Behind the Scenes of an Epic Comeback: ND vs. Pitt Basketball

Some of Notre Dame Men's Basketball 21 wins have come easier than others. Count Monday's comeback of epic proportions among the more difficult.

After 14 minutes had elapsed at the "Zoo" in Pittsburgh, the Irish had managed to score a whopping three points. At that point, Head Coach Mike Brey decided he had seen enough, so he did what any self-respecting coach weary of an embarrassing loss would do - he earned himself a technical foul.

As you can hear in the video below, ND's radio announcer Jack Nolan was the most pleased he had ever been with a 3-point halftime deficit.

Ensuring their efforts weren't all for not, the Irish stormed out of the gates in the second half and eventually pulled away for a remarkable 51-42 victory over the home Panthers.

Notre Dame's digital media team has done an outstanding job over the past few years delivering high-quality behind the scenes content, and the following is no exception.

 

Next up for the Irish is a reeling Cincinnati squad who has lost four out of their last five games. Tune in to CBS at 2pm EST this Sunday to see if the Irish can put another "L" in the Bearcats' loss column.

Irish Basketball and Hockey Teams are Polar Opposites

It's hard to believe how drastically different Notre Dame's men's basketball and hockey programs have performed relative to preseason expectations

Hockey was supposed to be a lock as a national title contender. In fact, in some polls they were ranked #1 entering the season.

Basketball, on the other hand, was left for dead entering the year with the graduation of Ben Hansbrough and Ty Nash and early departure of Carleton Scott as he (unsuccessfully) tested the NBA waters. For these reasons, the Irish were picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East conference and nowhere near the top 25. Tim Abromaitis, seemingly the lone reason for hope, tore his ACL early in the season and it appeared the Irish wouldn't even have a shot at the NIT.

Both teams are more than halfway through their respective seasons and it is abundantly clear that games are not played on paper.

Hockey's Shortcomings
Starting with the hockey program, after starting out the year strong with series splits against Minnesota-Duluth and Ohio State the Irish appeared to be gaining momentum with a 3-2 OT win against Boston College that extending their unbeaten streak to 9 games. Shortly thereafter, though, they would fall in 4 straight contests.

With a couple wins around New Year's hope still remained for a competitive Irish squad. But a falling in a weekend sweep to Western Michigan in mid-January was a reminder that this team is far from complete. Most recently, back-to-back series losses against Ferris State (#1) and Miami (OH) helped the Irish to its current five game losing streak.

Two games remain against Michigan State before CCHA playoffs begin. It will take a small miracle, such as splitting against the Spartans and at least making it to the CCHA conference finals, for Notre Dame to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. Needless to say, head coach Jeff Jackson won't be up for any awards this year after unless he has some magic left up his sleeves.

Basketball Boon
Mike Brey has probably gotten more out of his group of players than any other NCAA Men's Basketball coach this season. After the aforementioned circumstances losing four of his top players from last season's team, there was virtually no possible way the Irish could earn an NIT bid, let alone an NCAA Tournament bid.

On the heels of an eight-game winning streak, though, Brey has his club primed for a mid-level seed in the NCAA Tournament. As of this post, Joe Lunardi's Bracketology has the Irish as a 6 seed.

The improbable streak started with an upset of then #1 Syracuse and includes home victories against Marquette, Depaul and Rutgers and road triumphs at Seton Hall, Connecticut, West Virginia and Villanova. Last Saturday, it appeared the streak would end at 7 games as the Irish trailed by 20 at the half at Villanova. Resilient as they've been throughout the season, though, they clawed back and emerged victorious in an overtime thriller.

Next up for Mike Brey's squad is Bob Huggins' West Virginia squad, who narrowly lost to the Irish two weeks ago.

Work Left To Do
I actually was hesitant to even post about the basketball team as I am quite superstitious, but they have been truly too remarkable to ignore any longer. Perhaps I've paid too much attention to hockey this year, but with so much anticipation and with the added bonus of breaking in a new facility how could they be left in the dark?

Suffice it to say, both teams have cannot lose focus during this critical stretch in their seasons. For basketball, they need to keep winning games and make a run in the Big East tournament to secure a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament. Hockey has much more work cut out if it hopes to attain its lofty pre-season goals, but if any team can do it it is one led by Jeff Jackson. After all, it was an improbable late season burst in 2008 the led Notre Dame to its first ever Frozen Four appearance.

