SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Two months ago, Notre Dame was considered a shoo-in for the NCAA tournament. Now the Irish are just trying to make sure the selection committee takes a long look at them.
“Our theme has been to finish strong to make it interesting,” coach Mike Brey said Monday. “How we finish can really determine a lot of things.”
Such as where they finish in the Big East, whether they play in the first day of the league tournament or get a bye, and whether they make their third straight NCAA tournament appearance or are in the National Invitation Tournament.
The Irish (15-11, 6-8) are in 10th place in the Big East with four games remaining, including a game at No. 2 Connecticut on Saturday and at home against No. 10 Villanova on March 2. While the media and fans try to crunch the numbers to determine what the Irish must do to earn an NCAA tournament berth, Irish players say they aren’t focused on it. Several said Monday they don’t even know where the Irish are in the conference standings.
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The Irish, ranked as high as No. 7 earlier this season, put their season in peril when they lost seven straight – six to teams that were ranked at the time. Since then, though, they have won three of their last four, giving the Irish hope again.
“We just need to keep winning,” forward Luke Harangody said. “Obviously, this is an exciting time for us right now. I’ve never been in this position before, being on the bubble as we are.”
While the players appear almost oblivious to their situation, Brey has been talking about it. He discussed Notre Dame’s situation with Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who served five years on the NCAA’s tournament selection committee.
Brey believes if the Irish win their final four regular season games, they are a virtual lock.
“Any time you win double digit wins in your league is very, very powerful, especially in this league this year; 9-9 would be extremely powerful in this league this year as well,” he said.
At 9-9, though, the Irish might need to win a game or two in the Big East tournament. Most of the teams immediately ahead of the Irish in the standings – West Virginia (8-6), Syracuse (7-7) and Cincinnati (7-7) – hold tiebreakers over the Irish, who hold the advantage over Providence (8-7).
“The middle of this thing is pretty jammed up and it’s going to be an interesting finish for not only us,” Brey said.
an 8-10 league record, Brey believes the Irish would still have a shot at an NCAA tournament berth.
The players, though, say they are only focusing on winning as many as possible and seeing what happens.
“The big picture for us is really to keep playing as well as we can,” forward Zach Hillesland said. “We don’t know what the numbers are going to mean at the end of this thing. So much of this is predicated on how other teams do and other teams finish.”
Forward Ryan Ayers said the Irish are holding out hope.
“It’s college basketball, so anything can happen,” he said. “You hear stories every year. Why not us?”
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