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Best and Worst from the Legends Classic
With a 70-66 comeback win over Northwestern on Tuesday evening, Notre Dame captured this year’s Legends Classic. Below is a look at the best and worst from the tournament:
TEAM THAT EXCELLED: NOTRE DAME
Even though Notre Dame has been to back-to-back Elite Eights, the Irish were somewhat of a forgotten team entering the new season. They graduated top scorers Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste, raising questions whether new leaders would emerge. Notre Dame won’t be overlooked much longer after two strong games in New York. The Irish dispatched of Colorado in the semifinals and rallied to edge Northwestern in the title game, serving notice that they’ll contend for an NCAA tournament bid once again this year. The revelation the past two days was the performance of new point guard Matt Farrell, who averaged a mere 2.6 points per game last season. Farrell tallied a combined 38 points, 12 assists and one turnover and made the biggest play of the tournament, a go-ahead 3-point play in the final minute of Tuesday’s title game. No Jackson, no problem so far for Notre Dame. We’ll see if that continues.
TEAM THAT GOT EXPOSED: TEXAS
The notion that Texas could lose six key players without missing a beat now seems a little far-fetched. The 22nd-ranked Longhorns looked ragged and unprepared in back-to-back one-sided losses against Colorado and Northwestern. It’s standout point guard Isaiah Taylor who so far has proven most difficult for Texas to replace. The Longhorns don’t really have a classic point guard on their roster, a huge reason they tallied 26 turnovers and 10 assists in two games in New York. What Texas desperately needs is for heralded freshman guard Andrew Jones to figure things out quickly and emerge as a capable playmaker at point guard. The return of Mareik Isom could also help as the 6-foot-9 graduate transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock is capable of of stretching the floor with his outside shooting, opening up driving lanes for the Longhorns guards.
PLAYER WHO SHINED IN THE SPOTLIGHT: COLORADO’S DERRICK WHITE
Word out of Colorado last winter was that White was already Colorado’s top guard even during his mandatory redshirt year. Now we’re seeing why the Buffs are so high on the Division II transfer. White scored 20 points and dished out nine assists in an 89-83 semifinal loss to Notre Dame and then tallied 16 more points in a 68-54 victory over Texas in the third-place game. It was a heck of a two days for a kid whose college career began at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs because no Division I coaches showed any interest in him. White is Colorado’s leading scorer and top distributor through five games, averaging 14.4 points and 4.3 assists and shooting over 50 percent from the field. He’s a huge reason Colorado is off to a solid 4-1 start and appears capable of contending for an NCAA tournament bid for the fifth time in six years.
PLAYERS WHO SHRANK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NATHAN TAPHORN AND BRYANT MCINTOSH
They pushed Butler to the final seconds last week at Hinkle Fieldhouse. They upset Texas in Monday’s semifinals. They led Notre Dame by six late in Tuesday’s title game. Northwestern seemed to be on the verge of building an NCAA tournament-caliber non-conference resume until the Wildcats imploded in heartbreaking yet fitting fashion against the Irish. They scored just two points in the game’s final six-plus minutes en route to a 70-66 loss. It was Taphorn who played the biggest role in Northwestern’s collapse. He threw the ball away on an inbound pass with 20 seconds left and the Wildcats leading by one. Then he was late rotating over and fouled Matt Farrell on his twisting go-ahead 3-point play. Northwestern might have been safely ahead by then if its best player had a more efficient game. Junior Bryant McIntosh sank only 3 of 18 shots and finished with seven points, less than half his season average.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
