NCAA hopes depend not on Irish wins, but others' losses
Kathleen O'Brien, Assistant Sports Editor
The ball rolled out of Notre Dame's hands Thursday, and into those of the NCAA tournament selection committee.
The Irish fell on the outs of the Big East Tournament with their 61-58 nail-biter loss to the Miami Hurricanes. The defeat leaves the Irish without a chance to impress the selection committee before NCAA tournament seedings are announced Sunday.
"Throughout the whole year, we always had the ability to play in the tournament, and it was nice," sophomore forward Troy Murphy said. "And now it's not in our hands. We have to go back to the hotel and root against certain teams and hope that they don't do as well. It's not as comfortable as knowing you can do something yourselves."
Murphy, this year's Big East player of the year, scored 15 points and powered his way to 16 rebounds in Notre Dame's loss Thursday. But he missed the go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
"I hit that shot, and that could be another win, and that could separate us from another team in the tournament," Murphy said. "It's tough to think that that shot could either put you in the NCAA or the NIT."
Now 18-14 on the season, the Irish are teetering in a tenuous position. No team has ever received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with 14 losses.
However, Notre Dame also defeated five ranked opponents, as many as any team in the nation besides Arizona. The blue and gold add a slew of close losses to their resume: a two-point loss to No. 9 Syracuse, overtime defeats at the hands of Indiana and Vanderbilt, and a pair of three-point losses to co-Big East regular season champion Miami.
If Notre Dame winds up on the outside looking in, it won't be the close losses to tourney-bound teams that come back to haunt it. Instead, the Irish will be wishing they hadn't blown games against lesser opponents such as Miami (Ohio), Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Providence. Closing the regular season 5-6 against Top-25 teams is understandable. Dropping a late-season home game to Providence is unacceptable.
"No disrespect to Providence, but that was a game we'd like to have back," Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty said. "At Miami, a three-point game. They're the 23rd-ranked team in the country. Then we play Syracuse, a two-point game. They're the No. 9 team in the country. Then we beat Georgetown and they beat Syracuse. So we're a pretty good team."
Notre Dame's tournament chances probably hinge on the fate of other bubble teams in their conference tournaments this week. The Big East is likely to receive six slots in the NCAA tournament, but could conceivably snag seven if the pieces fall the right way.
Syracuse, Miami, St. John's, Connecticut and Seton Hall have virtually assured themselves invitations to March Madness by reaching the 20-win plateau.
Villanova and Notre Dame, however, remain very much on the bubble. The Wildcats, like the Irish lost in the quarterfinals last night. The Wildcats fell by five points to third-seeded St. John's. With a 19-11 record, Villanova has more wins than Notre Dame, but unlike Notre Dame, failed to finish off a single ranked team this season.
Notre Dame also needs to hope for poor performances by teams on the outer edge of NCAA tournament chances. Any unexpected upsets in conference tourneys across the nation could send a Cinderella team to March Madness and send the Irish to the NIT. An upset like St. Louis's 68-58 win over No. 1 Cincinnati Thursday could crunch the Irish out of contention if the Billikens (17-13) make a run at the Conference USA tournament championship.
If selected for the NCAA tourney, Notre Dame will fulfill a dream that's been 10 years in the making. The Irish haven't gone to the Big Dance since John MacLeod's first year as head coach in 1989-90, when they were knocked out in the first round. MacLeod left South Bend after last season, opening the door to Doherty's first season at the helm. Notre Dame's No. 1 goal throughout the season has been to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
"Whatever our fate is on Sunday," sophomore David Graves said, "I'm willing to take it. And whether it's in the NIT, we're going to make a run for it, or whether it's in the NCAA, we're going to make a run."
With no more basketball left to play before Selection Sunday, the Irish's fate hangs in the balance.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Friday, March 10, 2000
