Notre Dame 2024-25 Season

[Dillon77]

Some next-morning comments following ND's 81-66 win over Georgia Tech.

- Both teams were missing their leading scorers last night: Hannah Hidalgo (ND) and Dani Carnegie (GT).
That said, close game in the first half....

- The ACC commentating crew last night brought up that Ga. Tech has been largely working without sets (plays) most of the year. Heck, Nell Fortner likes ISO ball more than Coach Ivey? Who knew? In fact, GT put in their first few just for this game. I think that may have led to some of the defensive issues for ND in the first half: how do you look for patterns when there really aren't any, save for individual moves?

However, there are those one-on-one moves and GT's Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn were driving right, righter and rightest. Reminded me of the ND-Illinois game. ND's Liatu King started coming from the weakside to help, but she's not a shot blocker like Kate Koval, who barely played, so those GT guards could keep going.

- Hence, ND's move in the third quarter to a 2-3 zone was a big-time, smart move. Barely any sets were being run by a first-time starter who seemed more comfortable firing from 35 ft.? Maddy Westbeld does a good job of anchoring the 2-3 and 6'3" guard Cass Prosper got more comfortable moving up and down on the wing position to distract GT's long-range shooters.
Ga. Tech scored 36 in first half, 14 in third qtr. and 16 in fourth.

- Soni Citron said she took what was given, but it sure as heck looked like she was on a mission to take it to the middle. GT is relatively small and have no shot blocking (one last night). So that strategy worked. Some of her acceleration surprised me and I've had eyes on her for her whole career. Nine of 13, no threes, perfect from the line. Six rebounds and assists. Great game.

Citron is apparently the leading FT shooter in the country with a 94%. Don't know if she'll have enough attempts at end of year, but at the end-of-a-game when the opposition needs to foul, ND's strategy should be simple: get the ball to Citron. Period.

- Loved the ACC post-game interview with Maddy Westbeld was asked about a discussion at halftime on ND's 14 first-half turnoverrs, Answer: Hannah Hidalgo got into them. Why am I not surprised?

- 50 to 25 rebounding edge for ND. As noted by many ND observers during the ND during-game conversations, those 21 turnovers kept it close. Hannah will help there, but still, so many were unforced.

• Lastly, the ACC "Nothing but Net" team was discussing what, if any, concerns they had about ND going forward. Most wondered how Coach Ivey would juggle PT. Coach McGraw said she wished there was one more back-up point guard. Kelly Gramlich was jokingly incredulous:
• Hannah spells Olivia and Olivia spells Hannah. And Soni can fill in for awhile.
• "What do you want, three All-American point guards on one team?"
• Muffet chuckled and acknowledged that "I like guards." Yup.

Next team up: SMU.

 

[Reypl21]

I liked what I saw in this game. I didn't get to watch the first half, so I will go back and watch it when ACC posts it. I can't confirm if Olivia was forcing shots. I watched the second half and it seemed like Olivia was forcing some shots in the third when the game was close. Including a quick point shot that was a little concerning. It reminded me of two seasons ago when she would press and start making poor decisions. ND turned it around when she let Citron, Prosper, and Westbeld take over the scoring. Then the floor opened up for her in the 4th to do some scoring damage.

Hannah had to learn last season to let her teammates score more in bigger games. The level that Hannah, Westbeld, and Citron were playing at last post season was incredible. Olivia has to learn to let them cook too, which she did. If we want to win it all we need an engaged Citron like she was tonight. And of course Westbeld scoring at all 3 levels is a plus too.

I'm really ecstatic about Prosper. Perhaps her best game of her career.

 

[cancontent]

Some next-morning comments following ND's 81-66 win over Georgia Tech.

- Both teams were missing their leading scorers last night: Hannah Hidalgo (ND) and Dani Carnegie (GT).
That said, close game in the first half....

