A look at the Wichita State-Notre Dame matchups

Change of pace for WSU

Wichita State rarely gets to play up-tempo during January and February. Missouri Valley Conference opponents don’t want to run with the Shockers.

March is different and the Shockers are enjoying the change. While their tempo is ranked one of the slowest in the nation by Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistics, WSU had no problem keeping up with Indiana and Kansas, both ranked in the top 75 for pace of play. Notre Dame plays at a slower pace, but its offense is capable of impressive bursts as evidenced by a 90-82 win over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.

“We like playing fast,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “During conference, it’s going to slow down. People know what you’re running before you know what you’re running. It’s nice to play somebody else.”

WSU scored 81 points against Indiana and 78 against KU after passing 78 twice in 20 games against MVC teams and four times in non-conference play. Notre Dame, which didn’t break 70 in NCAA games against Northeastern and Butler, scored 80 or more points 18 times in the regular season and conference tournament.

“We can play just about any pace,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “People, I think, maybe underestimate the athleticism and the speed and the quickness of Tekele Cotton and Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet. We choose to grind it out defensively and guard people, so that may be the reason why our pace is a little slower.”

WSU outscored Indiana 8-0 on fast breaks and Kansas 10-2. It is easier to score when defenses are scrambling out of position and offenses can create mismatches.

“You get this deep in the tournament, everybody has good half-court defense,” VanVleet said. “I think we can get a lot of good opportunities in transition with the personnel we have.”

Notre Dame isn’t afraid of changing paces, either.

“We don’t need to score 80 points to win,” guard Jerian Grant said. “We are going to have to score some points, but just to know that we can rely on our defense will go a long way.”

Tournament tested

Notre Dame didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last season after finishing 15-17 in their first season in the ACC. Before last weekend, the Irish last won an NCAA game in 2011.

Give Wichita State the edge in tournament experience.

“They have a history of playing well in the tournament,” Grant said. “We know we’re going to get a good game against a great team.”

The Irish can rely on ACC Tournament success. They won their first conference tournament title earlier this month when it defeated Miami, Duke and North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C.

“I just like how we’ve played and our toughness,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “Our defense has been key in all five of our post-season games. I think we have great momentum.”

Notre Dame brings a five-game win streak to Cleveland, its longest since 1986-87.

Grant and Pat Connaughton returned for their senior seasons to make this kind of NCAA run. Connaughton pitched for Baltimore’s Class-A minor-league team last season. He entered professional baseball with the intention of returning to Notre Dame for basketball.

“I kind of knew the whole time in my heart I wanted to come back,” he said. “I wanted to not give up on basketball. To be able to put ourselves in position to make an even deeper run in March kind of shows the exact reasons I came back.”

Grant, an NBA prospect, also came back with the goal of playing in the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve done some good things, but we really haven’t made history,” he said. “We really haven’t left our legacy. We’re not done yet.”

Never over

Notre Dame’s offensive talents make the Irish dangerous even when down big.

▪  They trailed North Carolina 63-54 before a 26-3 run in the ACC Tournament title game. Notre Dame won 90-82.

▪  The Irish trailed Duke 65-55 wtih 10:58 to play. A 12-0 run gave Notre Dame the lead less than four minutes later. The Irish went ahead 71-70 for good and won 77-73.

▪  North Carolina State led Notre Dame 40-22 in the first half and 42-30 at halftime. The Irish forced overtime and won 81-78.

On the court

Grant played all 85 minutes in wins over Northeastern and Butler. Connaughton played 82 of the minutes.

The Irish, like Wichita State, rely heavily on their starters. They used the same lineup to start 34 of the 36 games and four of those starters average 30 or more minutes.

Brey started preparing in January.

“I have guys playing heavy minutes, so you just try to keep them fresh,” he said. “We weren’t on the floor more than an hour and 15 minutes from mid-January on.”

Worth noting

Notre Dame’s last win in the Sweet 16 came in 1979 against Toledo. … The Irish’s 31 wins are second-most in program history. The 1908-09 team went 33-7. … Notre Dame is 33-37 in 34 NCAA Tournament appearances. Brey is 8-9 as coach of the Irish. … Wichita State is 15-12 in the NCAA Tournament in 12 trips. It is 4-1 in regional semifinal games, losing to George Mason in 2006. … The series is tied 1-all. Notre Dame defeated WSU, coached by Mike Cohen, in 1990 and the Shockers won the following season. … VanVleet joined WSU’s 1,000-point club against Indiana. Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton did so earlier in the season, becoming the first trio of teammates to pass 1,000 points in the same season. Baker (1,136) needs four points to pass No. 29 Al Tate. Cotton (1,041) ranks No. 39, one spot ahead of VanVleet (1,035).

Paul Suellentrop

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "A look at the Wichita State-Notre Dame matchups."