Irish must solve FSU's stifling defense

There's no debate on the identity of Florida State's best defensive player.

Six-foot-9 junior forward Chris Singleton claimed the ACC's defensive player of the year award, so there's no ability to quibble there.

But when the Seminoles can't agree how to rank their next four defensive stalwarts, that's a measure of No. 5 Notre Dame's task in its Southwest regional third-round game Sunday night at the United Center.

“I think they're one of the best defensive teams in the country,” said Irish senior leader Ben Hansbrough. “It's going to be a great challenge for us and we're looking forward to it.”

One of the best?

Notre Dame assistant coach Rod Balanis stayed up until 3:30 a.m. Saturday poring over tapes looking for ways to exploit FSU. That's among the reasons he woke up after just 2½ hours of sleep.

“Their size and athleticism,” Balanis said. “Their stats speak for themselves defensively.”

Tenth-seeded Florida State, boasting a wicked mix of quickness and wingspans, leads the nation in field-goal defense at 36.2 percent. To put that into perspective, Stanford set the modern Div. I record at 35.2 percent in 2000.

Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings list the Seminoles No. 1 with just 86.4 points allowed per 100 possessions — the second year in a row FSU has paced the nation.

The Seminoles are so good on defense, they believe it screws them up offensively.

“Everything in practice is a lot harder,” said 6-foot-10 junior Bernard James, who owns 74 of FSU's 188 blocks. “It's like we barely score in practice just because we lock each other up that well. Our defense works that well.

“I think it also throws us a little out of whack on offense because we have such a hard time in practice finding what the good options are for plays. I think that kind of carries over to the games sometimes.”

Six-foot-4 senior point guard Derwin Kitchen ranked James as the Seminoles' best defender after Singleton. Then he went with 6-5 swingman Michael Snaer, 6-5 swingman Deividas Dulkys and himself.

James declared Kitchen and his team-high 55 steals to be the team's No. 2 defender and bumped everyone else down a spot.

Judging by Kitchen's descriptions, look for Dulkys to shadow Tim Abromaitis (75 3-pointers) and Snaer to chase Hansbrough (18.4 ppg).

“(Dulkys) has been able to take the other team's best shooter and do a pretty good job on them,” Kitchen said. “And Mike, he's our best on-ball defender. And Chris (Singleton), he does everything.”

But to focus solely on Florida State's defense gives Notre Dame's offense short shrift.

Pomeroy ranks the Irish No. 3 nationally in efficiency (122.2 points per 100 possessions) because they don't turn over the ball and shoot so well on 3-pointers.

“It's just another challenge for us,” said senior center Tyrone Nash. “This group has responded to challenges throughout the whole year. We're up for it. We're ready for it. I expect nothing less than what we're going to give tomorrow.”