ND, 'Nova Take Different Paths To Titles
April 4, 2018 at 3:55 p.m.
By Roger Grossman-
I realized as I watched the ball fly high toward the scoreboard at the Alamodome that the Irish and Wildcats could not have been any more different in their championship feeling.
For Notre Dame, training began last fall with hopes of returning to the Final Four in Columbus. A bright, young recruiting class matched with returning talent and experience had Coach Muffet McGraw and Irish eyes everywhere smiling in anticipation.
And then, almost immediately, those players started dropping like flies.
Four major knee injuries hit the Irish and left McGraw with only seven scholarshipped players on her roster. Now think about that for a second – seven players means you have one backup guard and one backup post and that’s it.
Teams that had been relegated to just taking their lumps from the Irish in recent years were now lining up to serve a dose of revenge back on them.
And a couple of them did.
But in every life, in every game and in every season, there is a moment that can be pointed to as the “defining moment” – a moment that may come early, in the middle or late that determines whether the path taken is one to victory and success, or not.
For Notre Dame, that moment came in Louisville on January 11.
That night at the Yum Center, a short-handed Irish squad was no match for a Cardinal squad hungry to be mentioned along with Connecticut, South Carolina and Notre Dame among the nation’s elite. An early Louisville lead grew and grew and there seemed to be no response coming from an Irish team that looked ready to fold up its tents and take a long walk home.
When that night was over, the scoreboard read LOUISVILLE 100- NOTRE DAME 67.
The Irish players had the ride home to decide what was going to happen next.
They had two choices: admit that the injuries were just too much for them to overcome and the season would be written off as a lost one, or they could plant their flag and make a stand.
They chose to fight.
They went on to win the remaining 12 games on their regular season schedule and their first two ACC Tournament games. That put them into the title game, and waiting for them was Louisville.
The Cardinals stood, arms folded, and basically said ‘You want another whoopin?’”
The Irish did not retreat.
Louisville won the game and the ACC at-large bid, but not by 33. Heck, not even by double-digits. The final score was 74-72, but Notre Dame walked out of the arena that night with full confidence that it was ready to make another NCAA tournament run.
As a somewhat surprising No. 1 seed in the West Region, they made it to the Final Four where they slayed unbeaten giant Connecticut just before the buzzer in overtime and then took down Mississippi State with the least amount of time possible left on the clock.
Their feeling was that of joy and unexpected jubilation.
Contrast that with what Villanova did this season.
Coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats also had championship aspirations at the beginning of the season, but with rare exception they lived up to that billing.
They were ranked No. 1 for a good chunk of the college basketball season and they did it in a way that made you believe that they were going to be a really tough out in the NCAA Tournament.
While highly seeded teams fell by the wayside so often in the first two weekends of March Madness, ‘Nova plowed through their first four games on the road to San Antonio like Sherman marched his Union army through the South during the Civil War.
Decisive. Impressive. Forceful.
They did it with great skill and cohesion. They worked together and you could tell they wanted to succeed for each other. Their shooting skills matched their athletic ability, and any weak moments they may have had were quickly covered over by their strengths.
They were the best team in the country, and they deserve to be the national champs. You may want to argue that Virginia or Xavier, or someone else, was better, but when the heat of March was applied Villanova had no equal.
Their feeling was one of relief mixed in with joy. They had weathered the storm of expectation.
Notre Dame and Villanova are very different teams with very different paths to championships, but they both are worthy to be called champions just the same.
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I realized as I watched the ball fly high toward the scoreboard at the Alamodome that the Irish and Wildcats could not have been any more different in their championship feeling.
For Notre Dame, training began last fall with hopes of returning to the Final Four in Columbus. A bright, young recruiting class matched with returning talent and experience had Coach Muffet McGraw and Irish eyes everywhere smiling in anticipation.
And then, almost immediately, those players started dropping like flies.
Four major knee injuries hit the Irish and left McGraw with only seven scholarshipped players on her roster. Now think about that for a second – seven players means you have one backup guard and one backup post and that’s it.
Teams that had been relegated to just taking their lumps from the Irish in recent years were now lining up to serve a dose of revenge back on them.
And a couple of them did.
But in every life, in every game and in every season, there is a moment that can be pointed to as the “defining moment” – a moment that may come early, in the middle or late that determines whether the path taken is one to victory and success, or not.
For Notre Dame, that moment came in Louisville on January 11.
That night at the Yum Center, a short-handed Irish squad was no match for a Cardinal squad hungry to be mentioned along with Connecticut, South Carolina and Notre Dame among the nation’s elite. An early Louisville lead grew and grew and there seemed to be no response coming from an Irish team that looked ready to fold up its tents and take a long walk home.
When that night was over, the scoreboard read LOUISVILLE 100- NOTRE DAME 67.
The Irish players had the ride home to decide what was going to happen next.
They had two choices: admit that the injuries were just too much for them to overcome and the season would be written off as a lost one, or they could plant their flag and make a stand.
They chose to fight.
They went on to win the remaining 12 games on their regular season schedule and their first two ACC Tournament games. That put them into the title game, and waiting for them was Louisville.
The Cardinals stood, arms folded, and basically said ‘You want another whoopin?’”
The Irish did not retreat.
Louisville won the game and the ACC at-large bid, but not by 33. Heck, not even by double-digits. The final score was 74-72, but Notre Dame walked out of the arena that night with full confidence that it was ready to make another NCAA tournament run.
As a somewhat surprising No. 1 seed in the West Region, they made it to the Final Four where they slayed unbeaten giant Connecticut just before the buzzer in overtime and then took down Mississippi State with the least amount of time possible left on the clock.
Their feeling was that of joy and unexpected jubilation.
Contrast that with what Villanova did this season.
Coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats also had championship aspirations at the beginning of the season, but with rare exception they lived up to that billing.
They were ranked No. 1 for a good chunk of the college basketball season and they did it in a way that made you believe that they were going to be a really tough out in the NCAA Tournament.
While highly seeded teams fell by the wayside so often in the first two weekends of March Madness, ‘Nova plowed through their first four games on the road to San Antonio like Sherman marched his Union army through the South during the Civil War.
Decisive. Impressive. Forceful.
They did it with great skill and cohesion. They worked together and you could tell they wanted to succeed for each other. Their shooting skills matched their athletic ability, and any weak moments they may have had were quickly covered over by their strengths.
They were the best team in the country, and they deserve to be the national champs. You may want to argue that Virginia or Xavier, or someone else, was better, but when the heat of March was applied Villanova had no equal.
Their feeling was one of relief mixed in with joy. They had weathered the storm of expectation.
Notre Dame and Villanova are very different teams with very different paths to championships, but they both are worthy to be called champions just the same.
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