NCAA Basketball Betting - Irish Losing Green to Grass
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Maybe everyone on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish should take up cannabis.
The big news on campus Tuesday was the report that point guard Kyle McAlarney has been suspended from school. The Associated Press cited McAlarney's mother, who says the sophomore was told not to come back for the duration of the second semester after his arrest in December on marijuana charges.
Notre Dame officials will not comment, citing privacy laws. But Irish supporters will have plenty to say – mostly in the form of four-letter words, as Notre Dame is 5-3 straight up and a wallet-shredding 2-5 against the spread since McAlarney was suspended indefinitely from playing basketball.
McAlarney was a big part of Notre Dame's successful 11-1 start (5-3 ATS) to the campaign, including consecutive wins over Alabama. His 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, with a 46.4-percent success rate on 3-point shots, were more than welcome on a Notre Dame team that desperately needed someone to step up after the graduation of last year's top scorer, Chris Quinn.
It would be easy – perhaps a bit too easy – to say the Irish were already overvalued this season, even with McAlarney in the starting rotation. Aside from the impressive victories over the Terrapins and Crimson Tide, most of Notre Dame's 11-1 start was compiled against creampuffs. That soft schedule explains why the Irish carried a No. 40 RPI rating into Tuesday’s game despite being ranked No. 22 in the AP polls.
Still, things haven't gone nearly as well for Notre Dame since McAlarney's suspension. Losses at St. John's was a huge letdown – the Red Storm were rated just 168th in RPI heading into Tuesday night's matchup. Freshman point guard Tory Jackson had eight of Notre Dame's 12 assists against St. John's, but also went 3-for-9 from the field and turned the ball over five times.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey is doing his best to motivate his depleted lineup by brushing off the impact of McAlarney's absence. “We played this way for eight games now,” Brey told reporters after the loss to St. John's. “Playing-wise, I don't think it has had a big effect.”
If that's true, the Irish are in a heap of trouble. A rematch with Villanova is on tap this Saturday at South Bend, followed by three straight road games, with stops at DePaul (No. 65). By the time they get back to South Bend, the Irish might be as adrift at the pay window as their football counterparts.
