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Can Notre Dame beat Kentucky? Keep dreaming

Can Notre Dame beat Kentucky? Keep dreaming

CLEVELAND – Supposedly, West Virginia was going to rise up from some Appalachian hell mouth and unleash this full-court press that would leave mighty Kentucky bruised, befuddled and maybe even beaten. Or, that's what a lot of analysts said, or hoped, or wished, or something.

The press. Did you know Bob Huggins is 8-2 against John Calipari? The press. Did we mention the press?

They sounded so convincing that the West Virginia players started to believe them.

"Tomorrow they're going to be 36-1," WVU's Daxter Miles Jr. predicted.

Well, tomorrow came and Kentucky is 37-0. West Virginia is finding a country road to take them home after a 78-39 beatdown, and, really, the Mountaineers did nothing to cause shame. Even poor Daxter, who is guilty of nothing more than believing in himself.

It's just that West Virginia wasn't beating Kentucky Thursday, Friday, tomorrow … maybe ever. If the teams played 10 times, Kentucky would win 14 of them. The Mountaineers were a team that maximized itself to get to the Sweet 16.

"I thought they were the best offensive team in the country," Huggins said of Kentucky before later noting "… that's the best defensive team I think I've ever coached against."

Kentucky left the Mountaineers hanging their heads. (USA Today)
Kentucky left the Mountaineers hanging their heads. (USA Today)

That pretty much sums it up so far this season.

So with that over, how about ol' Notre Dame, which gets the Wildcats on Saturday in the Midwest Regional final here?

You ready for two days of how the Irish could, possibly, maybe, potentially beat Kentucky?

Apparently it is the job of every pundit out there to invent a scenario in which the Wildcats lose. It might be to convince themselves their job has purpose, because just saying, "Kentucky is better, it's going to win," doesn't feel like the kind of analysis that commands a paycheck.

Or maybe they are just bored, because unless you're a Kentucky fan, the Wildcats are kind of dull – not the way they play (that's actually quite exciting) but the sheer lack of drama involved in this perfect season. There were a couple of overtime games back in January, a close one at LSU in February and that one time when Georgia led for a while and …

And that's about it. Average margin of victory this season: 21.2 points.

Or, maybe – and this is Conspiracy Kentucky Fan's favorite – they all hate the Wildcats. This isn't true, but, look, you need something to get you geared up when your team just crushes everyone so easily. So, let them have it.

So, Notre Dame? Notre Dame can beat Kentucky!

Sure, if they shoot 75 percent or better from the floor for the entire game and Kentucky plays like crap and maybe leaves Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns back at the hotel.

The theory this time will center on how well the Irish shoot from the outside, and they sure do. In soundly beating Wichita State 81-70, they shot 75 percent in the second half from both the floor and behind the 3-point line.

Do that – or better – and …

Of course, the operative phrase here is against Wichita State, which is a very good team but it sure isn't Kentucky.

"Kentucky is a whole different bag of tricks with their size," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey noted.

The way Kentucky was a whole different bag of tricks for the West Virginia press than Maryland or Buffalo or 19 other teams it beat this season. Kentucky had no problem with the West Virginia press, which, in general, was only unleashed after made baskets – because Kentucky's defense was so good, West Virginia made only 13 baskets.

Even when the press was in place, the athletes of Kentucky are a whole different deal. At one point Willie Cauley-Stein brought the ball across the timeline, which is notable because Willie Cauley-Stein is 7-feet tall.

Andrew Harrison (right) and the Wildcats overpowered West Virginia to improve to 37-0. (AP)
Andrew Harrison (right) and the Wildcats overpowered West Virginia to improve to 37-0. (AP)

So whatever you thought the Mountaineers did well, they didn't do well against the Cats. Essentially, whatever you think you think about a team you shouldn't assume it carries over to when that team plays Kentucky.

Can the Irish shoot? They sure can. Are they mature and smart? Yes. Can they move the ball well and find the open man? Absolutely.

"We can spread people out," Brey said. "Our spacing has really been good."

Huggins figures spreading the Cats and making an inordinate amount of shots is the only chance.

"Because you can't score over them," Huggins noted. "You watch them on film and nobody scores around the basket."

What if Kentucky closes out on the perimeter, though, eating up that space in a single elongated step? Because the Wildcats are going to close out, and it's with an elastic-armed shot blocker? And if he fails to close out, one time, Calipari will pull him and put another guy in who will?

It's almost like Kentucky doesn't care whom it's playing. This entire NCAA tournament is about the Wildcats, and they know it.

"They're going to have to have a bad day," Huggins said.

So the focus is, "Don't have a bad day." On Tuesday, Calipari put the Cats through a full, physical two-hour practice, the kind coaches don't normally do at this time of year because of exhausted legs and the fear of injury. In this case, the players, he said, asked to keep going hard.

One of Notre Dame's big stars Thursday was Pat Connaughton, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds and is a great athlete. He plays a sort of power forward position, although he steps out for threes. He can also throw a baseball 96 miles per hour but that wasn't needed this time.

"When you have a guy like [Pat] Connaughton as your second big guy, it's a very, very difficult matchup," Brey said. "We're able to play that way because then he can go and get 10, 11 rebounds from the undersized four spot."

Connaughton is great, but "undersized" isn't such a good trait against Kentucky. He was a very difficult matchup for Wichita. For Kentucky?

"That could be a challenge on Saturday," Brey noted. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Can't blame Brey for the optimism, for the hope, for the pride, for wanting to deal with Saturday on Saturday. Mike Brey is a good man and he runs a good program and this is a really, really good team that just reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1979.

And sure they could beat Kentucky because they could shoot 75 percent … and Villanova once beat Georgetown … and wake up the echoes … and send a volley cheer on high … and though the odds be great or small … and all of that.

So get ready for two days of hearing a lot about that, about how Notre Dame can beat Kentucky, just like you heard West Virginia could beat Kentucky. Someone may even predict Kentucky will be 37-1.

Then the game will start.

"At some point," Calipari said, "you have to step into the ring. We'll lift the rope."

That's when the talking is done and Kentucky gets to have its say.

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