Notre Dame falls apart in every phase of the game down the stretch and wastes a 16-point second half lead en route to a painful, painful loss.
Take your pick.
3 point defense. Defensive rebounding. Free throws. Demetrius Jackson. 3 point shooting.
If one of those things goes well for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3) down the stretch, they probably win easily. Instead, the Irish turned in one of the most embarrassing collapses in recent memory to the in-state rival Indiana Hoosiers (9-3) to fall in the Crossroads Classic.
I really can't bring myself to write much more on this one, other than Notre Dame held an 8-point lead at halftime and 16-point lead at one point in the second half. They were firmly in control and could not be stopped offensively.
They predictably let Indiana back into the game with a few threes, and then just utterly, completely, totally fell apart. In literally everything you can fall apart in basketball.
This is a crushing blow to this team that wants to be taken seriously as the premiere program in the state. And to a team needing something nice on their tournament resume. And to a team that, for 32 minutes or so, looked to really be coming into their own as the calendar soon turns to 2016.
All of that is down the drain now after that depressing final 8 minutes.
The Irish finish non-conference play against Youngstown State (Monday) and Liberty (12/29) before heading into ACC play. They'll need to seriously impress early in conference play to wash this one off.