- The ACC commentating crew last night brought up that Ga. Tech has been largely working without sets (plays) most of the year. Heck, Nell Fortner likes ISO ball more than Coach Ivey? Who knew? In fact, GT put in their first few just for this game. I think that may have led to some of the defensive issues for ND in the first half: how do you look for patterns when there really aren't any, save for individual moves?

However, there are those one-on-one moves and GT's Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn were driving right, righter and rightest. Reminded me of the ND-Illinois game. ND's Liatu King started coming from the weakside to help, but she's not a shot blocker like Kate Koval, who barely played, so those GT guards could keep going.

- Hence, ND's move in the third quarter to a 2-3 zone was a big-time, smart move. Barely any sets were being run by a first-time starter who seemed more comfortable firing from 35 ft.? Maddy Westbeld does a good job of anchoring the 2-3 and 6'3" guard Cass Prosper got more comfortable moving up and down on the wing position to distract GT's long-range shooters.
Ga. Tech scored 36 in first half, 14 in third qtr. and 16 in fourth.

- Soni Citron said she took what was given, but it sure as heck looked like she was on a mission to take it to the middle. GT is relatively small and have no shot blocking (one last night). So that strategy worked. Some of her acceleration surprised me and I've had eyes on her for her whole career. Nine of 13, no threes, perfect from the line. Six rebounds and assists. Great game.

Citron is apparently the leading FT shooter in the country with a 94%. Don't know if she'll have enough attempts at end of year, but at the end-of-a-game when the opposition needs to foul, ND's strategy should be simple: get the ball to Citron. Period.

- Loved the ACC post-game interview with Maddy Westbeld was asked about a discussion at halftime on ND's 14 first-half turnoverrs, Answer: Hannah Hidalgo got into them. Why am I not surprised?

- 50 to 25 rebounding edge for ND. As noted by many ND observers during the ND during-game conversations, those 21 turnovers kept it close. Hannah will help there, but still, so many were unforced.

• Lastly, the ACC "Nothing but Net" team was discussing what, if any, concerns they had about ND going forward. Most wondered how Coach Ivey would juggle PT. Coach McGraw said she wished there was one more back-up point guard. Kelly Gramlich was jokingly incredulous:
• Hannah spells Olivia and Olivia spells Hannah. And Soni can fill in for awhile.
• "What do you want, three All-American point guards on one team?"
• Muffet chuckled and acknowledged that "I like guards." Yup.

Next team up: SMU.

Her point was valid. While Citron can handle the role to an extent, it would hamper ND in some aspects.

 

[cancontent]

I liked what I saw in this game. I didn't get to watch the first half, so I will go back and watch it when ACC posts it. I can't confirm if Olivia was forcing shots. I watched the second half and it seemed like Olivia was forcing some shots in the third when the game was close. Including a quick point shot that was a little concerning. It reminded me of two seasons ago when she would press and start making poor decisions. ND turned it around when she let Citron, Prosper, and Westbeld take over the scoring. Then the floor opened up for her in the 4th to do some scoring damage.

Hannah had to learn last season to let her teammates score more in bigger games. The level that Hannah, Westbeld, and Citron were playing at last post season was incredible. Olivia has to learn to let them cook too, which she did. If we want to win it all we need an engaged Citron like she was tonight. And of course Westbeld scoring at all 3 levels is a plus too.

I'm really ecstatic about Prosper. Perhaps her best game of her career.

Was thinking the same thing last night. Hopefully this is the light bulb moment for her and this continues.

 

[Dillon77]

I liked what I saw in this game. I didn't get to watch the first half, so I will go back and watch it when ACC posts it. I can't confirm if Olivia was forcing shots. I watched the second half and it seemed like Olivia was forcing some shots in the third when the game was close. Including a quick point shot that was a little concerning. It reminded me of two seasons ago when she would press and start making poor decisions. ND turned it around when she let Citron, Prosper, and Westbeld take over the scoring. Then the floor opened up for her in the 4th to do some scoring damage.

