NCAA Dance-Off: Washington State Cougars vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Yesterday was a tale of two halves for the Washington State Cougars. Up against a tough No. 13 seed in Winthrop, the No. 4 seed Cougars were struggling at the half-way point tied 29-29. Then something clicked…Wazzu tightened up on defense, started taking quality shots and, 20 minutes later, the Cougs were moving on to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 71-40 victory.

Tomorrow WSU faces the No. 5 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a team that easily dispensed of their first round opponent and last year’s Cinderella, George Mason. Game time on Saturday is scheduled for 3:40pm on CBS.

Personnel-wise, WSU and Notre Dame look very similar, but it’s the style of play that is the differentiator. WSU prefers to slow down the tempo and focus on defense, whereas as Notre Dame is going to push on the offensive side of the ball. The Irish revolve around sophomore forward Luke Harangody, the Big East Player of the Year, who averages a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) a game. From the perimeter, the Irish’s Rob Kurz and Kyle McAlarney both shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range.

The keys of the game are identical, if the Cougs keep their bigs (Aaron Baynes and Robbie Cowgill) out of foul trouble and their outside shooters (Derrick Low and Daven Harmeling) heat-up, they will advance into the Sweet 16. More importantly, Wazzu should focus on controlling tempo, as a high-scoring contest will favor the Irish. The maturity of WSU is the difference-maker against Notre Dame, and they'll set a date to dance next week.

Photo of the "fighting irish" courtesy of Flickr user gracephotography