4 Washington State vs. 5 Notre Dame
Guards
If you believe the Cougars will go only as far as their perimeter players will carry them, you wouldn’t be all that far off. When Derrick Low and Taylor Rochestie struggled in the first half against Winthrop, so did WSU. When Low got his shot untracked and Rochestie began to get to the hoop after halftime, the Cougars’ offense took off. While they struggled, Kyle Weaver filled the breach, scoring 12 first-half points.
Forwards and centers
Winthrop’s overmatched frontline was one thing. Notre Dame’s offers much larger challenges, figuratively and literally. The Cougars have struggled against teams that could throw more than one big man at them, which the Irish can. Aron Baynes and Robbie Cowgill will match up with two of Notre Dame’s three bigs, but the 6-foot-6 Weaver will have to help down low, using athletic skills to offset a size differential.
Bench
If the Cougars big men get in foul trouble, Caleb Forrest and Daven Harmeling will have to play some big minutes and come up big on the defensive end. Nik Koprivica needs to be efficient in relief of the guards.
Guards
The Irish have a near-perfect backcourt pairing in point guard Tory Jackson, who averages 6.0 assists per game, and shooting guard Kyle McAlarney, who shoots 44.7 percent from beyond the arc and averages 15.2 points. The Irish shoot better than 41 percent from behind the arc.
Forwards and centers
Luke Harangody went from being an overweight, afterthought freshman to the Big East player of the year as a sophomore. The 6-8 post slimmed down to 250 and bulked up his scoring average from 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game to 20.7 and 10.3. Rob Kurz and Zach Hillesland both stand 6-9 and attack the glass.
Bench
The Irish have a strong eight-man rotation, with Ryan Ayers, Luke Zeller and Jonathan Peoples combining for 16 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. Ayers, a 6-7 guard, and Zeller have converted 87 3-pointers combined.
Summary
The Irish average 80.2 points per game, 15th in the nation. WSU yields 56.5, the third-best defense. The Cougars’ number has been built on controlling tempo. If they can’t today, moving on to the Sweet 16 will be tough.