Hannah had to learn last season to let her teammates score more in bigger games. The level that Hannah, Westbeld, and Citron were playing at last post season was incredible. Olivia has to learn to let them cook too, which she did. If we want to win it all we need an engaged Citron like she was tonight. And of course Westbeld scoring at all 3 levels is a plus too.

I'm really ecstatic about Prosper. Perhaps her best game of her career.

I can save you a bit of time: Miles wasn't forcing that many shots. What was happening: she was coming up short. Consistently.
This isn't so much a return to two years ago, pe se: Miles has become a genuine threat to score due to post-surgery workouts.
That's good. The "eh" news segues into your point: she's still a distributor first and foremost and ND depends on she to find Westbeld and her buddy, Citron, to be at her best. I've noted (more than) a few times when she's chosen not to dish out to the arc to a wide-open player (including Citron) in favor of looking for penetration. Whereas once Citron had GT on the heels from her driving was delivering dimes to open perimeter shooters. Necessitates a slight change in the pecking order.

Prosper is gradually letting the game come to her. Just slow down a bit in the open floor and concentrate on finishing the drives.
Once that's there, ND is a very dangerous team the rest of the season with her as another option.

 

[Dillon77]

Her point was valid. While Citron can handle the role to an extent, it would hamper ND in some aspects.

Valid point...perhaps to the degree that someone gets hurt for a long stretch. Gramlich and I are not talking a lot of minutes -- 5 at most. But the team adjusts: Citron equaled Miles in assists last night, so she was generating a lot of the half-court sets.

Realistic take: Not really. Getting another point guard is not happening in foreseeable future. Second, Ivey -- like most college coaches -- is going to start tightening her rotation and you won't Citron, Miles or Hidalgo come off the floor much. Heck, Citron played all 40 minutes last night.

Looking ahead to 2025-26, Ivey thinks so much of Hidalgo that she didn't even recruit another point guard. Maybe KK Bransford will spell her for a few minutes per game. Or they'll look at the transfer portal. But they're not seriously recruiting another PG until the Classes of 2026 and 2027.

 

[jdote33]

They really might have 4 first round wnba draft picks. I don't see what Maddy's missing to get drafted. Same with liatu king. I get she's undersized but she's pretty good in the mid range and explosive. Soni probably played her best game this season and kinda showed how much she sacrifices playing so much off the ball when Hidalgo and Miles are running the show.

 

[Frankus]

Some next-morning comments following ND's 81-66 win over Georgia Tech.

- Both teams were missing their leading scorers last night: Hannah Hidalgo (ND) and Dani Carnegie (GT).
That said, close game in the first half....

- The ACC commentating crew last night brought up that Ga. Tech has been largely working without sets (plays) most of the year. Heck, Nell Fortner likes ISO ball more than Coach Ivey? Who knew? In fact, GT put in their first few just for this game. I think that may have led to some of the defensive issues for ND in the first half: how do you look for patterns when there really aren't any, save for individual moves?

However, there are those one-on-one moves and GT's Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn were driving right, righter and rightest. Reminded me of the ND-Illinois game. ND's Liatu King started coming from the weakside to help, but she's not a shot blocker like Kate Koval, who barely played, so those GT guards could keep going.

- Hence, ND's move in the third quarter to a 2-3 zone was a big-time, smart move. Barely any sets were being run by a first-time starter who seemed more comfortable firing from 35 ft.? Maddy Westbeld does a good job of anchoring the 2-3 and 6'3" guard Cass Prosper got more comfortable moving up and down on the wing position to distract GT's long-range shooters.
Ga. Tech scored 36 in first half, 14 in third qtr. and 16 in fourth.

- Soni Citron said she took what was given, but it sure as heck looked like she was on a mission to take it to the middle. GT is relatively small and have no shot blocking (one last night). So that strategy worked. Some of her acceleration surprised me and I've had eyes on her for her whole career. Nine of 13, no threes, perfect from the line. Six rebounds and assists. Great game.

Citron is apparently the leading FT shooter in the country with a 94%. Don't know if she'll have enough attempts at end of year, but at the end-of-a-game when the opposition needs to foul, ND's strategy should be simple: get the ball to Citron. Period.