Good luck to both squads as they look to put strong finishing touches on very divergent seasons.

Oh, and good luck to the Women's Basketball team as they look to secure their first Big East regular season title since 2001, when they shared with the Connecticut Huskies en route to the school's first ever Women's Basketball National Championship. Two words: Skylar Diggins.

Brey to Stay at ND

A unique set of events transpired in relative short span this weekend in the world of college basketball.

First, Gary Williams shockingly announced he was retiring as head coach of the Maryland Terrapins after a Hall of Fame worthy career. In his 22-year career at the helm of the 'Terps he helped rebuild a sanction-laden program from nothing to prominence, including a national championship in 2002.

Then, in quick fashion, rumors began circulating about who would ultimately replace Williams. The short list of favorites included Sean Miller (Arizona), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Brad Stevens (Butler), and Mike Brey (Notre Dame).

Wait a second, Mike Brey you ask? Many people wondered how Brey earned mention in the above list, but those people were not familiar with his history.

You see, Brey is a Maryland guy. He was born in Bethesda, MD and played at perennial national power DeMatha High School. Few would have faulted Brey for at least hearing more information about the Terrapins' job opening. In fact, rumors spread that Brey was set to meet with Maryland officials this Sunday.

In the end, those rumors turned out to be just that: rumors. Today, Coach Brey denied the reports he even entertained meeting with Maryland and confirmed his commitment to Notre Dame.

The announcement comes as no surprise to Irish Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick, who said he was "confident" Brey would stay with Notre Dame amid the rumors of a departure to the land of 'crabcakes and football' (well, at least one part of that tagline is correct).

Brey often takes a lot of heat from Irish faithful because his teams are known to exit the NCAA tournament early, even amid high expectations. But consider the pool of talent Brey is limited to. Notre Dame rarely lands elite level basketball talent. Academic requirements are demanding, and those who qualify are often more interested in elite/power schools such as Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Georgetown, Stanford, and Arizona to name a few. Moreover, the type of player Brey recruits is not built for immediate impact, rather more inclined to need a year or two of development before contributing.

I, for one, am enormously pleased that Brey is staying with the Irish. He has built positive momentum for the program over his 11-year tenure as head coach of the Irish. While we have not seen many post-season results to date I believe that it is only a matter of time before something clicks and the Irish make a deep tournament run.

Yes, this was supposed to be the year that Notre Dame made a late season run. However, that was not the predominant thought leading into the season, which saw the Irish voted to finish barely inside the top half of the Big East conference.

Without a doubt, after a 27-7 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final poll in 2010-201, I feel blessed that Brey is returning to South Bend instead of his roots in Maryland.

But I feel really good about the momentum of our program here at Notre Dame. I mean, we have worked 11 years to get into this position and get some momentum. I really like where our recruiting is and I am honored to have ND next to my name.

Honored indeed. Irish fans are lucky to have a great coach returning to lead their program.

Carleton Scott Forgoing Final Year of Eligibility at ND for shot at NBA

After nearly exhausting the new deadline for NBA draft declaration - 11:59pm EST deadline this Sunday, May 8 - Carleton Scott announced he will not exhaust his remaining collegiate eligibility and will keep his name in the NBA draft.

Scott, a 6-8 forward from San Antonio, TX, played three seasons for head coach Mike Brey. As a starter in the 2010-2011 season he finished third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game, led in rebounds with 7.4 per game and contributed 1.9 blocked shots per game.

In 84 career appearances (38 starts) he recorded 97 blocked shots, good for seventh in Irish history.

Feedback from workouts in New Jersey this weekend helped sway Scott's decision. Though his outing did not garner much negative feedback it was also not full of positive endorsements. According to Mike Brey, both the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat have shown interest in Scott.

It's not clear whether or not Scott will be drafted or if he'll have to go the harder route through undrafted, team tryouts. My guess is it will be the latter rather than the former, though I would gladly be proven wrong because Scott has tremendous potential. He just needs to grow into his body and become more of a consistent offensive threat.

If professional basketball does not work out for Scott he at least has his education to fall back on. This May he will graduate from Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters with a degree in History and Computer Applications.

