Notre Dame’s slump continues

After watching the way the Notre Dame men’s basketball team played this past week, it’s hard to… After watching the way the Notre Dame men’s basketball team played this past week, it’s hard to believe they had a 45-game winning streak at home. As it stands now, the Irish are sitting on a two-game home losing streak. Winning streak aside, the Irish didn’t have much of a chance to stay at the top of the Big East or even in the top 25. For a team that only plays average defense and relies on one big playmaker on offense, this team survived as long as it could before other teams figured it out. Once that happened, Notre Dame looked like a kid caught with his hand in the candy jar. Other teams realized they didn’t have to focus solely on Irish star Luke Harangody, but more so on his sidekick Kyle McAlarney. McAlarney is the Robin to Harangody’s Batman. It’s not as if taking away the sharpshooting McAlarney would disarm Harangody, but teams pulled their best ‘Dr. Freeze’ imitation and locked down McAlarney on defense to render him harmless. Besides scoring 19 points against Louisville and 24 against Syracuse, McAlarney has struggled, going 4-of-14 from beyond the arc in the last two games against Connecticut and Marquette.’ The Irish are now on a four-game losing streak and, to make matters worse, they travel to play Pitt on Saturday. This team has been relying on Harangody and McAlarney to carry it thus far, but it needs more scorers moving forward. McAlarney looked like he was trying to run through water with a straitjacket on against Marquette. He needs the ball, and he needs to run off more screens. Combine that with Harangody catching the ball in the paint, and this team can turn this thing around. With the Irish fading and other teams streaking, people can now start debating whether the prediction of 10 Big East teams in the NCAA Tournament will actually come true. Looking at the potential field, the No. 1 seed contenders are Connecticut and Pitt. Streaking through are Marquette and Louisville, which both catapulted into the top 25 this week. Those four are obvious locks, while joining them as pretty safe bets are Syracuse, Villanova and Georgetown. Throw in Notre Dame, who many believe will turn it around, and that gives the Big East eight teams in the tournament. Here is where a team like West Virginia, or even Providence, can sneak in. The Mountaineers suffered a tough loss against Pitt last week 79-67. Even though it was at home, it didn’t hurt their chances too much. They’re 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference, with a big win at Georgetown. West Virginia has a home game against St. John’s before heading on its toughest six-game stretch of the season: at Louisville, at Syracuse, Providence, at Pitt, Villanova and Notre Dame. If the Mountaineers steal a win on the road against one of those tough opponents, the rest of the games are very winnable. If that happens, the Big East could get its ninth team in the NCAA Tournament come spring. The road for the Friars is a little bumpier. A win tonight against Syracuse wouldn’t hurt, neither would one at Connecticut on Saturday. But let’s be serious. The Friars then host Villanova and travel to West Virginia for the unofficial Ninth-Team Showdown in Morgantown, W.Va. Even if Providence beats West Virginia, they still need some help. Their path to the Big Dance is possible, but it says here that it is highly unlikely. Here are the awards for last week’s action: Big East Hammer on the Hardwood: Marquette is winning, and Jerel McNeal is a big reason why. The senior stepped-up to deliver 21- and 27-point games last week against DePaul and Notre Dame, respectively, while also shooting a combined 50 percent from beyond the arc. Marquette’s already-potent offense is thriving off the do-everything guard’s penetration skills. Don’t sleep on his defense either, it’s just as much a part of Marquette’s surge as their point production. Big East Cupcake: It’s hard to pick out one person when the entire team is stinking up the joint, plus, you read it here last week that he was supposed to be, ‘one of the conference’s best scorers on the front line.’ But DaJuan Summers’ point output has dropped, and the Hoyas have also dropped their last two games. The junior went a combined 5-of-22 from the field in those two losses against West Virginia and Seton Hall. Big East Matchups of the Week: Tonight isn’t bad to start with. 12 teams are in action, including Pitt travelling to Villanova in a No. 4 vs. No. 21 showdown. Then on Saturday, two big matchups highlight the schedule. The struggling Irish travel to Pitt, while Marquette hosts Georgetown. Then, a huge matchup on Monday tips-off at Freedom Hall when Louisville hosts Connecticut. Don’t miss this game, it should be an up-tempo track meet. Upset Alert: There’s something about the way this West Virginia team dismantled Georgetown that makes it easy to identify as an upset pick. It won’t happen against Louisville on Saturday, but Syracuse should be wary of an upset next Wednesday when it hosts the Mountaineers.