Tag Archives: Notre Dame

Sportswrap: HOUSE OF CARDS

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The Blue Devils are not going down to Georgia.

The second-seeded Blue Devils fell 85-63 to top-seeded Louisville in the Elite Eight.

The Louisville Cardinals hold up Kevin Ware's jersey after they beat Duke in the Elite Eight in spite of his gruesome injury. (Photo Credit: Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

This week’s Sportswrap, The Chronicle’s weekly sports supplement, shows the Cardinals celebrating and holding the jersey of Kevin Ware, who left the game in the first half with a gruesome compound fracture in his knee.

Here are all the stories after a busy weekend for Duke sports:

Notre Dame to come to the ACC next year

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According to Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel, Notre Dame will leave the Big East to join the ACC next year for basketball.

Earlier in the year, the ACC announced that the Fighting Irish would join the conference for most sports, notably excluding football, where Notre Dame will remain independent. The Fighting Irish will play five football games against ACC schools but will not be a part of the conference.

The move will give the ACC 15 basketball schools next year—Notre Dame, plus Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the latter two of which are also coming over from the Big East. Notre Dame’s basketball coach, Mike Brey, is a former Duke assistant under Mike Krzyzewski.

Maryland is scheduled to depart the ACC for the Big Ten, but that departure is not expected until after the 2013-2014 season. The conference will remain at 15, however, with the addition of Louisville, also from the Big East.

The move will not affect football next year, with the schedules already announced for the 2013 season.

The Big East is going through major changes right now as the “Catholic 7″ schools have moved to create a new Big East conference.

Here is what Thamel writes:

Notre Dame’s basketball teams will play in the ACC next year, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The Big East presidents will vote on the issue Tuesday morning, and an announcement is expected sometime after their conference call ends.

“It’s everyone’s intention that this will happen tomorrow,” said the source.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise. The ACC has remained Notre Dame’s desired landing spot since the Big East basketball conference became depleted with the departure of the Catholic Seven. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey has been vocal about his hope to play in the ACC, a league he grew up watching as a Maryland fan and coached in as a long-time assistant at Duke. With the ACC’s basketball schedule yet to be completed for next year, the league was able to accommodate the Irish.

The economics of Notre Dame’s exit will be similar to the departing Catholic Seven basketball schools, meaning it will keep its NCAA basketball units and take a small amount of the Big East reserve fund.

Because Notre Dame left the Big East under a Mutual Commitment Agreement -– the same method as the Catholic Seven -– it was not subject to the traditional exit fee it would have faced if it stayed in the league for 27 months. Notre Dame’s fee will essentially end up forgoing any claims to the estimated $70 million the Big East has stashed away in exit and entry fees. (That number is liquid due to litigation and other factors.)

Sportswrap: MAKE IT RAIN ON THEM NOLES

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After Duke's 79-60 win against Florida State in which the Blue Devils made 11-of-18 3-pointers, this week's Sportswrap is titled, "MAKE IT RAIN ON THEM NOLES." (Photo credit: Faith Robertson/The Chronicle)


No. 5 Duke basketball ran away early from Florida State, making 11-of-18 3-pointers en route to a big 79-60 road victory Saturday.

This week’s Sportswrap, The Chronicle’s weekly sports supplement, is titled “MAKE IT RAIN ON THEM NOLES,” crediting the Blue Devils for their shooting display against a team that won two of the three meetings last season.

Here are the other articles you should make sure to read in this week’s Sportswrap:

Video and Notre Dame to the ACC links

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Yesterday, the ACC announced the acquisition of Notre Dame as the league’s newest addition, following Pittsburgh and Syracuse, which joined last year.

Although Notre Dame will not be a full member of the conference in terms of football, the Fighting Irish will play five football games per year against ACC foes. In all other sports, including basketball, Notre Dame will be a full member, pushing the league’s number of schools to 15.

Read: ACC commissioner John Swofford, conference presidents and Notre Dame brass announce the move

For Duke fans, that means marquee football matchups that will be televised every few years, in addition to another boost to arguably the best college basketball conference in the country. And, former Duke basketball assistant coach, Mike Brey, will make his return to the league. Brey, who coached at Duke from 1987-1995 under Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, first was a head coach at Delaware and now guides the Fighting Irish.

Read: Brey spoke to the media yesterday at the Notre Dame press conference, and he’s amped about coming back to the ACC

The Chronicle’s weekly football video segment made in conjunction with Duke Student Broadcasting, Four Downs, sat down for a special edition of the program to talk about the addition of Notre Dame to the ACC. Check it out:

BREAKING: Notre Dame to join the ACC

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The ACC is welcoming a new member.

Notre Dame is set to join the conference after being unanimously accepted by the conference’s council of presidents, according to an official ACC press release.

The Fighting Irish will join as a full member in all sports except football. In football, they will play five games against ACC schools annually but remain independent.

Also included within the press release is the news that the exit fee for the conference has been raised to three times the annual operating budget, a figure north of $50 million.

This story is still being updated

Michigan State Could Finally Live up to Preseason Hype

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Must-Watch Thursday Game:

Southeast No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Michigan St., TBS, 9:20 PM

These two teams have two of the richest basketball traditions of any schools in the country, but they have been pretty bipolar this season. UCLA’s strongest wins of the year were a 7-point victory at home over BYU in December and a 21-point blowout of Arizona in February. Michigan State entered the year as a top-5 team and was expected to win the Big Ten. This team hung with Duke in Cameron, beat then-No. 11 Washington and blew out Purdue in the conference tournament. If either of these teams get hot, weak No. 2 Florida better be ready for a tough matchup.

Honorable Mentions: Southeast—No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Belmont, No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 5 Kansas St. vs. No. 12 Utah St.

Must-Watch Friday Game:

Southwest No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 USC/VCU

This Georgetown team is another one which is difficult to figure out. The Hoyas enter this matchup having lost four games straight; however, in a two-week span ranging from late January to February, they recorded wins against St. John’s, Villanova, Louisville and Syracuse.  Senior guards Austin Freeman and Chris Wright will hope to right the ship and get rid of the bitter taste in their mouths from last year’s opening round loss to No. 14 Ohio.

Honorable mention: West-No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis

Least Interesting First Round Game: West-No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee

Sleepers: Michigan St., Belmont

No. 1, 2 or 3 seed most likely to lose this weekend: Florida

Players to Watch:

Derrick Williams, Arizona. Arguably the nation’s most dominant big man, Williams has been overlooked by many fans because of the Pac-10’s down year. The athletic 6-foot-8 sophomore led the Wildcats to their first Pac-10 title since the 2002-03 season. Williams’ level of play will dictate whether Arizona falls in its first game or makes a deep run in the tournament.

Kalin Lucas, Michigan St. After being named Big Ten Player of the Year as a sophomore, the Spartans lost in the national championship game to the Tar Heels. Last season, Lucas injured his leg in Michigan State’s victory over Maryland. After averaging over 17 points-per-game this season, including a 30-point performance in a victory over Purdue in the Big Ten tournament, you can be sure this is a 10-seed that nobody wants to match up against.

Final Four: UNC, Duke, Pitt, ND

Final Four Most Outstanding Player: Brad Wannamaker

National Champion: Pitt

Pitt got the easiest draw of the one seeds, and I don’t think anyone in their bracket can keep up with their physical style of play for 40 minutes. After winning the arguably the strongest conference in decades, they will hoist the trophy in Houston.