PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Mike Brey told his players he would need 95 points on Saturday. They gave him 103 instead, so it seems they took care of that.
“I knew we were going to have to score the ball because this team can really score the ball and is talented offensively,” Brey said, referring to host Providence.
Notre Dame’s 103-84 win over the Friars is another survival win for this team as they try to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Fighting Irish improve to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in the Big East, and it’s their third win in four games.
“I’m proud of our group,” said Brey. “This group’s taken a lot of big punches and has hung in there and come back and have stayed together. I’m happy for them to perform the way they did today and just keep digging and scratching and clawing.”
The Irish were able to overcome a bad first half by Luke Harangody, as shooters Kyle McAlarney and Ryan Ayers picked up the slack nicely. Ayers had 18 of his 28 points in the first half on 6-9 shooting, including 6-8 from long range, while McAlarney had 17 of his 25 in the opening frame. They also got a terrific effort off the bench from Jonathan Peoples, who had 14 points and nine assists, both career highs.
Brey was happy with how this team responded both to the game itself as well as after it. They realize there is still plenty ahead, so they can’t get too high now. Their hope is that it just boosts them.
“We just want to use this as a confidence booster,” said Ayers. “Going into Wednesday, we want to go out and get four out of five with this next game.”
This stretch comes after the Irish had lost seven in a row, a losing streak that might have seemed unimaginable earlier this season. They’re certainly not lacking talent, especially at the offensive end, and it’s a veteran group. Brey noted several times that this team has been together and that a lot of relationships between the players have been built from their experience together. The character of this team is clearly something that’s driving them forward at this point.
“Our seniors have been fabulous helping me manage the group,” said Brey. “When you have great kids, you always have a chance, no matter how many times you get punched. Those were some unbelievable blows that we have taken.”
“I know a lot of teams might not have fought out of that seven-game skid like that,” said Ayers. “It shows a lot of character on the team, that you’re going out playing with your best friends, have each other’s back and get on each other and push each other.”
Still, even as the Irish have started winning again, the questions remain. The seven-game skid suggests that they don’t have a big run in them to at least reach .500 and perhaps get one more good win the rest of the way to look like a better NCAA Tournament team. But this team has also looked very capable at times as well. That was certainly the case on Saturday.
Questions surround whether or not the team will play well enough down the stretch to get into the NCAA Tournament. Brey thinks the group has done more than just live with it, seeming to even embrace it. It’s one more intangible that can only help them make a good run in the final weeks of the regular season.
“I think if you look at the guys on this team, we’ve kind of been conditioned our whole careers to prove people wrong and really just play,” said McAlarney. “Now we’re in that position. We can’t really worry about standings, the NCAA Tournament, we don’t want to talk about that yet. We just want to play and win as many games as we can.”
Although they’re not looking that far ahead, they have three of their remaining four games at home. After going nearly two months on the road without a win, having that kind of schedule at the end certainly is favorable. They took care of getting 95 points on Saturday, and now they can try to take care of a good finish.