- Loved the ACC post-game interview with Maddy Westbeld was asked about a discussion at halftime on ND's 14 first-half turnoverrs, Answer: Hannah Hidalgo got into them. Why am I not surprised?

- 50 to 25 rebounding edge for ND. As noted by many ND observers during the ND during-game conversations, those 21 turnovers kept it close. Hannah will help there, but still, so many were unforced.

• Lastly, the ACC "Nothing but Net" team was discussing what, if any, concerns they had about ND going forward. Most wondered how Coach Ivey would juggle PT. Coach McGraw said she wished there was one more back-up point guard. Kelly Gramlich was jokingly incredulous:
• Hannah spells Olivia and Olivia spells Hannah. And Soni can fill in for awhile.
• "What do you want, three All-American point guards on one team?"
• Muffet chuckled and acknowledged that "I like guards." Yup.

Next team up: SMU.

Nice analysis!

You could really see the veteran chemistry between Maddy, Sonia and Olivia last night. At one point I swear I saw Maddy tell Olivia which set play she wanted, which was a pass from OM to Maddy at the top of the key and then Maddy throwing a quick pass to Sonia for an easy score.

Our ball movement in the half court was excellent.

That was Prosper's best game ever. She did everything well. If she can consistently play like that, we'll be taking another step forward. I wouldn't be surprised to see her getting more and more playing time, particularly if her 3 point shooting is like last night.

Karlen just can't buy a bucket.

Uncharacteristically, neither could Liatu last night, but she's indispensable to this team.

I'm looking forward to Hannah's return and the return of our awesome transition game.

 

[DallasDomer]

Some next-morning comments following ND's 81-66 win over Georgia Tech.

- Both teams were missing their leading scorers last night: Hannah Hidalgo (ND) and Dani Carnegie (GT).
That said, close game in the first half....

- The ACC commentating crew last night brought up that Ga. Tech has been largely working without sets (plays) most of the year. Heck, Nell Fortner likes ISO ball more than Coach Ivey? Who knew? In fact, GT put in their first few just for this game. I think that may have led to some of the defensive issues for ND in the first half: how do you look for patterns when there really aren't any, save for individual moves?

However, there are those one-on-one moves and GT's Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn were driving right, righter and rightest. Reminded me of the ND-Illinois game. ND's Liatu King started coming from the weakside to help, but she's not a shot blocker like Kate Koval, who barely played, so those GT guards could keep going.

- Hence, ND's move in the third quarter to a 2-3 zone was a big-time, smart move. Barely any sets were being run by a first-time starter who seemed more comfortable firing from 35 ft.? Maddy Westbeld does a good job of anchoring the 2-3 and 6'3" guard Cass Prosper got more comfortable moving up and down on the wing position to distract GT's long-range shooters.
Ga. Tech scored 36 in first half, 14 in third qtr. and 16 in fourth.

- Soni Citron said she took what was given, but it sure as heck looked like she was on a mission to take it to the middle. GT is relatively small and have no shot blocking (one last night). So that strategy worked. Some of her acceleration surprised me and I've had eyes on her for her whole career. Nine of 13, no threes, perfect from the line. Six rebounds and assists. Great game.

Citron is apparently the leading FT shooter in the country with a 94%. Don't know if she'll have enough attempts at end of year, but at the end-of-a-game when the opposition needs to foul, ND's strategy should be simple: get the ball to Citron. Period.

- Loved the ACC post-game interview with Maddy Westbeld was asked about a discussion at halftime on ND's 14 first-half turnoverrs, Answer: Hannah Hidalgo got into them. Why am I not surprised?

- 50 to 25 rebounding edge for ND. As noted by many ND observers during the ND during-game conversations, those 21 turnovers kept it close. Hannah will help there, but still, so many were unforced.

