Coaches vs. Cancer Classic: the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. the Brigham Young University Cougars and the Florida State University Seminoles vs. the St. Joseph’s University Hawks

So last Saturday was my first time at the Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn, and thanks to a dear friend, I was there for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Saturday was the consolation game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Brigham Young University Cougars, and the championship game between the Florida State University Seminoles and the St. Joseph’s University Hawks.

The consolation game between Notre Dame and Brigham Young was sloppy, full of ridiculous turnovers and even poorer shooting. Oh yeah, and a lot of fouls. Man, were there a lot of fouls. At the half, BYU shot 38% from the field but was in the game thanks to Notre Dame turning the ball over about 15 times. What was worse was that with all the turnovers and fouls, there was no real flow to the game, so watching felt like a tedious exercise. And in case you were wondering, Notre Dame won.

The championship game between Florida State and St. Joseph’s had a different energy, and I think that it was influenced by the fact that there were quite a few folks who came up from the Philadelphia area to see St. Joseph’s. And although St. Joseph valiantly fought, Florida State outmatched them – they were just bigger and more athletic.