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Irish Back on Tourney Track
UHND.com - Alan Tieuli - Used courtesy of IrishEyes.com
2/21/2002
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(IE) – Did anybody else think about Donta Wade on Wednesday?
It was Wade – a non-descript
junior college transfer – who ruined Notre Dame’s 1999-2000. He came into the Joyce Center with a last place
Providence team on February 23 that season and shot lights out in a 10-point Friar
victory. It was the defeat that ultimately
kept the Irish out of the NCAA Tournament under Matt Doherty.
History didn’t repeat itself. Chris
Thomas wouldn’t
let it.
West Virginia – officially
the worst team in the Big East with one victory and a double-digit loss to Virginia Tech
– didn’t have the sharpshooters or overall talent to hang with Notre Dame. Taking their cue from Thomas, the Irish looked
fresh and confident in rolling to an 89-76 victory over the Mountaineers.
The wunderkind point guard had
another special game -- 26 points and 12 assists as the Irish snapped a two-game losing
streak. Thomas’ effort was particularly
uplifting since many fans thought the slightly-built freshman had emptied his tank in a
60-minute performance at Georgetown on February 9. The
Irish had not won since.
“I look at the stat sheet and
I see 28 assists,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. “That tells me we are
playing very unselfishly and aggressively.”
All is not well, however, in Notre
Dame Nation. Starting guard Matt Carroll sprained his ankle 14 minutes into
the first-half and never returned. He is
questionable for the Irish’s Saturday night contest at Miami.
“He strained the foot that he
injured (falling out of bounds after a made jumper) in the Rutgers game,” said Brey.
“Hopefully he’ll be ready (Saturday).”
Entering with an RPI of 35, Notre
Dame now has an impressive overall record of 18-8 with three regular season games
remaining. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded
to 64 teams, no eligible Big East team with 20 or more victories has failed to earn an
at-large berth. It appears simple then. To dance, win two of the remaining three on the
schedule (at Miami, at St. John’s, Providence) or take one and also win a game in the
Big East Tournament.
“I talk to them about the NCAA Tournament prospects, so they hear about it from me,” said Brey. “I give them a weekly update on where we stand. Then we focus on the task at hand. This was an important game if we wanted to go.”
T
"
West Virginia fell to 8-17
overall, 1-12 in the Big East. The
Mountaineers have lost a head coach, Gale
Catlett, and 15 of
their last 16. With three games remaining,
they are on a course to lose 20 games, which is almost unheard of when it comes to Big
East teams. It’s only happened to four
schools in conference history – Boston College twice (1998-99, 1989-90), Miami twice
(1993-94, 1991-92), Providence (1984-85) and Seton Hall (1982-83).
Notre Dame led 49-39 at the half
as Thomas had 17 points and six assists, directly accounting for more than half of the
offense. The Irish never trailed after 7-6. The game was not nearly as threatening as the Jan.
9 visit to Morgantown when the Irish fell behind by as many as 18 in the first-half.
“They had us beat in
Morgantown,” remembered Brey. “So we took this game quite seriously. Jonathan
Hargett is an
incredible talent.”
But the freshman point guard is
also 0-2 against Notre Dame and the pre-season Big East Rookie of the Year will not be in
New York on March 5 when the award is presented…almost certainly to Thomas. Hargett had 15 points (five-for-14 shooting)
on this night.
David
Graves, back in the
starting line-up for his penultimate home game, had 20 points on nine-for-15 shooting. The pride of Lexington had nine in the first eight
minutes of the second-half as the Irish turned the contest in a 65-47 rout.
“It’s time for the
seniors to be men,” said Brey. “That’s why David was back in the starting
line-up. He helped set the tone in practice
the last two days.”
Ryan
Humphrey (19 points,
13 rebounds) controlled things inside as he makes a late, darkhorse run at Big East Player
of the Year and first-team All-Star. There is
no disputing that Humphrey’s effort – game in, game out – has been
uncannily consistent.
“Ryan is an absolute warrior,” said Brey. “He’s definitely a Player of the Year candidate. I’m just so proud of the year he’s having. You talk about senior leadership, it’s this guy.”
And Brey is quick to praise a unit that many were bailing on after Sunday’s disappointing loss to Syracuse.
“I told our guys on practice Monday, we’re playing well,” Brey said. “I like the way we are playing faster, I like the way we are playing unselfish. I like our chemistry right now.”
-0-
THE
NOTEBOOK: There has
been much talk about Brey’s record in nationally televised games and his record at
Notre Dame against ranked teams. But how
about focusing on a positive statistic? Try
this one. Five teams from the Big East
Conference made the NCAA’s last year – ND, Syracuse, Georgetown, Boston College
and Providence. Barring something outrageous,
only the Irish and Orange should be selected this year from that group. Consistency.
Isn’t that why Brey was hired?…..Here’s another positive
note. The Irish have now won exactly 60 games
the last three seasons. That hasn’t
happened since the 186-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89 teams combined to win 65. That was also the last time ND won 20 three
consecutive seasons…….Graves entered the contest 87 points behind Kelly Tripucka and seventh place on the all-time
Irish scoring list. With 20 Wednesday and,
barring injury, a minimum of five games remaining, Graves needs to average 13.4 per to
pass number 44, one of this reporter’s favorites…..Speaking of Top 10 ND
scorers, Troy Murphy had a terrible homecoming to the
Meadowlands Tuesday. He went scoreless in 15
minutes and was part of a porous Golden State defense that surrendered 75 points to New
Jersey in the first-half. The Warriors are so
bad the team’s city newspaper, The Oakland Tribune, no longer travels with the
squad full-time…….Making plans for the Big East Tournament? There’s an easy way to figure when ND will be
playing. If the Irish finish in an odd
numbered position (first, third, fifth) they would open in an afternoon session (Thursday
at 7 p.m. if first, Wednesday at noon if fifth, at two if third). If they finish in an even spot (second, fourth,
sixth) they would open in a night session (Thursday at 9 p.m. if first, Wednesday at 7 if
fourth, at 9 if sixth)……Jordan
Cornette hit his
first career three-pointer in the first-half. It
was his fourth attempt. Two possessions
later, he stroked a 18-footer. He’s in
Brey’s plans to be a perimeter presence, particularly with the departure next season
of Graves and the entrance of physical Ricky
Cornett, Torin Francis and senior Dan Miller.
Cornette finished with a very impressive line – eight points and
nine rebounds in 24 minutes…..Tom
Timmermans fills the
Big East pre-requisite. Big Body, Eats Fouls. He had five personal fouls in 12
minutes…..All five West Virginia starters reached double figures. Unfortunately for Mountaineer fans, those starters
were named (Drew) Schifino and (Josh) Yeager, not (Tim) Lyles and (Lionel) Armstead.
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