Notre Dame points. The Irish only turned the ball over 7 times, compared to 16 turnover for St. John's. Notre Dame also seemed a little tenative on the offensive end as well. They were only 4-of-7 from the charity stripe, while St. John's was 14-21 from the foul line.

This game was hopefully a wakeup call for Brey and the Irish. They will play Monday at #11 Georgetown (21-6, 11-5 Big East) at 7 p.m. Georgetown might be ranked eleventh, but they are one of the more overrated teams this season in college basketball, to be honest, they usually are. Senior Night for Notre Dame is next Friday vs. Providence (14-15, 3-13 Big East). Those games are a great way to tune up for the upcoming Big East Tournament that will be back at Madison Square Garden.

The Irish (20-9, 12-4 Big East) have themselves in a great spot. They were picked to be 9th in the Big East this year and were pretty much considered a losing team when they lost sharp-shooting Tim Abromaitis in the sixth game of the year. They've proved critics wrong and will continue to do so, as long as the media keeps stacking the deck against them and making them the odds-on underdog.

Irish win school-record 9th Big East game in a row, scorch West Virginia, 71-44

On Wednesday night at the Joyce Center at Purcell Pavilion, the #18 Notre Dame men’s basketball team had one thing in mind. Winning and doing whatever it took to do it. Playing at home, where they’re now 15-1 on the year was a big help.

The Irish led by just two at halftime, 30-28. Mike Brey’s team shot 60% in the 2^nd half and held the Mountaineers in check, outscoring them in the second frame 41-16, for an eventual blowout, 71-44.

Jerian Grant led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, knocking down 4-of-5 from the three-point arc. Scott Martin also lit up the nets, hitting on 3-of-4 treys for 15 points. Jack Cooley was a force that propelled Notre Dame to its first leads in the first half and wound up with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Eric Atkins did his job as the point guard and filled up his line of the stat sheet. The sophomore captain tallied 13 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals to his credit. Alex Dragicevich chipped in 8 points in 20 minutes off the bench, drilling a couple 3’s of his own. Pat Connaughton hasn’t been scoring much lately, but that doesn’t really seem to matter, with others picking up his share when defenses keep the freshman from scoring. Connaughton did, however, grab 5 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and had 2 of Notre Dame’s six team steals.

The visiting Mountaineers were stymied by the Irish defense shooting 17-for-54 (31.5%) overall and were even colder from three-point range going 1-11 (9.1%). Seniors Kevin Jones and Darryl “Truck” Bryant were the only two to reach double-figures for WVU. Jones led West Virginia with 15 points and 8 rebounds (5 offensive) and Bryant with 10 points, 3 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Those two seniors had very little help elsewhere, with Deniz Kilicli tossing up four of his unorthodox style hook shots for 8 points. The loss dropped Bob Huggins’ squad to 17-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big East.

Things keep looking better for Notre Dame…

Team concept is what this team is doing to keep winning games. It doesn’t matter who leads the Irish in each stat category night in and night out. It matters that they do whatever it takes to win and win at all costs. This Notre Dame team was considered out of any post-season play when leading scorer Tim Abromaitis was sidelined with a torn ACL in the second half of ND’s match-up with Georgia in the consolation game of the Progressive CBE Classic in Kansas City, Missouri. With Abro out for the season in just his second game back from a four-game suspension, Notre Dame was said to be falling to the bottom half of the Big East, with no hope at all. 

Clicking on all cylinders, Notre Dame is now 20-8 overall and 12-3 in Big East play. They’re now tied for second in the Big East with Marquette. If the regular season ended after tonight’s game, Notre Dame would be the #2 seed and have a double-bye in the upcoming Big East Tournament (March 6-10) at New York’s Madison Square Garden. They hold the tiebreaker over Marquette from the Irish’s dominating win in South Bend a couple weeks ago, 76-59 over the Golden Eagles.

Notre Dame has a very good chance at finishing the regular season on a 12-game winning streak, if they can win both games of a wrap-around road trip this coming weekend and next Friday’s final home game of the season against a struggling Providence team.

St. John’s (12-16, 5-10 Big East) could turn into a “trap game” this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Hopefully the Red Storm doesn’t catch the Irish off-guard. I’m guessing that Notre Dame will show up and win for their tenth in a row in a preparation game for the Big East Tournament in a week and a half.

More than likely, #8 Georgetown (20-6, 10-5 Big East) will drop out of the Top 10. They lost Monday night at Seton Hall, 72-55. Georgetown is the most overrated team in college basketball, not just this season, but most years this is the case. They’re like a “flash in the pan” kind of team. They have two or three players that contribute on a consistent basis, but the Hoyas won’t make any noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Providence College (13-15, 2-13 Big East) has struggled in Big East play for quite some time. This could be looked at as another “trap” game for the Irish. Odds of this happening are probably pretty small, considering that this is the final home game of the season and for fifth-year senior Scott Martin.

Time will tell what Notre Dame’s fate will be for the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. They’ve defied the odds that have been placed against them thus far. What says they can’t keep this pace going? With the way that Mike Brey’s team has been playing, it looks like a great possibility that we could see them shock the college basketball world during the month of March. Brey also won National Coach of the Year honors last season for his third of that award in 11 seasons. At this point in the season, there really isn't another coach in Division I basketball that deserves the award as much as the Irish head coach does. It would be remarkable if he earned his second in a row and fourth in 12 seasons at Notre Dame.