Beasley Who? Irish Beat Kansas State

Last night, Notre Dame and Kansas State played in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Coming into the game, Michael Beasley was the talk of the town. He is only a freshman, but he is leading the nation in points per game and rebounds per game. Luke Harangody and the Fighting Irish must not have cared. The Irish pulled out the big win 68-59 on a big second half performance from the defense.

Michael Beasley is the real deal. Kevin Durant 2.0, but he was held to only two points in the second half. The Irish were playing a 2-3 defense when they are much better fitted for a man-to-man or a 3-2 defense. The Irish's tallest starter is Rob Kurz at 6-9. Luke Zeller is 6-11 coming off of the bench, but as most Irish fans know, we really don't want to see him play too often. The Irish relied on a great trap defense that forced the Wildcats to shoot threes, their major weakness. Kansas State ended up shooting 3 for 20 beyond the arc, and the Irish defense gave up 59 points to one of the best scoring teams in the nation.

Although Harangody and Beasley both scored 19 points, the story of the game has to be Kyle McAlarney. Last year, McAlarney was suspended for an entire season for being arrested for posession of marajuana. McAlarney is from Staten Island, New York, making this the first time he had come home since his freshman year. McAlarney responded by scoring the Irish's last nine points and leading them to victory when it looked like Kansas State was going to make a comeback. The poise shown by McAlarney had been missing this year. He has had a slow transition back to the college game.

Over the past two years, especially in 2005, the Irish had trouble in close games. Notre Dame lost two games this season on game-winning threes in the last minute. Now, the Irish were on the other side of a late comeback. Notre Dame now has a big win away from home that looks great on an NCAA Tournament resume. The Irish have an easy schedule until the Big East play starts. Barring any crazy upset, they should win out until they face some of the great Big East teams. The Irish have needed a big win in the non-conference. Now, they have one.