Battle of ACC perfection: Notre Dame, Louisville game preview

Thursday night, No. 3/4 Louisville will host No. 2/2 Notre Dame in a highly anticipated match-up. These top-ranked teams will fight to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference; they are both currently 4-0 in conference play.

Though the elite battle between the Cardinals (18-0 overall) and the Fighting Irish (15-1) could swing either way, Notre Dame has been plagued with injury as of late, bringing question to the odds of beating a healthy Louisville.

Since joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame has gone 66-2 in regular season and reigns as the four-time defending conference champion.  However, a series of unfortunate injuries have caused the Fighting Irish’s original roster to be narrowed, adding three walk-ons.

Four players suffer from torn ACLs.  Brianna Turner, Notre Dame’s All American forward went down with an ACL tear during last year’s NCAA tournament, resulting in her 17-18 season absence.  Senior guard Mychal Johnson and freshman center Mikayla Vaughn both tore their ACLs preseason.   Lili Thompson rounds out the ACL injury list, suffering the season-ending injury on Dec. 31 in the game against Wake Forest which resulted in a 96-73 victory.  This many ACL tears are “unprecedented” according to Head Coach Muffet McGraw-the closest incidence being the University of Maryland’s 2012-13 team.

In addition to knee injuries, junior forward Jessica Shepard experienced two ankle sprains.  Senior forward Kathryn Westbeld underwent off-season ankle surgery and, thankfully, considering the team’s current injury plague, has recovered.  Sophomore guard Jackie Young rounds out this year’s injury list with a broken nose.  Shepard, Westbeld and Young are all cleared to play in tonight’s game. Young will be in a mask.

Against all odds, Notre Dame is still ranked second in the nation.  The Fighting Irish have 15 wins on the season, losing only to UConn.   They average 84.4 PPG with a +20.5 margin per 100 possessions (herhoopstats.com).

Now, however, Notre Dame is forced to reconfigure a game plan and adjust player roles.  For example, since the latest injury (Thompson), Marina Mabrey will step up into the point guard position.  According to McGraw, practices and game preparation must be altered to avoid more injury.

With both teams highly athletic, Notre Dame must utilize their limited roster and new player roles to contain a dominant Asia Durr and Louisville, while maintaining offensive efficiency.  Will a Notre Dame zone be effective enough to shut down such a productive Louisville backcourt? Will the Fighting Irish’s shallow bench be able to match and maintain the athleticism of a well-rounded, healthy Cardinal team?

Louisville’s 17-18 team is full of athleticism and height.  The Cards have well-sized guards and versatile post players. With players playing their positions, and the luxury of remaining healthy thus far, Louisville’s chemistry will not be an issue in tonight’s matchup.

After an ankle scare against Duke, junior guard Durr is fully functioning and she has Myisha Hines-Allen right by her side. The numbers recorded for this year’s team are mirroring that of Head Coach Jeff Walz’s 2008-09 and 2012-13 Final Four teams, forcing 18.9 turnovers per game (espn.com).  The Cards are averaging a +22.9 point margin of victory per game (herhoopstats.com).

Louisville will host Notre Dame Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7pm ET at the KFC Yum! Center.  The game will air on ESPN.