The State of College Basketball in Indiana

Feb 19, 2014; Coral Gables, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey reacts during the second half against Miami Hurricanes at BankUnited Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-17, 6-12 ACC)

The Irish made the move to the ACC this season with a number of other former Big East teams. Notre Dame looked like a fairly solid team to start out the year, but had a few bumps in the road early on. They lost games to Iowa, North Dakota State, and Ohio State who would all go on to be future tourney teams, but they also dropped a home game to Indiana State.

By winter break, the wheels started to fall off. Leading scorer Jerian Grant was dismissed for academic reasons, but the team responded with two wins one of which was against Duke. From there on, the Irish lost a lot of close games in conference play and really struggled on the defensive end.

They would go on to finish in the bottom fifth of the ACC. The future of the program is muddled. Grant is expected to return next season, but the Irish will lose four seniors (three of which played significant minutes). The departing seniors will leave a depleted front court as well.

The recruiting class leaves a bit to be desired. Only three players are coming in (two three stars, and a four star) and all of them look like projects.

Coach Mike Brey has been with the program since 2000 and its hard to believe that he would be let go after two bad seasons. I think its safe to say that he won’t be leaving South Bend anytime soon.

With Grant coming back next season, and the remaining talent on the team, its hard to imagine the Irish having another rough season.