Getting Offensive

After a crushing road loss to Marquette 92-66 on January 12, there was concern that Notre Dame might be a two-man offensive team.

Through three conference games the Irish had relied -- quite heavily -- on either Luke Harangody or Kyle McAlarney for scoring. Harangody scored 29 points against West Virginia and Marquette, while Kyle McAlarney tallied a 32 versus Connecticut. No other Irish player contributed more than 14 points.

Since that Marquette defeat Notre Dame has steadily improved in all aspects of basketball. But there has been no bigger improvement than on the offensive end, where the Irish now have a number of guys who can contribute on any given night.

That improvement was on display Saturday afternoon. Nearly a month after the debacle in Wisconsin, Notre Dame placed five players in double figure scoring en route to upending the Golden Eagles 86-83 to extent the home streak to 34.

Head coach Mike Brey has been criticized for not developing players during his time in South Bend. Whether fair or not (probably somewhere in between), he certainly has done an admirable job with developing this year's squad. Harangody has emerged as the favorite to win Big East Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. McAlarney is the Big East conference 3-point shooting leader. Compared to last season Tory Jackson has upped his assists per game average by nearly two, his rebounding by two and scoring by more than one. Zach Hillesland has taken over the starting role and thrived in his 22 minutes per game, averaging six points and five rebounds. Ryan Ayers is shooting nearly 48% on 3-point attempts after making just 37.5% last season.

Finally, Brey has developed two key bench players in Luke Zeller and Peoples. Both players have maximized their limited roles. Zeller averages five points and 2.5 rebounds in just 12.5 minutes per game, while Peoples adds four points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.

Against Marquette the improved scoring distribution was evident from the opening tip. Harangody didn't score until the 6:20 mark in the first half, yet the Irish still lead 31-23. For the game Harangody and McAlarney combined for only 30 points and flu-ridden Rob Kurz added just five. But Jackson dropped 14 points, Zeller came off the bench to score 11, including a couple big 3-pointers and Hillesland paced the Irish early in the first half en route to tallying 10. Add in Ayers nine and Peoples seven and the Irish finished with a solid 86-point performance.

It's been clear that this is Brey's best defensive team from the season's start. They have shown an ability to play tough, aggressive defense without being out of control or getting into foul trouble. This is also Brey's best rebounding team as they are 8th in the nation in rebounding margin.

But several games into conference play the offensive effectiveness seemed directly connected to the success of Harangody and McAlarney. That's no longer the case as the Irish receive more contributions from all eight guys in the rotation and now lead the conference in scoring.

At 8-2 Notre Dame is off to its best start ever in the Big East. Compared to the rest of the Big East the Irish are no. 1 in scoring, no. 1 in rebounding margin and no. 1 in assists. The team has a respectable 2-2 record in true road games and is undefeated at the JACC.

The remaining schedule will be challenging, but manageable. The Irish have four games against sub-par opponents: at Rutgers, at DePaul, St. John's and at South Florida. Those four teams own losing overall records and three are in the bottom three of the conference standings. Road games are never gimmes -- three of these games are away from the JACC -- but Notre Dame should handle all four of those teams.

That leaves the following games: at Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and at Louisville. The road games will be exceptionally difficult. Connecticut has won six straight conference games and will be seeking revenge from its early-season loss to Notre Dame. Louisville just handled Georgetown at home and has everyone finally healthy.

Squeezing a road win versus Connecticut or Louisville would do wonders for the Irish come Selection Sunday when seeds are distributed. But even if the Irish simply defend their home court and split these four games, they will finish 24-6 and 14-4 in the conference.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh are both good teams and easily could beat the Irish, but the home court advantage looms large in both these matchups against younger teams.

It's too early to speculate on what seeding Notre Dame will receive for the NCAA Tournament. Nor is it safe to bank on the Irish finishing the regular season at 6-2 or even 5-3. The Big East is considered one of the country's conferences for a reason and all remaining games will be difficult.

But Notre Dame has certainly put itself in great position to earn a favorable seed and, perhaps, make a run deep into March.