Preview: 3 Notre Dame vs. 14 Northeastern

#3 – Notre Dame

What a season the Fighting Irish have had, shooting up the polls and checking in at 24-5, 12-4 in the ACC with a #9 national ranking heading into the NCAA tournament. Mike Brey is no stranger to playing a tough conference schedule and with three victories over top 25 schools, Notre Dame finished third in the ACC ahead of perennial powers Louisville, North Carolina and Syracuse (although on a down year). The catalyst of this surge has been the play of senior, do it all point guard Jerian Grant. Grant has played big minutes since arriving on campus and at 36.4 MPG he pulls most of the string on the court. Gritty with an ability to score inside and out, Grant fills the stat sheet to the tune of 16.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 6.6 APG and 1.8 SPG. Joining him are three other players averaging over 30 MPG. Keys to the Irish’s play have centered around the nation’s most efficient overall and halfcourt offenses. Notre Dame scores 1.079 PPP and more specifically 1.056 PPP in the half court. Simply put they know when to push the pace, and they know how to execute when they don’t have numbers (79.1 PPG). Where they struggle is defending in transition (1.075 PPP) and when the game opens up they are prone to allowing points in bunches. Look for opposing teams to try and get Grant into foul trouble, push the tempo to tire out starters and pound it down low against marginal post defense. All of the above looks good on paper, but is easier said than done so don’t be surprised if Notre Dame plays well into the second weekend of March Madness.

– Cody Toppert

#14 – Northeastern

Northeastern is fresh off its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament championship, guaranteeing their first bid to the NCAA tournament since 1991. Relative to their strength of schedule, NU is undefeated when scoring 70 points or more this year. They are also undefeated when knocking down 50 percent of their field goal attempts. Northeastern actually finished tied for the regular-season title and their three-day run through the CAA tournament concluded by taking out top-seed William and Mary in the title game. The Huskies converted 12-of-20 from behind the arc against W&M. Those type of outside shooting clinics are what the underdog teams need in the big dance to pull off a surprising upset. NU is paced by three guys who average double figures, Scott Eatherton (1,500 career points), David Walker and Quincy Ford (CAA tournament MVP).

– Dan Barto

Who Wins?

Yannis Koutroupis: Notre Dame wins

Cody Toppert: Notre Dame wins

Dan Barto: Notre Dame wins

Dan Barto has been with the IMG Academy basketball program since 2003. Prior to becoming the Head Skills Trainer, Barto was the IMG Academy basketball program’s Developmental Head Coach. Dan has trained over 100 current or former NBA players and coached over 40 Division I players. You can follow IMG on Twitter @IMGAcademy or on Facebook here.

Cody Toppert is a former standout player at Cornell University (one of the top three-point shooters in Ivy League history), who played eight years professionally (NBA D-League, Spain, Italy, Germany) and now serves as the Director of Basketball Development at ELEV|8 Sports Institute (Ganon Baker Basketball Academy). He trains professional players (five 2015 NBA Draftees) and coaches prep schoolers for Ganon Baker’s nationally ranked prep school program. Toppert also serves as a contributing writer for FastModel Sports. You can follow Cody and ELEV|8 on social media @Topp33 and @E8hoops.