• Lastly, the ACC "Nothing but Net" team was discussing what, if any, concerns they had about ND going forward. Most wondered how Coach Ivey would juggle PT. Coach McGraw said she wished there was one more back-up point guard. Kelly Gramlich was jokingly incredulous:
• Hannah spells Olivia and Olivia spells Hannah. And Soni can fill in for awhile.
• "What do you want, three All-American point guards on one team?"
• Muffet chuckled and acknowledged that "I like guards." Yup.

Next team up: SMU.

I also thought Cotton showed her true speed and fast cuts. It made me wonder if she was deferring to Hidalgo but finally went full speed without her.

Very impressive game for Citron, Westbeld, and Prosper. It showed how to win when a player has an off night.

 

[packwrap]

I see the fun offensively. Defensively not so much. We'll see. It's early, but it's a concern, because there are teams with powerul bigs who have athletic guards that will knock down kick out shots when we have to double inside due to our lack of inside power. I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any strategic changes when this happens again in ACC play, and more fight from Koval/Karlen/Westbeld.

I gotta laugh to see that you guys are concerned about your bigs. Must be contagious from UConn board.

I think you are in good shape. Westbeld and King, with Karlen and Koval in rotation is pretty solid. You even have Prosper and Citron available in a bind or for small ball. You can use that army on Betts.

The best weapon against you is to move the regional to the Cayman Islands.

 

[cancontent]

Coming from Candace Parker, I'd say that's a great endorsement.

 

[Frankus]

Thoughts about SMU.

After the listless, slow start Nielle Ivey got all over Liatu King and Olivia Miles. Can't be sure, but perhaps she sees them as the team leaders.

Scary moment when OM went down, but it ended up like when she went down against UCONN. She may have a chronic ankle injury. Hope she can heal back to 100%

I was really impressed by how agressive Prosper was defensively and on both boards. I see a major role for her when we play teams with 6'3" bigs that can jump and run the court.

Because ND waited until garbage time to get Kovall involved, I am skeptical about her having much of a role in big games. She did a nice job of catching the ball and shooting without dribbling.

 

[DallasDomer]

Thoughts about SMU.

After the listless, slow start Nielle Ivey got all over Liatu King and Olivia Miles. Can't be sure, but perhaps she sees them as the team leaders.

Scary moment when OM went down, but it ended up like when she went down against UCONN. She may have a chronic ankle injury. Hope she can heal back to 100%

I was really impressed by how agressive Prosper was defensively and on both boards. I see a major role for her when we play teams with 6'3" bigs that can jump and run the court.

Because ND waited until garbage time to get Kovall involved, I am skeptical about her having much of a role in big games. She did a nice job of catching the ball and shooting without dribbling.

Yeah the SMU start was soft but a win is a win. Glad ND made it through the Hidalgo absence without dropping any games.

 

[DallasDomer]

It took ND the first quarter to get rolling against Boston College at the Conte Forum but the game ended ND 89- BC 63. Several McGraws Bench folks attended the game and had difficulty and delays in getting there, so if you go allow lots of time along with new shock absorbers.

No surprise that Hidalgo led the scoring with 23. Apparently Westbeld drew the ire of the refs with 4 fouls in under 20 minutes. You'd have to watch the replay to decide for yourself. I thought the last foul was imaginary but...


I did go through and watched the four fouls they called on Westbeld at
2:52 in 2q
7:47 in 3q
6:37 in 3q
9:26 in 4q

There's nothing to do about it but the second and fourth fouls didn't happen. Somehow she and Coach Ivey need to find ways to avoid those calls or she isn't going to be in when she's needed. Very sad state of the women's refs in general.

 

[cancontent]

This should be cool when it comes out.

 

[DallasDomer]

It took ND the first quarter to get rolling against Boston College at the Conte Forum but the game ended ND 89- BC 63. Several McGraws Bench folks attended the game and had difficulty and delays in getting there, so if you go allow lots of time along with new shock absorbers.

No surprise that Hidalgo led the scoring with 23. Apparently Westbeld drew the ire of the refs with 4 fouls in under 20 minutes. You'd have to watch the replay to decide for yourself. I thought the last foul was imaginary but...


