Harangody leads Irish to much-needed win over Louisville

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/12/2009 - South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Harangody posted a season-high 32 points and tied a career-high with 17 rebounds, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended their seven-game losing streak with a 90-57 rout of fifth-ranked Louisville.

Harangody was 14-of-21 from the field overall for Notre Dame (13-10, 4-7 Big East), which won for the first time since a January 10 victory over Seton Hall. Kyle McAlarney added 21 points, while Ryan Ayers had 19 points in the dominant win.

The key to the game was the Irish's tenacity on the boards, outrebounding Louisville, 48-28, overall.

Earl Clark had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Louisville (18-5, 9-2), which has dropped two of three after a nine-game winning streak. Samardo Samuels was the only other Cardinals player in double-figures with 10, as the visitors shot just 37.9 percent from the field in the lopsided loss.

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino suffered his worst loss since taking over for the Cardinals in 2001.

The Irish got off to an early lead, as McAlarney's floater put the hosts up, 13-4, 6 1/2 minutes into the game.

Notre Dame led by as many as 13 early, as Louisville started just 1-for-15 from the field. A three-pointer from Ayers gave the Irish a 24-11 lead with 7:30 left in the half.

McAlarney went 1-of-2 from the line with 3 1/2 minutes to go for a 30-16 edge, and Notre Dame led, 37-19, at halftime.

Harangody and Notre Dame picked up right where they left off to start the second half, taking a 44-22 lead after the forward hit two consecutive buckets in the first two minutes.

The Irish cruised to the victory from there.

Game Notes

The teams split the season series, 1-1...Louisville still leads the all-time series, 15-9...Thursday marked Notre Dame's first home win since its 45-game home win streak was snapped by Connecticut earlier in the season. The Irish had lost their last two as the host...Louisville suffered its first loss in true road contests this season, having come in to the game 5-0...Notre Dame shot 53.8 percent overall, including 10-of-18 from long distance...Harangody's career-high in points is 40, coming last season in a loss to Louisville on February 28...Tory Jackson had 14 points for the Irish.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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