Wow! Without its star player, Luke Harangody, ND dismantles Pitt, the BE's hottest team, 68-53. It was never close, with ND leading by over 20 for much of the 2nd half. They still don't look good for the NCAA tournament, but tonight they looked great. I'm happy for Mike Brey.
Very nice win for the Irish. I didn't watch it, concentrating on reruns of old olympic curling! Maybe we can make a nice run to finish the season and have a NIT bid and do well there.
Terry.... <t>I realize MB has a tough job at ND in the Big East but they just don't recruit well enough to ever get over the hump. Lost another one yesterday to the Cuse which is no small thing but there are far to many of these type losses. I like Bray as a coach but IMO this is as good as it gets with him there.</t>
He had a very weak non-conf schedule and lost to a couple of teams that he should have never lost to in Loyola Marymount and Rutgers. That said I think that ND basketball is as good as it's going to get without some change in the commitment level of the University. I think Kayo is pretty much got the situation nailed. ND Basketball
Yes it was an excellent win for the Irish. Naturally brings up questions about how to use Luke Harangody when he comes back, and of course can we finish the season with 2 wins (even 1 of 2) and also get some wins in the BE Tourney and be one of the last teams in to the NCAA's instead of the last teams out.
So after now beating Georgetown, things are getting interesting for you guys. Keep it up, and you'll shoehorn your way back into the dance. RE: Harangody. Is this a case of the team looked to him too much, and now that he's not there, they are actually doing what they should have all along? Funny how that goes sometimes...
Scott, Fran Frashilla made an interesting comment during the Pitt game the other night which reflects what you suggested. He said that when LH gets the ball in the post, he holds it looking either for a shot, a drive, or a kick out to a teammate. This has caused the other players to kind of slow down and wait for LH's decision. Without him, the other players actually are making better decisions and playing much better. The play-by-play guy then quipped, Does this mean that LH is ND's version of Wally Pipp? They laughed, and Frashilla said, no way.
It will be interesting to see how LH is used by Brey when he comes back...assuming he does come back.
Another nice win 58-50 over UConn which puts ND - at least - in the conversation for one of the final at-large tournament berths. One more regular season game vs. Marquette, which will be tough to win. Marquette is playing at a very high level.
Always good when you can get the win vs UConn even though they aren't a great team this year. You are right though that it's going to be very tough to get a road win at Marquette.
Excellent win, and Harangody is back and played 11 minutes. I know some have said that we are better without him, but I think we need him now. I doubt if Luke wants to disrupt the current team chemistry and will do everything to work into the way the guys are playing right now.