Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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88 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY MATT JONES W hen Notre Dame took the floor at Purcell Pavilion for its Jan. 24 game against Vir- ginia, the Irish were 6-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and feeling good about themselves. Things changed in a hurry for head coach Mike Brey's team. Four straight losses followed, beginning with an ugly 71-54 defeat at the hands of the Cavaliers. The Irish also dropped a 62-60 decision at Georgia Tech on a buzzer-beating layup Jan. 28, and fell 84-74 at home against Duke Jan. 30 and 83-76 to North Carolina Feb. 5 in Greensboro, N.C. Playing in the toughest league in the country, the Irish quickly fell down the conference standings. As of Feb. 6, they found themselves in seventh place. "We are getting smacked hard right now, but we're getting smacked hard together," Brey said after the loss to Duke. Notre Dame was 1-6 against teams ranked in the Associated Press poll following the defeat versus the Tar Heels, with the lone victory coming at home against Louisville. "We just realize we have a lot of work to do," junior forward Bonzie Colson said. "It's the best league in the country and the great thing about it is you get to play again and you get to learn and grow. That's what we have to do." After climbing as high as No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, the Irish were unranked Feb. 6 — the first time that was the case since Nov. 28. Notre Dame was ranked No. 20 be- fore losing to Duke and North Caro- lina in the same week. "I'm thrilled we have six league wins right now; I'll take that right now," Brey said after the Duke loss. "The punches of league play are go- ing to come, and we're getting them right now. Hopefully we can be resil- ient enough to bounce back." In his 17 seasons as Notre Dame's coach, Brey said he could predict the Irish coming back to the pack after the program's best start during his tenure. Winning five straight games to begin ACC play and reaching six wins by the midway point of league play gave the Irish some room for error. "You're maybe never going to win five in a row again, so you coach ac- cordingly and you adjust how you handle your guys," Brey said. "Not that you're lowering the bar, but you've got to get them realistic too about coming back and not getting in panic mode." That's life in the ACC, senior wing V.J. Beachem said. " We s t i l l t h i n k w e ' re f i n e , " Beachem said. "This is going to be a test of how together we are, our lead- ership. At the same time we're play- ing in the ACC, so bumps in the road are going to happen like this and it's all about how we respond to it." STARTING LINEUP TWEAK In search of a spark, head coach Mike Brey went with a different starting lineup for the first time this season, inserting senior forward Aus- tin Torres in place of junior forward Martinas Geben for the Feb. 5 game at North Carolina. Prior to the matchup against the Tar Heels, Notre Dame had used the same starting five — guards Steve Vasturia and Matt Farrell, wing V.J. Beachem and forwards Bonzie Col- son and Geben — for each of its first 23 games this year. But poor starts and lackluster efforts in losses to Vir- ginia, Georgia Tech and Duke had Brey thinking about going small, in- serting a fifth guard into the starting lineup and removing Geben. Ulti- mately, he chose the 6-7 Torres for his energy and leadership. Bonzie Colson and the Irish dropped four straight games from Jan. 24 to Feb. 5, including an 84-74 loss to Duke at home. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND TAILSPIN Notre Dame drops five of six midseason games