In the NCAA Tournament’s second round matchup with Hidalgo, No. 2 Notre Dame, Ole Miss intends to lean on its depth.
When the No. 7-seeded Rebels play the second-seeded Fighting Irish in the NCAA Tournament’s second round on Monday, they will be hoping that the odds are on their side.
On the Cardinals’ home court, Ole Miss stunned top-seeded Stanford in the previous season by defeating them 54-49 in the second round. In that game, the Rebels played 91 minutes without using a bench. Ole Miss eventually overcame Marquette on Saturday, winning 67-55 thanks to a late 12-point outburst.
In Purcell Pavilion at Notre Dame, Ole Miss will play with the same game plan on Monday. McPhee-McCuin stated, “We try to wear everybody down, no matter what.” “Our playing style is 94 feet. Because of the effort we put in during the first half of the game, Marquette lacked legs when they absolutely needed them.
Ole Miss will be keen to get Notre Dame to play fast-paced football.
“Our goal is to force teams to adapt to our fast-paced, up-and-down style of play, where they have to work hard for every basket they get,” McPhee-McCuin stated. “I believe that it wears down teams naturally.”
In response, Notre Dame will essentially deploy a six-man rotation that is accustomed to playing almost all of the time on the court.
According to Niele Ivey, the coach of Notre Dame, “we definitely just have to mix up some of our defenses.” “(We’ll) venture into a small area. Attempt to emulate their body. We simply can’t focus on one subject for very long. I’m heading out to see what functions the best.
The All-American Hannah Hidalgo (first in the country in steals at 4.6, third in the country in scoring at 23.1), Sonia Citron (17.1), and Maddy Westbeld (14.1) form Notre Dame’s Big Three attack. In the triumph over No. 15 Kent State, Citron scored 29 points, while Hidalgo contributed 14 points and 11 assists. Hidalgo had six thefts as well.
The focal point of Notre Dame’s offensive is Hidalgo, but the Fighting Irish are not afraid to punish teams who over-focus on their rookie sensation.
Ivey remarked, “Fortunately, I have a lot of balance on this team.” “Sonia had a career high yesterday, and Hannah attracts a lot of attention. I can run the point for you, Citron. I can let KK (Bransford) run the point. We have a lot of players that can score at three different levels, which I believe is what makes us so unique in our offensive lineup.
Ole Miss will approach Hidalgo with a team-defense mentality.
McPhee-McCuin stated, “When we play, when we defend, it’s not whomever we decide to guard Hidalgo.” “That individual is not opposed to Hannah. Hannah is up against us. So that’s how we think.
LIVING FOE
Kennedy Todd-Williams of Ole Miss was a member of the North Carolina Tar Heels and participated in three games versus Notre Dame. Todd Williams, who transferred to Ole Miss for the current season, claimed that the SEC and ACC play very different styles of basketball.
“I think it helped me prepare going in, especially playing against an ACC team,” Todd-Williams remarked, “the physicality was super different.” “Obviously, there are a lot of differences and similarities, but in the end, it’s really just about who is a tougher team, and I can’t wait to play an ACC team that I know well.”
Todd-Williams was sporting the Tar Heel blue and white uniforms as UNC defeated Notre Dame 2-1.