I did go through and watched the four fouls they called on Westbeld at
2:52 in 2q
7:47 in 3q
6:37 in 3q
9:26 in 4q

There's nothing to do about it but the second and fourth fouls didn't happen. Somehow she and Coach Ivey need to find ways to avoid those calls or she isn't going to be in when she's needed. Very sad state of the women's refs in general.

I've been told that ND has requested an official scorer review of this game. It showed Hidalgo with 1 steal but if you watch there are at least 3 probably 5 steals by Hannah.

What is going on with the officials?

 

[DallasDomer]

Another Notre Dame win over Louisville and another ND player elbowed in the nose on a flagrant foul. Does Walz teach how to do these things or does he recruit for players that swing elbows?

Liatu King was the victim this time, she had a double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds before the flagrant foul by Nyla Harris and you know it was bad because their home crowd didn't complain. Unfortunately I'd guess King will sit out the Stanford game and then use a face mask until the damage heals. Final was ND 89 L 71, Hidalgo had 34. Actually ND played terribly but they often do in that arena.

Notre Dame 89-71 Louisville (Feb 2, 2025) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Louisville Cardinals NCAAW game from February 2, 2025 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

 

[cancontent]

Another Notre Dame win over Louisville and another ND player elbowed in the nose on a flagrant foul. Does Walz teach how to do these things or does he recruit for players that swing elbows?

Liatu King was the victim this time, she had a double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds before the flagrant foul by Nyla Harris and you know it was bad because their home crowd didn't complain. Unfortunately I'd guess King will sit out the Stanford game and then use a face mask until the damage heals. Final was ND 89 L 71, Hidalgo had 34. Actually ND played terribly but they often do in that arena.

Notre Dame 89-71 Louisville (Feb 2, 2025) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Louisville Cardinals NCAAW game from February 2, 2025 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

And we're going to gloss over Karlen's clamping that earned an upgrade? Harris is lucky her shoulder wasn't dislocated. Neither play should have happened.

 

[Dillon77]

And we're going to gloss over Karlen's clamping that earned an upgrade? Harris is lucky her shoulder wasn't dislocated. Neither play should have happened.

@DallasDomer

I was playing in my Sunday morning hoops get-together and took a back-handed slap to my upper cheek, just under my eye.
Pretty usual for us plodding former wings now masquerading as power forwards. Wasn't intentional, but it stung for a bit and was most certainly a foul.

Only saw one replay for Karlen's play and couldn't really tell if it was intentional. Still it was a foul and almost resulted in harm (the Louisville player, lucikily, was able to return). And while I'm not sure Harris was going for the knockout swing with her elbow, it really wasn't necessary to do (she had the rebound), so she deserved the escalation, too.

There is bad blood between Louisville and Notre Dame. Remember, this was the first time Olivia Miles was playing on the court since she suffered an ACL tear. Tensions are always a bit high and were running under the surface today, even if no one would admit it.

ND usually doesn't play that well at the KFC Yum Center. Ironically, the best half of basketball they've ever played there was after Miles was injured and Sonia Citron had her first St. Soni performance, leading the Irish to the regular season ACC title.

But this game today was really sloppy. As Rebecca Lobo said: Who are these people dressed in the Irish uniforms?
But they were fine once King played again in the third quarter (until she was knocked out) and most importantly, Hidalgo either scored or assisted on 24 of the Irish 26 points in the late third, early fourth. When she gets like that, it's Hidalgo's world and everyone is just part of it. But she's playing within her team's constructs: when she jumped up and down for Cass Prosper to pass to Maddy Westbeld to take advantage of a size advantage, it showed me how in tune she is with the Irish O. The fact that Prosper then passed it to Hidalgo shows how much the players rely on her in crunch time. And she delivers.

 

[DallasDomer]

And we're going to gloss over Karlen's clamping that earned an upgrade? Harris is lucky her shoulder wasn't dislocated. Neither play should have happened.