Best of luck to Scott as he pursues his dream of becoming an NBA player.

It's Been Awhile

No, I'm not referring to the once popular song by Staind. It's been awhile since I've posted and, therefore, awhile since we've had some ND coverage on the blog. The following will serve as a download of happenings since my last post.

Notre Dame Men's Basketball Wonders What Could Have Been
As Justin had mentioned, the Irish men's basketball season came to a screeching halt on the heels of a flat performance against Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Expectations were high on Mike Brey's squad after a tremendous regular season found the Irish ranked in the top 10.

A disappointing early loss in the Big East Tournament apparently did not leave as bitter a taste as one would have expected in the player's mouths. They looked relatively unimpressive against their first round NCAA opponent Akron and then struggled out of the gate against the Seminoles. As much as the pro-Irish crowd in Chicago was supposed to help the Irish it wound up being a non-factor thanks to the slow start.

Accolades continued to roll in for the Irish though even in defeat. Head Coach Mike Brey added to his Big East Coach of the Year award by being named AP Coach of the Year, beating out San Diego State's Steve Fisher. It marks the first such award for an Irish skipper. Notre Dame finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final poll, it's highest ranking under Brey.

Ben Hansbrough added to his Big East Player of the Year honors when he was named a second team All-American by Sporting News and third team All-American by Basketball Times. It capped a tremendous season for the veteran leader and heart of the Irish squad. Hansbrough now looks to earn a spot on an NBA roster as he prepares for the NBA draft.


Sky(lar) Was The Limit For Women's Basketball Program
Switching to the women's side of hoops, Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA championship game where the lady Irish fell to Texas A&M in a game that many, including yours truly, found more entertaining than the men's national championship game between Butler and Connecticut.

Skylar Diggins led the charge for the Irish throughout the entire tournament, putting up 20+ points during four out of the six tournament games and each of the final three.

En route to the title Notre Dame ended a 20-game losing streak to Pat Summitt's Tennessee Volunteers squad. It was Notre Dame's first ever win against the Volunteers. Perhaps more impressive than that feat was the Final Four victory over expected champion Connecticut. Maya Moore was the force behind the Huskies and took the game over late in the fourth, but Notre Dame's defense held strong in the waning minutes of the game to secure the Irish's second title game appearance in program history.

The pro-Irish crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN certainly helped will the Irish against the Huskies but could not stop the force of Danielle Adams from Texas A&M in the title game.


Irish Iced Over At Frozen Four In St. Paul, MN

Notre Dame's hockey team reached the Frozen Four for the second time in school history this season after defeating Merrimack College 4-3 in OT in the Elite Eight. Unfortunately the Irish did not fair as well in St. Paul as they did in Denver during the 2008 Frozen Four, where they advanced to the championship game before falling to Boston College.

Eventual champion Minnesota-Duluth held off the Irish in what started out as target practice during the first semifinal of the tournament. Five total goals in the first period saw the Bulldogs head to the locker room with a 3-2 lead.

Notre Dame rallied in the third period after entering down 4-2 with a short-handed goal from Calle Ridderwall, who was the hero in the 2008 Frozen Four that netted the game-winner against Michigan. The Irish could not sneak another past the Bulldogs' goalie and wound up a goal short with a 4-3 final score.

At least Irish fans can take solace in the fact that Minnesota-Duluth went on to defeat Michigan in the title game.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the first set of games (Notre Dame vs. Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan vs. North Dakota) thanks in part to the Notre Dame Club of Minnesota and to fellow Dillonite Jamie R for winning a lottery opportunity for tickets. Our view was great (see picture above) and even though the result was an Irish defeat it was still an amazing experience to be part of an NCAA championship event. The Excel Energy Center was a great venue to host the event.

Head Coach Jeff Jackson has clearly built the Irish into a perennial powerhouse and hopefully it will eventually lead to the first of many national titles for the Irish icers. What better way to christen the beautiful Compton Family Center opening next fall than by winning a national title? Seeing as the Irish were young this season (12 underclassmen saw significant ice time) they should make a run within the next few years.

