NEW YORK – Let the debate about the value of conference tournaments rage on. You’ll find a few willing supporters of them in New York, including Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, even after his team was eliminated by Louisville 69-57 in the semifinal on Friday night. There was plenty of value for him and his team here, and it wasn’t just sentimental, although there was a little of that.
“I can’t say enough about the Big East, man,” said Brey. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet saying bye to (associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian) and John (Paquette) and some of the other people, and the Big East has kind of made me.”
Notre Dame has consistently made runs in the conference tournament, as Brey noted, and while they know they lost to a team that could make the Final Four, they were still disappointed about not getting to Saturday night.
Brey has a very mature team, one that seems to have him relatively at ease – at least, as much as a coach can be at ease. They don’t get rattled, which was visible here as they were down 17-4 to Marquette and never let Louisville blow the game open, even tying the game in the first half on Friday night after another slow start. They were able to hang around for most of the night before a few too many turnovers (16) and sub-par shooting (36.5 percent from the field) was too much to overcome.
“He gives us all confidence,” said junior guard Jerian Grant. “He’s never really yelling and screaming at somebody, and if he does, it’s not to push you down, it’s to build you up. With our team, he knows how he can talk to us.”
Grant said the night before that they knew they had to get off to a good start against Louisville. While it wasn’t as bad as the night before, it wasn’t good enough, as they played catch-up for much of the evening. Eventually Louisville wore them down and slowly pulled away later in the second half.
The Fighting Irish frontcourt knows how to pick each other up. Jack Cooley has been a great anchor with very consistent play, but when he hasn’t had the production it’s been someone else. Most recently, it’s been senior Tom Knight coming of age, including a career game against Rutgers with 18 points and nine rebounds, both career highs. At times Michigan State transfer Garrick Sherman has been the guy, and on occasion Zach Auguste has played well, though his best days are very much ahead of him.
“When one of the bigs, maybe their shots aren’t going in, we know the other bigs have to step up, and this was one of those nights,” said Sherman.
Added Grant: “They’re all like best friends. They love each other, and whoever is stepping up, they’re proud of the next guy.”
The guards are the catalysts, with Grant ranking fifth in the conference in assists and having just about no limit to what he’s capable of. Atkins plays a lot of minutes and doesn’t get as much pub as some others, but he’s cerebral and competes. Pat Connaughton had an excellent three games in New York shooting the ball, going 15-21 from long range and often hitting shots at crucial junctures.
In all Brey felt like the team got a boost. He felt the team showed even more poise in New York than they did during the regular season and played like the mature team they are. They will exit New York better than they entered.
“I think we found maybe another gear up here and really at the right time with what’s coming up next week,” said Brey. “I think there’s a lot for us to feel good about, that this tournament maybe helped us get tougher and more confident for next week.
Notre Dame is capable of making a run in the NCAA Tournament, although they won’t be anyone’s pick for the Final Four. They aren’t very deep, so a team like Louisville can wear them down, and if they get behind they aren’t a team that turns other teams over so they have to work harder defensively. But if they do make a run the rest of the month, the Big East Tournament may be where it all started when looking back on it.
