It was not a pretty game, friends, but on a night where only one team manged to peak above 35% from the field (the Irish were 35.1), Notre Dame did what Cincinnati and Georgetown had failed to do earlier in the day: win.  Sometimes that's all it takes, as so many teams take tumbles across the nation, the Irish put away an inferior opponent and lived to fight another day.  Most Irish fans probably only saw Rutgers when they came to the Joyce, where they were exceedingly competent, but these were the real Scarlet Knights: not very good.

Also not very good was Luke Harangody, bothered for a second time this season by Rutgers' interior size.  Hamady N'Diaye controlled the paint, so it was nice to have a calm, smooth Tory down the stretch to put the game away.  The Irish floor general assembled a nice little game, with 12 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers.  Also contributing heavily were Ryan Ayers (39 minutes, 10 points, 7 boards, a steal and a block) and the Irish bench, anchored by the inside-outside combination of Ty Nash and Luke Zeller.

Style points didn't matter for the Irish.  They simply had to get to the next round without killing themselves to do so, which they did.  Harangody is rested (only 25 minutes) and the Irish were right there during the original game down in Louisville.  It would require a lot of words and even more numbers to try and describe how much better tonight's opponent is than last night's.  This won't be easy, but teams that go 8-10 in conference don't get easy routes.  Instead, they get KenPom's number nine team.  The Irish have found the right path, but it's still a long way until they're out of the woods.

Go Irish, Beat Mountaineers.