Tuesday NCAA basketball: Texas (3-0) vs. Notre Dame (3-0)
What should be the game of the night Tuesday in NCAA basketball is when No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Notre Dame battle in the Maui Invitational semifinals, with the winner likely to face top-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday night. Texas is a 2.5-point favorite for Tuesday’s game on WagerWeb.com.
The Irish return four starters and five of the top six players from a 25-8 team that made a third straight NCAA tournament appearance last year, and one of those five is Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody.
Notre Dame had no trouble with a rebuilding Indiana team on Monday, winning 88-50. Harangody came into the game averaging 28.5 points and 15.5 rebounds in the first two games but was held to 14. Tory Jackson led five Irish in double digits with 21 points, with Kyle McAlarney hitting six of this 3-point attempts to account for all 18 of his points.
The Longhorns, meanwhile, pretty much manhandled St. Joe’s 68-50. UT’s defense held the Hawks to 29.3 percent from the floor, and St. Joe’s never led. The Horns did have 16 turnovers, and that has been a problem even in scrimmages, coach Rick Barnes said.
Texas is led by guard A.J. Abrams, who hit his first four three-pointers and scored a game-high 17 against St. Joe’s. He is the Big 12’s top returning scorer (16.5 last season).
Down low, UT is anchored by two 6-10 post players, junior Dexter Pittman and senior Connor Atchley. Additionally, junior Damion James is 6-7 and can play on the wing or down low. He scored 14 against the Hawks, shooting 5-for-15. Texas is averaging 70.7 ppg while holding opponents to 46.3 ppg on 28.9 percent shooting from the field.
”I did watch a little bit of their first half,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said of Texas. ”They are really talented – they have Big East athletic ability that we see a lot in our league. They rebound the basketball very well and some of those guys could play for (Longhorns football coach) Mack Brown setting those screens.”
The Irish, Brey said, got ready for their Maui run with a three-games-in-three-days August trip to Ireland.
“The second game over there was Poland,” Brey said. “This ain’t Poland. These guys (Texas) are really good.”
NCAA Basketball at WagerWeb.com
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