The Rainmakers

The way to beat the 2-3 zone defense is to shoot well from the perimeter. Kyle McAlarney and Notre Dame proved that true Sunday afternoon.

McAlarney broke a school record with nine made 3s and the Irish finished 14-of-25 from beyond the arc to hold off a pesky Syracuse squad 94-87 at the Joyce Center. It is Notre Dame's 36th straight home victory and 17th against Big East opponents.

The Irish uncharacteristically struggled on the boards, allowing the Orange 19 second chance points, a 24 to 4 offensive rebounding advantage and a 51 to 33 total rebounding advantage which kept Syracuse in the game. Notre Dame also missed some key free throws down the stretch despite being the best free throw shooting team in the conference.

Jim Boeheim's strategy was clear from the opening tip: stop Luke Harangody and force other Irish players to beat you. While Harangody did finish with 14 points and 14 rebounds, he was not near as effective as usual thanks to constant double teams by Arinze Onuaku and either Paul Harris or Kristof Ongenaet. Instead of relying on Harangody, the rest of the Irish -- led by McAlarney -- made Syracuse pay with deadly 3-point shooting.

Notre Dame's 3-point shooting success was a result of hot shooting and open looks. The Irish created excellent ball movement on many offensive trips which allowed open 3-point shots from all over the court. Syracuse also allowed too much space between defender and shooter on the perimeter. And it helped that McAlarney was chucking in utterly ridiculous shots, whether he was five feet behind the line or off a catch-and-shoot in the corner of the floor.

Zach Hillesland had an efficient game, making all three of his shots and dishing out six assists in just 24 minutes. He also had a crucial block late in the game. Ryan Ayers, Rob Kurz and Tory Jackson all reached double figures in scoring, while Jonathan Peoples added seven points in just 11 first half minutes. One question I'd ask Brey after the game is why he didn't play Peoples more in the second half?

Winning aside, this isn't the type of game Notre Dame wants to play Thursday when they gface a tough, defensive-minded Louisville team. The Irish were pushed and bullied in the paint, and nearly allowed Syracuse to win the game thanks to terrible rebounding. The Irish have succeeded this season in large part because they've played admirable defense and beaten teams on the boards. But today they did neither of those things as well as they're capable. The defense was very good at times, but also had problems with Syracuse's speed and athleticism. The rebounding, as mentioned several times here, was horrendous. You get beat by 20 on the offensive glass and you're losing more times than not. The Irish were fortunate their poor rebounding occurred on a game where McAlarney shot almost 90% from 3. If McAlarney has just a good game, Notre Dame could easily have lost.

Thursday is the biggest game in Notre Dame's Big East history. Win, and the Irish are almost certainly assured of earning co-champion accolades in the conference for the first time ever. Win, and the Irish beat one of the hottest teams in the country. Win, and Notre Dame can realistically think of having a legitimate chance at the Elite 8 or Final Four.

A win against a very good Louisville team on the road in a hostile environment would be incredible. This team has come a long way since blowing late leads in back-to-back games in the Virgin Islands last November. They've drastically improved individually and as a whole. And they seem to be peaking at the right time as the conference and national tournaments loom on the horizon.

But there's still questions surrounding just where this team's ceiling lies. By late Thursday evening we'll have a much better answer to that question.