A Look At Notre Dame vs Tennessee

by doggydaddy

#12 Tennessee vs #2 Notre Dame
Monday, January 20, 7:00

TV – ESPN2

Tennessee – 14-3 overall, 3-2 SEC
Notre Dame – 16-0 overall 4-0 ACC

TENNESSEE
Starters

G – Simmons 5’9” SR	13.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
F – Jones 6’2″ JR	5.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg
G – Massengale 5’7” JR	13.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.9 apg
F – Harrison JR 6’3”	13.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg, .6 apg
C – Russell 6’6”	7.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .4 apg

Bench

G – Carter RSFR 5’9″	5.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.5 apg
G – Reynolds FR 5’11”	3.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.9 apg
F – Burdick JR 6’2”	7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 apg
F – Graves SO 6’2″	10.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 apg

NOTRE DAME

Starters

PG – Allen 5’7” FR	17.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.0 apg
SG – Loyd 5’10” SO	17.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.5 apg
SF – McBride 5’11” SR	16.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
PF – Braker 6’1” SR	4.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
C – Achonwa 6’3” SR	13.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.2 apg

Bench

F – Reimer 6’3” FR	9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg
G – Cable 5’11” JR	6.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .9 apg
G – Mabrey 5’10” SO	9.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.1 apg
F – Wright 6’2” JR	2.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, .1 apg

Team Stats

	Tenneesse	Notre Dame
Points PG	82.4	88.8
Rebounds PG	49.5	44.3
Assists PG	17.5	22.4
TO/G	17.8	14.4
Opp PPG	62.4	59.4
FG %	45.8	51.7
Opp FG%	33.9	37.0
3pt %	34.1	43.6
Steals PG	8.3	9.8
Block PG	4.5	4.9

Tennessee

This is such a big game for Tennessee on so many levels. The buzz is so negative for them. From the disjointed play, to the second guessing of every more Warlick makes, to the rumors of unhappy players (I will not take this any further) the programs appears to be in disarray. But a win against a very good Notre Dame team can do a lot for their confidence and reputation.

Post play – This should be a strength for Tennessee. Harrison had a Tennessee record streak in double doubles, Russell was the #1 HS player last season, Graves was coming off a strong freshman season, Burdick would be a savvy Junior and the athletic Jones would have one more year in the systems. But that isn’t how it’s been so far this year. They have had their dominating games but there is a lack of consistency in getting them the ball and then the post players finishing in the paint. Foul trouble has been a big issues and Harrison has let her emotions get the best of her, culminating in a technical foul to garner her 5th in a recent game. Graves has to be considered a big disappointment to date. She was wonderful last year and now? It’s hard to say how much is physical (she did have a leg injury a few games ago) and how much is mental. She just doesn’t see to be the same player. Russell has played well. Solid numbers. Certainly not the dominating force that some said she would be, but that wasn’t realistic. Burdick is an interesting player. She was a top 5 recruit for her class, played USA basketball and had some nice skills. But it doesn’t appear she will live up to her HS billing. At least not to date. Overall, a very good front line. Top ten in the country, hands down.

Guard/Wing play– To me, it’s same old same old. Yes, Massengale has improved her play some. But her shooting is incredibly streak with 5 games accounting for 19/33 of her three points. 9/43 in the other 12 games. Her floor leadership has been less streaky. She gets the team running and distributes the ball well. But it’s hard to control a team when you have an out of control teammate. I won’t pile on here. Simmons has been talked about on The Summitt, the Boneyard and every other college basketball forum. We all know her story. My question is was it her fender bender that caused her to not start and get limited minutes in the last game? Or another new starting lineup. Carter is a great athlete and terrific competitor. She doesn’t engage herself in the offense enough. Reynolds is just young and I don’t expect her to get many minutes in a game like this. All of the guards need to get the ball into the bigs more.

Bench play – Who knows? They have had many different starting lineups and 8 different players have started. But they do have 8-9 players that they can rotate without a lot of downside.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame has played like a typical McGraw team. They grind, they dominate the foul line, they pressure their opponents into mistakes and if a game is close they make the right plays at the right time. Now, they haven’t exactly played a tough schedule. Their only games against ranked teams were early against #19 MSU, #25 Depaul and #10 PSU. But all those teams have slipped since then with Penn State at #16 and the other two are out of the rankings. So, how good is Notre Dame? Yet to be determined.

Post play – Achonwa has played like the AA she is. The second best passing center in the country, she is Dolson lite. Braker is the same solid player she was last year, but she appears to be physically hurting. She does a lot of the “dirty” work with screens and boxouts. The biggest change to Notre Dame from last year is the presence of Reimer. She is having a terrific freshman season and gives Notre Dame some size in the post. When she is inserted for Braker, Notre Dame is a tougher team. She has an offensive game. Wright can give some decent minutes off the bench, but her minutes have dropped this year.

Guard/Wing play – The loss of Diggins hasn’t impacted Notre Dame to date, but they haven’t had to play teams that can take advantage of her absence. Loyd has made a nice jump into her sophomore season. She is such an explosive player and has taken on more of the scoring load. McBride looks in better shape and has taken a lot of the leadership along with her fellow senior Achonwa with the graduation of Diggins. Mabrey has lost weight and is playing better. I’m not convinced she can contribute that much against the better teams. She hasn’t show that consistency yet. And Cable is a solid bench player, but hasn’t grown much since last year. Allen, the freshman point guard, has struggled in some games and McBride runs the team when McGraw sees that happening. It’s not easy for a young point to run a team and even with great teammates like she has, she will have some difficult moments against the tougher teams. But has has not been overwhelmed and will continue to improve.

Bench play – Three players is all McGraw will play off the bench. And from what I have seen, Cable might not see much time. McGraw tends to lean on her starters in competitive games.

Notre Dame is just a really really good team. They are well coached, in great shape, play tough defense and have a scoring offense.

Final Analysis

Big game for Notre Dame, bigger game for Tennessee. At home, the coach under fire, players unhappy……time for a gut check. Notre Dame though, is relentless. They will force a sloppy Tennessee into many mistakes and their precision offense will find many ways to score. Notre Dame’s defense is not as good as last year. I believe this is where they miss Diggins the most. Her quick hands forced many turnovers and she always seemed to make the big shot in games like this. I think that Tennessee will play with great emotion. But in the end, they will wear out after the adrenaline runs out and Notre Dame will pull away late and win by 8-10. But it will a lot of fun to watch.

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