Post season awards trickled in for the Irish as freshman T.J. Tynan was named National College Hockey Rookie of the Year by the Hockey Commissioners' Association. Tynan became the first player from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) conference to earn the honor. He led his fellow classmates across the nation in scoring with 23 goals and 21 assists for 54 points.


All in all it was a strong winter season for the Irish. Stay tuned in the coming days for a few updates on how the spring sports are faring.

Until then, Go Irish!

Big East Honors Greet Irish in New York City

Upon arrival in New York City today in preparation for the Big East tournament the Irish Men's Basketball Team claimed three of the top four awards at the annual Big East Conference awards ceremony in Madison Square Garden.

Senior guard Ben Hansbrough (2010-2011) became the fourth Notre Dame player in program history to win the Big East Player of the Year award, joining the likes of Pat Garrity (1996-1997), Troy Murphy (1999-2000 and 2000-2001) and Luke Harangody (2007-2008). 

Joining Hansbrough with the hardware collection were head coach Mike Brey, who earned the Big East Coach of the Year award for the third time in his career, and graduate student Tim Abromaitis, who was named Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Abromaitis has an opportunity to win an unprecedented third consecutive Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year award next season when he returns for another year of graduate level courses at Notre Dame.

In the meantime, the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have business to take care of in New York this week. Head coach Mike Brey encouraged his team all season long not to look in its rearview mirror but rather focus on chasing Pittsburgh. Barely unable to do so in the regular season, the Irish look to advance to and win the Big East Tournament Championship. Simply advancing to the title game would be a program first, but Brey has his troops set on higher sights.

Over Thanksgiving weekend Notre Dame won the 2010 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, FL while beating the likes of California, Georgia, and Wisconsin. 

After two wins last week against Villanova and at Connecticut to end their regular season, the Irish finished second overall in the conference behind Pittsburgh. With the strong showing over the last week by the Irish and poor showings by other top teams, Notre Dame vaulted to No. 4 in both polls - its highest ranking since 1980.

With a strong showing in the Big East Tournament the Irish could garner a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Doing so would be the first time since 1979, when the Irish reveled in the glory days legendary former head coach Digger Phelps. 

Double (bye) A Pleasure for Irish

AP Photo / Joe Raymond

Notre Dame clinched a coveted double-bye in the Big East tournament tonight after dominating a lost Villanova squad 93-72 in a game that was not even as close as the final score indicates.

On senior night it was Ben Hansbrough, who transferred to Notre Dame after two seasons at Mississippi State, who put an exclamation mark on his career in South Bend. He finished with 30 points, 10 assists, and five steals to add to his Big East Player of the Year hopes. He is just the fifth player in the past 15 seasons out of the major basketball conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-10, and SEC) to accomplish that feat in a single game. For good measure, he also tacked on two rebounds.

Brother Tyler Hansbrough, the former North Carolina Tar Heels All-American, National Player of the Year, and current Indiana Pacers player was in the stands alongside Ben's parents and other brother. 

Fellow Senior Tim Abromaitis also finished with 30 points. Abromaitis is technically a senior, though he earned an undergraduate degree in finance in three years, is finishing an MBA this year, and has one year of eligibility remaining in which more schooling will follow. 

Led by Abromaitis' career high nine threes, Notre Dame hit a single-game school record 20 3-pointers on 20 of 32 shooting from behind the arc. It was one behind Kyle McAlarney's school record 10 threes against Tyler Hansbrough's Tar Heels in 2008. The younger Ben Hansbrough chipped in with seven threes of his own tonight. 

Senior forward Tyrone Nash tied his career high rebounding total with 11 on the game to pace all players. 

Thanks in part to an overtime win by Louisville over Pittsburgh the Irish have are in contention to win the regular season Big East title. With an Irish win at Connecticut on Saturday and a Pittsburgh loss in either of its two remaining games (at South Florida and home against Villanova) the Irish will earn their first ever Big East regular season title.

Notre Dame (24-5, 13-4 Big East), would finish tied at 14-4 in conference under the scenario described above, but thanks to the Irish victory in Pittsburgh earlier this season the Irish would win the tie-breaker and, consequently, the title.

Head coach Mike Brey has instructed his squad the entire year to focus on chasing Pittsburgh, rather than divert attention to the rearview mirror. Currently, his Irish sit alone in second place in the Big East and at No. 7/8 (USA Today Coaches/AP) in the country.

