Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME 'Dr. Lou' No Longer With ESPN Eleven seems to be the magic number for Lou Holtz. He departed Notre Dame after 11 seasons (1986‑96), highlighted by the 1988 national title and near misses in 1989 and 1993, and this spring it was announced he will no longer work for ESPN after 11 seasons (2004‑14). The 77‑year‑old Holtz had told Blue & Gold Illustrated last spring that he planned to retire from the network after the 2014 football season. "I'd like to leave when people say, 'Why are you leaving?' not 'When are you leaving?'" he said. "This is my fifth 'last year.' … There comes a time CHARTING THE IRISH EFFICIENCY EXPERTS The Notre Dame men's basketball team's final nine games of the 2014‑15 season were arguably one of the most impressive stretches in school history, especially when looking at strength of schedule and margin of victory. In its first 16 ACC games, Notre Dame averaged 1.14 points per possession and allowed 1.08 on de‑ fense, finishing 12‑4 overall through a stretch that included games against four ranked opponents (No. 3 Virginia, No. 4 Duke twice and No. 18 UNC). In a standard game of 67 possessions, that projects to a score of 76.4‑72.4 for an average margin of +4.0. For comparison, in the aforementioned final nine games of the season, Notre Dame faced a much tougher schedule — six ranked teams (No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 Duke, No. 14 Wichita State, No. 16 Louisville, No. 19 UNC and No. 24 Butler.) Yet, the Irish managed to actually increase their average margin, posting 1.17 points per possession and allowing only 1.06 on defense. In a standard game of 67 possessions, that projects to a score of 78.4‑71.0 for an average margin of +7.4. The improvement in defense was the biggest catalyst to Notre Dame's season‑ending run, although that's not directly reflected in the numbers above because they aren't adjusted for strength of schedule. But for example, entering the NCAA Tournament round of 32 matchup against Butler, the Irish were previously 0‑3 on the season when held below 1.03 points per possession. They posted only 1.01 against Butler, but still emerged the winners after holding the Bulldogs to 0.97 points per possession. NOTRE DAME'S OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY (Points Per Possession In Final Nine Games) 1.5 1.2 0.9 ■ Offense ■ Defense