Notre Dame put three straight NIT trips to rest with a 24-8 campaign last season to advance to the Big Dance. Find out if the Irish can make it back to the NCAA Tourney in Dave Price's 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting preview. SportsBetting.com currently has the Fighting Irish at 200 to 1 to win the championship.
Much of Notre Dame’s success in the 2006-07 season had to do with a perfect 18-0 mark at home. We can expect continued home court success and another tourney berth this year.
The loss of Colin Falls, the Big East’s All-time leading 3-point shooter will hurt. Losing Russell Carter deals them another blow. However, the Irish return eight key players including guard Kyle McAlarney, who will be anxious to get back on the court after missing all of conference play last year due to marijuana charges.
Senior captain Rob Kurz will head up the frontcourt. The 6’9’’ forward is a brawler down low. Luke Harangody is his bash brother on the interior. Junior forward Zach Hillesland is Notre Dame’s smooth operator down low. Expect his points per game average to double this season as he gets more minutes. Luke Zeller gives the Irish a big with 3-point range to create matchup problems. At 6’11’’, Zeller is the tallest player on Notre Dame’s roster, so naturally head coach Mike Brey wants him to be a little bit more of a banger.
McAlarney’s suspension may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Troy Jackson stepped up as a freshman in his absence and led the Irish to 11 conference wins. His shooting needs work, but he proved to be great at getting into the heart of the defense. McAlarney, on the other hand, can stroke it from three. Expect to see him off the ball more with Jackson penetrating to free him for jumpers. Ryan Ayers can play in the backcourt or the frontcourt and Brey figures to use him in both places depending if he wants to go big or small with his lineup. He uses his length well on defense and is another guy who can knock down threes.
Next year, I think the Irish have a shot at the Big East title, this season, they should be happy with 10 wins in conference play as the 11 they won last year was slightly an overachievement. Experience is a vital weapon in college hoops and that is something that Notre Dame will have on many teams. The Irish will get to the Dance, but we have them chalked up for a one and done. Make sure you’re on board with Dave Price this season for the most success on the college hardwood.
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SportsBetting.com has posted the odds on the NCAA Basketball Championship:
Air Force 300 – 1
Akron 300 – 1
Alabama 300 – 1
Arizona 50 – 1
Arizona St 300 – 1
Arkansas 75 – 1
Auburn 300 – 1
BYU 200 – 1
Boston College 200 – 1
Bradley 300 – 1
Butler 100 – 1
California 100 – 1
Clemson 75 – 1
Colorado St 300 – 1
Creighton 300 – 1
DePaul 200 – 1
Drexel 300 – 1
Duke 35 – 1
Florida 50 – 1
Florida St 300 – 1
Fresno St 300 – 1
George Washington 300 – 1
Georgetown 15 – 1
Georgia 100 – 1
Georgia Tech 100 – 1
Geroge Mason 100 – 1
Gonzaga 50 – 1
Hofstra 300 – 1
Houston 200 – 1
Illinois 300 – 1
Illinois St 300 – 1
Indiana 20 – 1
Iowa 300 – 1
Kansas 10 – 1
Kansas St 60 – 1
Kent St 300 – 1
Kentucky 40 – 1
LSU 300 – 1
Louisville 15 – 1
Marquette 40 – 1
Maryland 50 – 1
Memphis 7 – 1
Miami FL 300 – 1
Miami OH 300 – 1
Michigan 300 – 1
Michigan St 20 – 1
Minnesota 300 – 1
Mississippi 300 – 1
Mississippi St 100 – 1
Missouri 200 – 1
Missouri St 300 – 1
Nevada 200 – 1
New Mexico 300 – 1
New Mexico St 200 – 1
North Carolina 6 – 1
North Carolina St 60 – 1
Notre Dame 200 – 1
Ohio St 50 – 1
Oklahoma 100 – 1
Oklahoma St 300 – 1
Old Dominion 300 – 1
Oregon 40 – 1
Oregon St 300 – 1
Pittsburgh 200 – 1
Providence 300 – 1
Purdue 100 – 1
San Diego St 300 – 1
South Carolina 300 – 1
Southern Illinois 75 – 1
St Johns 300 – 1
St Josephs 200 – 1
Stanford 100 – 1
Syracuse 40 – 1
Temple 300 – 1
Tennessee 12 – 1
Texas 75 – 1
Texas A&M 50 – 1
Texas Tech 100 – 1
Toledo 300 – 1
U CONN 50 – 1
U MASS 300 – 1
UCLA 6 – 1
UCSB 300 – 1
UNLV 300 – 1
USC 75 – 1
Utah 300 – 1
Utah St 300 – 1
VA Commonwealth 100 – 1
Vanderbilt 200 – 1
Villanova 60 – 1
Virginia 100 – 1
Virginia Tech 300 – 1
Wake Forest 300 – 1
Washington 100 – 1
Washington St 40 – 1
West Virginia 100 – 1
Wichita St 300 – 1
Wisconsin 100 – 1
Xavier 100 – 1
zx Field (Any Other Team) 50 – 1