Neither play should have happened. I couldn't see the clamp because of the replay and Harris was apparently fine because King was still bleeding when the game was done.

Why the ACC requires these teams to play twice a year is beyond me because more times than not a player is unable to finish. This doesn't happen with any other team and it happened with McGraw and Ivey. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions but I absolutely want to stop getting anyone injured.

 

[GoChips20]

For Notre Dame to have sleepwalked through most of this game and still scored 89 is a testament to both how good this offense is and how bad Louisville’s defense is.

Betts might be the most irreplaceable player in the country, but I am fully aboard the Hidalgo train for player of the year. The announcers said today it was her fourth 30-point game of the season. To average 26 points a game and only score 30+ four times is remarkable consistency. I would love to see a UCLA/ND matchup.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I'm all in for Hannah Hidalgo for NPOY (have been since the Southern Cal game). There's something to be said for a 5'6 guard who covers the ENTIRE floor on both sides of the ball. I've never seen a player like her, and I've been watching hoops for a long time.

 

[DallasDomer]

I did think of one positive from the Louisville game, it gave ND another quad 1 win moving to 6-2. But I've no idea what that means when other teams with 3-2, and 5-2 are above ND in NET rank. So just keep winning.

 

[visitingcock]

I did think of one positive from the Louisville game, it gave ND another quad 1 win moving to 6-2. But I've no idea what that means when other teams with 3-2, and 5-2 are above ND in NET rank. So just keep winning.

Quad considerations are not a factor in the rankings. Overall SOS is considered in the computer rankings.

Quads are a factor ( but only one of several) that can be considered by the committee to deviate from the rankings. Take SCar and UCLA and assume both win out. SCar will be No.1 in the raw computer rankings largely due to SOS . The Quads would seem to Wrap it up.

But wait. Head to head is another factor. There is no standard for weighting the factors so I believe the committee would put UCLA at number one. Not that it would really matter so long as they are different “regionals.”

 

[Frankus]

I thought the referees impacted the game, calling 40 turnovers. At one point I believe they called traveling on three straight possessions. It made for an ugly game.

Jeff W as usual worked the refs the entire game. Because they can't shoot we still beat them, but I wish NI would work the refs more. There's a skill to it and Geno, Dawn and Kim all do it. This should have been a 30+ point blowout.

Perhaps- given Lville's physical style and how we often leave there beat up- Maddy and Soni just wanted to get out of there healthy, but they both played poorly. They had 9 of our 23 turnovers, 6 of our 44 rebounds and only 10 of our 89 points. Not what you'd expect out of supposedly high WNBA draft picks.

With all that said we have Hannah, who had another NPOY performance. She's going to need a heckava lot more from Soni and Maddy down the road. As I've said previously, Liatu is the best possible portal pick up we needed. She proved it again last night. I hope she's OK.

Bring on Stanford.

 

[DallasDomer]

Quad considerations are not a factor in the rankings. Overall SOS is considered in the computer rankings.

Quads are a factor ( but only one of several) that can be considered by the committee to deviate from the rankings. Take SCar and UCLA and assume both win out. SCar will be No.1 in the raw computer rankings largely due to SOS . The Quads would seem to Wrap it up.

But wait. Head to head is another factor. There is no standard for weighting the factors so I believe the committee would put UCLA at number one. Not that it would really matter so long as they are different “regionals.”

With no standard for weighting the factors then I don't understand why the NET rankings changed to move ND up one. If head to head is important why is ND behind UConn, Texas, and until today Southern Cal.

I'm not expecting answers, I doubt I will be comfortable with the NET and what it means, so just keep winning.

 

[visitingcock]

With no standard for weighting the factors then I don't understand why the NET rankings changed to move ND up one. If head to head is important why is ND behind UConn, Texas, and until today Southern Cal.

I'm not expecting answers, I doubt I will be comfortable with the NET and what it means, so just keep winning.

