Can the Notre Dame Fighting Irish knock off Kentucky?

By Evan Massey | Mar 22, 2015

Mar 21, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard/forward Pat Connaughton (24) celebrates after defeating the Butler Bulldogs 67-64 in overtime in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Consol Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Can the Notre Dame Fighting Irish find a way to knock off the Kentucky Wildcats assuming both teams advance to the Elite Eight?

The Kentucky Wildcats remained unbeaten yesterday after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats, but there is one team in their region of the NCAA Tournament bracket that is very intriguing. Notre Dame survived a scare against the Butler Bulldogs last night themselves, and will face one more game before a potential matchup with the Wildcats in the Elite Eight.

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If both teams do win their next game, can the Irish knock off Kentucky and hand them their first loss of the season?

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has done an amazing job with his team this season, and coached an impressive game againstButler despite losing his mother the same morning. Coaching is one of the most underrated aspects of basketball, and the Irish are one of the best coached teams in the country. He knows how to motivate his team, keep them calm and most importantly put every player in a position for them to succeed.

Kentucky has superstar names, and their roster is full of future NBA players. Matching up with the height that the Wildcats have in Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Karl-Anthony Towns is going to be the biggest difficult for the Irish.

I'm not saying Notre Dame could beat Kentucky in the Midwest Region final, but... no, wait. That is what I'm saying - http://t.co/iTy8CPcyDY
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) March 17, 2015

Zach Auguste is going to have his hands full on the defensive side of the basketball moving around between all three of those guys. He cannot afford to get in foul trouble, as he is the only player on Notre Dame’s roster above 6’9″ and is the only player athletic enough in the front-court to defend them. It isn’t going to be easy for the Irish, but they will simply have to find ways to force difficult shots.

One thing that the Irish do have going for them is their team defense. They have a lot of guys who understand how to help, and can at least make shots difficult and contested. Obviously the Wildcats are going to have a major advantage in the post, but Notre Dame feeds off of their guard play anyway.

Needless to say, Notre Dame is going to need Pat Connaughton to step up in a big way if these teams do match up. Kentucky has given up 74.9 points per game this season, and Notre Dame needs to use the three-point shot to up that number. Connaughton is a deadly shooter, and will need to have a huge game for the Irish to come away with a win.

Another major key for the Irish is the play of sophomore guard Steve Vasturia. At 6’5″ he is a very long defensive specialist, but he showed the ability to score the ball at a high level against Butler with 20 points. His shooting percentages are high as well, and he will help stretch the floor out with a 40.9 percent shooting rate from behind the arc.

Point guard Demetrius Jackson is going to be asked to play top-notch basketball on both sides of the floor. Jackson averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists per game this season, but his defense is extremely underrated. His lateral quickness allows him to stay tight to his man defensively, and he is going to need to get into the heads of Kentucky’s young guards.

Last but definitely not least, Jerian Grant is an offensive threat the Wildcats may not be able to defend against. He has averaged 16.8 points, 6.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game this season as a senior. Those numbers show his NBA capability, and he is going to be very difficult for Kentucky’s defense to guard.

All season long the Irish have been the type of team that believes in themselves, and believes that they can beat any team in the country. That is going to be put to the test if they do end up facing Kentucky, but they have the roster to make something happen.

John Calipari and the Wildcats are definitely better on paper, but the Irish have faced tough teams and prevailed this season. Looking at one team in particular that Notre Dame has defeated twice, is the Duke Blue Devils who have a very similar size and athleticism advantage that Kentucky will have.

So to answer the question very quickly and simply, the answer is that the Irish can definitely knock off the Wildcats. It isn’t going to be easy and it is going to take 100 percent effort from the entire game for 40 minutes and possibly an overtime period or two, but Brey and his Fighting Irish can make it happen and shock the world. Notre Dame has a ton of talent on the court, and it doesn’t hurt anything that they might have the luck of the Irish as well.

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