Notre Dame's 64-52 victory over the Bills in the third-place game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge was nearly a carbon copy of the Bills 65-54 loss to Iowa State in the semifinals.
Just as on Friday, the Bills battled Notre Dame with a great defensive effort and trailed only by three points and halftime. Iowa State took control of the game with a 13-0 run and the Irish did the same with a 9-0 run. They shot 57 percent in the second half.
This time, the Bills battled back to cut the lead to 36-35 and had two opportunities to take the lead, but couldn't convert and Notre Dame never trailed from that point. Notre Dame's experience proved to be the difference. They are made up of juniors and seniors while we are freshmen and sophomores.
Once again, sophomore forwards Willie Reed (pictured) and Brian Conklin turned in fine performances, but the perimeter shots were not falling once again. After going one for 16 from the 3-point line against Iowa State, the Bills shot a chilly three for 17 against the Irish, making them four for 33 for the weekend.
On Friday, 6'4" Diante Garrett of Iowa State had his way with the smaller Bills guards. On Saturday, it was Poplar Bluff native Ben Hansbrough using every bit of his 6'3" 205 pounds and country strength to muscle his way to 15 points one six of nine shooting from the field. Ben even clocked freshman Jeff Reid with an elbow to the head on one of his bull-moose drives to the bucket. Jeff didn't return to the game. I hope he wasn't injured seriously on that play.
Heck, the score was almost the same.
It was another valuable lesson for a young team going up against a formidable opponent from a power conference. The Bills left it on the floor with a great effort. We just did not have enough experience of offensive firepower to get over the proverbial hump against a BCS opponent.
Willie and Brian came through with very productive efforts again. Notre Dame played a lot of zone defense to try to combat our young bigs. Brian finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes. It was fun watching him battle ND's All-American Luke Harongody in the paint. It was like watching a big brother go against his little brother in the driveway. A young bull and a old bull if you will.
Willie enjoyed a huge effort, setting new career bests in seven different categories.
Willie finished the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs. He also had career highs in offensive rebounds (nine), field goal attempts (19) steals (three), minutes played (32) and free-throws (6-8). Had he converted a few more of his opportunities that he rushed a little bit, it would have been a truly dominant night for Willie, but I can's nit-pick too much. 20 and 15 against a good Big East team is pretty darn good. Willie was selected to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
It was quite a performance for Willie on the big stage while playing against a collegiate A-List post man for the second consecutive night. Last night, it was Craig Brackins of Iowa State. Tonight, it was Luke Harongody of Notre Dame, a consensus preseason All-American. Willie continues to play with great energy and activity. And as you see by his minutes, he's going for longer stratches without asking out of the game.
After a slow start, Kwamain Mitchell really picked up the offense in the second half, scoring 11 of his 14 points. I was really impressed with Kwamain's elevation on his jump shots. He got great height and release tonight, especially on his mid-range jumper. He still struggled from the 3-point line (1-6), but I was glad to see him more aggressively looking for his shot.
Our wing players really had a tough weekend as Kyle went scoreless in the two games and Christian had only two field goals. They had good looks tonight, but they just wouldn't fall. One thing they cannot do is lose confidence and get tentative. They just have to forget about this weekend and shot the next jumper with full confidence as it is going in. When you have the wide open look, shoot it.
This past weekend should make Bills fans appreciate what Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch did for the past four years. Not only did they score about 3,300 points between them, but they provided different ways to score with how they could break defenses down off the dribble consistently. Replacing one of them would be difficult, but two at the same time is really hard.
The young men who are in their place right now (Kyle Cassity, Femi John, Christian Salecich and Justin Jordan) have had some very positive moments in the first six games this season, and will have many more in Billiken uniforms, but they are still young and learning on the job. They have a comfort level at home in the Chaifetz, but it was their first time away from home (except Kyle), so it was a new experience, which will make them better. It might be painful at times, but it will prove to be beneficial down the road.
Playing against a higher level of compeitition this weekend was a good eye-opener for our young wing players. Not only did they have to contend with tough defensive pressure, but they also had to guard big, athletic guards off the dribble.
Overall, it was a tough weekend to lose two games, but it showed up where we need to improve. The road doesn't get any easier as we must head South to face Georgia in our first true road game of the season. One thing that must not change is the effort and intensity. that has been a constant. Hopefully, the shooting will soon follow.
I'll have a preview on the Dawgs on Monday or Tuesday.
On a side note, it was a good weekend for some mid-major programs around the country.
Future SLU foe Richmond of Atlantic 10 won the championship of the South Padre Island Tournament in Texas. The Spiders defeated Missouri in the championship game after knocking off Mississippi State in the semifinals.
The Portland Pilots of the West Coast Conference are in tomorrow night's championship of the 76 Classic in Anaheim after beating UCLA and Minnesota on consecutive nights. And how about the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference, who knocked off in-state big brother Illinois tonight in the Las Vegas Invitational.
So, there's hope.
Go Bills!
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