Check in ESPN/ESPN2 on Saturday at 2pm EST to see if the Irish can hold up their end of the bargain at Connecticut. Shortly afterwards, Pittsburgh will take on Villanova at 4pm EST on CBS.

Notre Dame has lost seven straight on the road vs Connecticut but this has been a strange season in which the Irish have defied odds time and time again. Picked to finish no better than seventh in the league by the coaches before the start of the season, the Irish are on the brink of their best season in school history.

On January 4, the Irish beat the Huskies 73-70 in South Bend. See if they can double the fun this Saturday. 

Bennie and the Jets

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

Hey kids, shake it loose together the spotlight's hitting something.

Elton John famously sang those lyrics, which were written by longtime songwriter and friend Bernie Taupin, to the song "Bennie and the Jets" in 1973. Thirty-eight years later the spotlight shined brightly on the city of Pittsburgh the past two evenings in the world of both professional and collegiate athletics.

On Sunday evening Ben Roethlisberger helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-19 victory of the New York Jets to earn the Steelers' third Super Bowl appearance in the past six seasons. It was really in part to a superb effort by the offensive line who helped pave the way for RB Rashard Mendenhall, who gained 121 yards on 27 carries.

Pittsburgh's running game helped control the time of possession 34:41 to 25:19 in favor of the black and gold, who ultimately held on to what at one point was a 24-0 lead in the first half. New York managed to score a field goal before the end of the half and added a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half.

Deja vu then struck as Roethlisberger later fumbled and recovered a center snap in the endzone for a safety. Earlier in the season when the two teams met in Pittsburgh the Jets recorded a safety to help stifle a late Steelers comeback. The Jets won that game 20-16 but there is no doubt the Steelers gladly would relinquish that game again in favor the AFC Championship victory on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will greet the Steelers in Dallas for Super Bowl XLV. Stay tuned for more Super Bowl coverage from Stars and Slights.

Switching gears, the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball program earned a #2 ranking after defeating Syracuse last Monday night 74-66 and DePaul on Saturday 80-50. Awaiting the Panthers this Monday night was #14 Notre Dame who was fresh off of a comeback win at home against Marquette, 80-75 on Saturday.

Winning at home is no big deal for the Irish, though, having won all thirteen of its home contests this season so far, including victories over two top 10 teams in Georgetown and Connecticut.

You know I read it on a magazine, oh, the Irish are woeful on the road. Going into tonight's matchup against #2 Pitt the Irish were 4-17 in true road games since 2009. Few gave the Irish a fleeting chance in this game given the three other dreadful road performances this season at St. John's, Marquette, and Syracuse.

Enter Bennie, Ben Hansbrough that is. The little brother of former UNC All-American and current NBA player Tyler Hansbrough put on a show in the Steel City, leading all scorers with 19 points to hand the Panthers their first Big East conference loss this season.

More importantly, it was probably the biggest win in Coach Mike Brey's career. It marked the first time the Irish had beaten such a highly ranked team since 2002, when Brey's Irish upended #2 Texas Longhorns 98-92.

Carleton Scott chipped in 16 in the 56-50 Irish victory, continuing his resurgence after missing a few games due to injury. Scott provided a much needed lift for the Irish by knocking down 5 three-pointers (including one for a four-point play).

But it was Hansbrough's fire and conditioning late in the game that prevented the Panthers from posing as a serious threat in the waning minutes. Repeatedly the Irish cleared the lanes and used Pittsburgh's defensive strategy, switching on all screens, against them. Hansbrough used picks set by big man Ty Nash to matchup against the much slower Gary McGhee, who was left in the dust on a few occasions.

Notre Dame put Pittsburgh on 'burn' notice by employing a slow down offense that literally slows down the pace of the game by letting the shot clock nearly expire before attempting to score. It is the same game plan that they employed last year when Luke Harangody went down with an injury. The methodical approach was effective enough to catapult Notre Dame into an NCAA berth last year. Look for Mike Brey to use the method again throughout the rest of the season against teams he knows the Irish cannot run with.

A major knock against the Fighting Irish up until tonight was its lack of a road win. Now that the first road win of the year is out of the way Notre Dame will seek to add another notch to its belt at DePaul on February 3.