Take a peek at the bottom of the Associated Press men's basketball rankings. Scan through the also receiving votes category and there it is. Notre Dame, picked to finish 11th in the Big East by the coaches before the season, is starting to gain notice and steam.
The Irish picked up 11 points in the poll, which technically makes them the No. 36 team in the country, sandwiched between Creighton and Michigan State. ND is one of eight Big East teams either in the poll or also receiving votes. The coaches weren't as kind, as no coach placed Notre Dame on his ballot. Of course, all this could change Thursday evening when the Irish plays host to No. 5 Alabama at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
We're also hearing that a decision could come today about whether or not the Notre Dame-Louisville men's basketball game on Jan. 3 will be moved due to the Irish's appearance in the Sugar Bowl at roughly the same time.
Over the weekend, Notre Dame soccer also picked up some major accolades. Although the women's team lost to North Carolina, 2-1, in the national championship game, sophomore forward Kerri Hanks won the Hermann Trophy as the most outstanding player in women's soccer this year. ESPN, in covering the College Cup, wrote a nice feature about the nation's goal-scoring leader.
On the men's side, Notre Dame junior Joseph Lapira took home the men's version of the Hermann, giving the Irish the rare sweep of the biggest award in college soccer. ESPN, doing its duty, also wrote about Lapira, a Louisiana native.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette
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