I was not clear enough. There are the ratings. there are hundreds of thousands of factors that go into the daily generated computer ratings. .lIt’s a whole lot of data - that changes ever day, The ratings are derived from an algorithm that is programmed to weigh many different considerations in formulaic way. They are weighted in the algorithm objectively. Why was Notre dame behind Texas and UConn? There can be many reasons. Because you lost to lower ranked Utah and TCU. Margin of victory. Comparison of your opponents to theirs. Etc etc the objective element

When I spoke of “factors,”I was speaking of a more finite set of factors that the committee can use at the end of the day for ranking teams into the final seed. These can be used subjectively or ignored and can allow for much deviation from the NET rating established by the algorithm’s ratings

 

[Dillon77]

 

[Dillon77]

Another footnote about Hidalgo's past week:

 

[Dillon77]

Mid-Season Appreciation: Hannah Hidalgo

This post might appear to be redundant, but after seeing a tidbit here, a boxscore and stat sheet there and watching the games and replays, I feel inclined to give (even more) kudos to sophomore Hannah Hidalgo of Note Dame. She is having a remarkable season on all fronts: statistically, strategically and entertainally (even if there is no such word).

To wit:
- As noted in the attached tweet above, she is the first Irish player since Jewell Loyd to go for two 30-pt. games in a row.
Importantly for the Irish, both came on the road against rivals who very much had reasons to be up for the Irish. HH helped foil both teams' efforts.

Against Louisville, she shot 12-22 from the field and 8-8 from the FT line, along with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals and gosh knows how many disruptions that led to turnovers or lousy possessions/rushed shots by Louisville.

- This performance, while slightly higher in points scored, is right in line with her season averages. As noted on television and elsewhere, this game was her fourth 30-point game of the season. To average 26 points a game and only score 30+ four times demonstrates remarkable consistency.
That helps the Irish overall knowing what HH is going to produce, game after game.

Overall, she's averaging 26.1 ppg, shooting just about 50% on the nose (175-349 overall) and 43% from three (45-106, one more attempt than Olivia Miles). She goes to the line a lot: 117 times. Luckily, she's drained 100 of them (86%), a very important source of points.
She and Olivia are both averaging 5.9 rebounds per game, with Sonia Citron at 5.3 rpg, so the guards wipe the boards. She has the second most assists on the team (72) and the most steals (75)...by far.

- Her intensity and ability to get going hard is a strategic advantage for Notre Dame, both at the start of the game and at any point during it.

I keep getting back to the words of the excellent ESPN commentator, Andraya Carter. Upon hearing Hannah say ND had to weather "the punch," Carter turned it around, saying "most teams have to weather Hannah Hidalgo---she's ND's punch." Carter noted most teams cannot simulate Hidalgo's intensity and speed in practice and she can blitz people early and often before they know what hit them. Schematic advantage -- just because of HH -- ND.

She can suddenly just turn it on. Against Louisville, what was that crazy 2nd half stat: she scored or assisted on 27 of ND's 29 points? She basically just escalated her already intense efforts, making them more efficient and, in effect, ended the game.

- She's a student of the game. Who can forget her jumping up and down on the sideline telling Cass Prosper to get the ball to Maddy Westbeld who had a size advantage over Curry? Prosper couldn't do it so threw a skip pass to Hannah, who dribbled into the lane to hit a shot-clock beating jumper. Hidalgo is a gifted individual who fits well into a team scheme.

- I really can't recall a player who does all this so consistently and it bewilders many that she's just 5'6" tall...which most die-hard fans don't even think about anymore. She truly loves the game and her team. There are not a lot of players that show their emotions like Hannah, but her enthusiasm is mostly a positive energy force for Irish teammates and fans.

- Lastly, a lot of talk recently about the value of Coach Ivey running set plays vs. an ISOapproach. In actuality, I think it's a bit more accurate to refer to what Coach Niele ivy instills as read and react, which incorporates ISO, pick and rolls/pops, etc.
For Hannah viewers, it's watch and react. And most of the times, it's with a smile.