Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Still Standing Irish men���s basketball team endures 18-round Big East fight N By Wes Morgan otre Dame men���s basketball coach Mike Brey finds himself in familiar territory after his 13th regular season in South Bend. Equal parts bewitchment and blunder by the Fighting Irish, along with another critical injury in the beatyou-black-and-blue Big East Conference, resulted in a product that resembled recent editions. Unlike last year, however, there was no nine-game Big East Conference winning streak that made fans believe the program was capable of hopscotching through the minefield of March Madness, perhaps to the Sweet�� 16, if it remained smoking hot. This year was like a typical spring in northern Indiana for the Irish, where one minute they were cruising with the top down and the next they were chiseling the ice from their windshield. But in typical Brey fashion, quite a lot was extracted from the group at his disposal, enduring a major blow just six games into the conference schedule when sixth-year senior guard Scott Martin was lost for the year with a knee injury. Notre Dame, which bounced in and out of the top���25 rankings, finished the regular season 23-8 overall and 11-7 in the Big East, earning a No. 6 Head coach Mike Brey and the Irish finished sixth in the Big East with an 11-7 record, marking a program-record fourth straight season with at least 10 league victories ��� a feat matched only by Louisville and Syracuse. photo by joe raymond seed in the conference tournament and punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Irish were selected fourth in the preseason coaches��� poll. It was the fourth straight year Notre Dame claimed at least 10 league victories, a program record, joining Louisville and Syracuse as the only schools to accomplish that feat. ���I���m very, very proud of this group ��� what they���ve done in the regular season to go 11-7,��� Brey said. ���We survived a Scott Martin injury and we���re in solid position for both tournaments. I think we���re excited to go into the postseason together. ���I���m very proud of it. Anytime you