2018 ACC preview: Notre Dame, Louisville battle for top

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Projected finish: 1st

Last year’s record: 35-3, 15-1 ACC; 2018 NCAA National Champions

Key returners (last season’s stats):

G-Arike Ogunbowale, 5’8, (Milwaukee, WI), SR-  20.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 34.3 MPG; set Notre Dame single-season record with 25 20-plus point games; Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2018); AP, USBWA, USA Today, espnW Second-Team All-American (17-18);  Spokane Region MVP; First-Team All-ACC. Ogunbowale hit two clutch, last-second shots to secure a 2018 NCAA Women’s National Championship title.

G- Marina Mabrey, 5’11, (Belmar, NJ), SR- 14.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 34.3 MPG; Spokane All-Regional Team; Second Team All-ACC; All-ACC Tournament First Team.

F- Brianna Turner, 6’3, (Pearland, TX), GS- 15.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 28.7 MPG; WBCA, USBWA All-American; AP, espnW Second Team All-American.

*all stats and accolades for Brianna Turner are based on/given in the 2016-17 season due to Tuner’s ACL tear, causing her to miss the entire 2017-18 season.

Biggest losses (last season’s stats):

F – Kathryn Westbeld, 6’2, (Kettering, OH) – Only loss of the team who was active in winning the 2018 NCAA National Championship title; 7.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 26.3 MPG.

Newcomers:

G- Katlyn Gilbert , 5’10, (Indianapolis, IN), FR – 2018 McDonald’s All-American; 2018 Jordan Brand Classic member; 2018 Indiana All-Star team member; averaged 18.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.0 SPG senior season (high school).

G- Jordan Nixon, 5’8, (New York City, NY), FR – 2018 McDonald’s All-American; averaged 22.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.0 APG senior season.

G- Abby Prohaska, 5’10, (Liberty Township, OH), FR– averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.3 SPG senior season.

F – Danielle Cosgrove, 6’4, (Holbrook, NY), FR- broke Sachem East High School’s rebounding record (1,037); averaged 21.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 2.1 BPG.

Head Coach:

Muffet McGraw, 32nd season

• Notre Dame record of 800-230 (.777), overall record 888-271 (.766)
• AP, espnW and USA Today Coach of the Year
• Led Notre Dame to success despite the copious injuries
• Achieved 800th win at the 2018 NCAA Championship game, where the Fighting Irish took the title
• Two National Championships: 2001 and 2018

Key games:

Dec. 2– Connecticut: 4 pm ET (ESPN)

Jan. 10 –  Louisville: 7 pm ET (ESPN)

Jan. 16– @Virginia Tech: 7 pm ET (ACCN); Mabrey sister match-up

Outlook:

Imagine being a team with four torn ACLs, leaving only seven active scholarship players—a team forced to go against its history, adding several walk-ons just to fill spots so that if one or two players fouled out, a forfeit wouldn’t occur.  Imagine making a historic comeback from a 23-point deficit mid-season against Tennessee and defeating them with a final score of 84-70. Imagine winning a 2018 NCAA National Championship, despite these ACL injuries, with a substantial halftime deficit (13) against the University of Connecticut, defying odds.

Notre Dame came back from seven double-digit deficits to win last season. The second half has been a strong point for the Irish, but this year, don’t be surprised if all 40 minutes aren’t.

The University of Notre Dame, reigning 2018 Champions, enter a new season healthier, with fresh legs, and that is nothing short of deadly. Last season, they finished 35-3 (yes, they had fewer losses than ACL tears) and they were 15-0 at home.

Four of five starters return this year, resulting in no major loss to the team. The fifth spot will most likely be filled with a newly healthy three-time All-American Brianna Turner. This team is set to be dominant if they can avoid the injury plague they endured in the past. Not to mention, they’re accustomed to March Madness; they have gone to 23 straight NCAA Tournaments which is good for the fourth-longest active streak nationwide.

At the start of last season, Coach McGraw stressed the importance of having another true point guard, Lili Thompson, after all-star point guard and Dallas Wings franchise player Skylar Diggins and Las Vegas Aces’ Lindsay Allen graduated. Because of injury last season, Thompson was not able to fulfill McGraw’s vision. Assuming Katlyn Gilbert will stay healthy all year, she will be able to fill the void of the point guard position, enabling Marina Mabrey to return to her spot at two guard.

Notre Dame’s incoming freshman class is ranked seventh in the nation by ESPN. Both Katlyn Gilbert and Jordan Nixon also were named to the McDonald’s All-American roster.

Best case scenario:

Back-to-back National Championship titles. Notre Dame will prove everybody right and remain No.1,  a combination of good health and Muffet McGraw’s strategic and effective coaching, as well as a stacked team with a deep bench.  They have well-rounded height, talent, and ages-not to mention, a relentless senior class who got a taste of winning it all last year and wants to relive it.

Worst case scenario:

The only way Notre Dame will fall short this season is if the team is cursed with similar injuries as last year. However, the whole world saw them secure a national championship with only seven scholarship players.  The toss-up will be against Louisville this season for the top spot in conference.