We resume our tournament with a matchup between two teams who have produced solid NBA talent throughout their histories. One has produced a scrappy bunch of glue guys surrounding their bruising, brilliant center. The other has produced high scoring talent that often disregarded the defensive side of the floor. The matchup between the NBA Louisville Cardinals vs. NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish is a contrast of styles, and the result will depend on the factors highlighted below. (NOTE: 2020 matchup and result update listed below)
Key Matchups
Wes Unseld vs. Notre Dame’s shooting big men – All of Notre Dame’s centers had a penchant for playing on the perimeter on offense, and providing a credible threat from long range. Wes Unseld was not a traditional shot-blocking big; he was short, sturdy, and most effective playing post defense. He may be a little lost trying to defend Bill Laimbeer and Troy Murphy out to the three-point line. On the other end of the floor, Unseld was not a scorer; Laimbeer and Murphy will be tasked with putting a body on him and keeping him off the boards. They’re well equipped to do so; Laimbeer and Murphy’s career rebound percentages were 16.7% and 15.7%, respectively, while Unseld’s was 18.0%, suggesting they should be able to at least compete.
Adrian Dantley vs. Louisville’s wings – How do you stop Adrian Dantley? Ideally, you’d have someone who combines length with strength to bother the 6’5” (and likely shorter) low-post machine who was one of the most unique players in league history. Rodney McCray is the best person to defend him on Houston’s roster, but he also is the best person to try to stop Orlando Woolridge. Junior Bridgeman will take his chances with Dantley but will struggle to contain him. They may try one of their big men on him (Pervis Ellison, Gorgui Dieng), but Dantley should be able to get them in foul trouble and have his way in this series.
Biggest Mismatches
Notre Dame’s shooting ability – While the shooting prowess of Notre Dame’s players may not seem impressive in the modern-day context, they still hold a significant advantage over Louisville in this regard. Kelly Tripucka, Laimbeer, John Paxson, Murphy, and Pat Garrity were all dangerous perimeter threats who can open things up for the explosive mid-range and post scorers (Dantley, Woolridge, and Austin Carr) on the roster. Louisville will counter with Darrell Griffith and Francisco Garcia, but they won’t be able to match up from long-range. Relatedly…
Notre Dame’s scoring ability – The Fighting Irish should be able to put a lot of points on the board. They have a legitimate go-to option in the hyper-efficient two-time scoring champion Dantley. They can surround him with shooting as outlined above. Carr and Woolridge were explosive 20+ PPG scorers in their prime. Louisville does have three players who achieved this scoring plateau at least once in their career (Griffith, Derek Smith, and Pervis Ellison), but Notre Dame’s scorers were more consistent and efficient.
Louisville’s defensive versatility – Another way to put this would be ‘Notre Dame’s lack of ability to do anything on defense’. Notre Dame’s lack of defense should open things up for a Louisville team that would typically have a hard time scoring. However, Louisville should also get credit for their collection of guards and wings who can help them guard the perimeter. Starting Bridgeman and McCray at the two forward positions should create a switchable lineup from 1 to 4. Jim Price was an above average defender who made an all-defensive team in his career. They can play several versatile defensive lineups over the course of the series.
X-Factor
Can Louisville take advantage of Notre Dame’s porous perimeter defense? This is a matchup of a resistible force versus a movable object. Louisville will frequently pair Derek Smith with Griffith to make up for their lack of scoring punch, but will it be enough? Unseld and McCray were very good passers for their position, but will good ball movement against a bad defense make up for their collective inability to put the ball in the basket?
Results
This is a fun matchup that features stand out performances from players on each side. Bridgeman, Griffith, McCray, and Smith take advantage of Notre Dame’s defensive futility and combine with Unseld to pull out several close victories. However, the firepower of Notre Dame proves too much for Louisville to handle.
June 2020 Update
Louisville was able to upgrade their roster since the original team writeups were drafted. This is still a very competitive matchup, with Notre Dame continuing to hold the edge in outside shooting and overall firepower. However, the additions of Donovan Mitchell and Montrezl Harrell balance out Louisville’s roster and help them take advantage of Notre Dame’s porous defense. In a back-and-forth deciding game, Louisville controls the pace and pulls out the victory.
Louisville wins, four games to three.
Next Round
Louisville faces the winner of the NBA Villanova Wildcats vs. NBA St. John’s Red Storm.