Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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that trio marked the sixth time an Irish men's hoops squad has beaten three ranked opponents in a single month. On Feb. 4, the Irish added No. 15 Marquette to the list. Notre Dame was still left out of the most recent top-25 polls, but that's fine by Brey. "I hope we're not in there," Brey said of the rankings. "It keeps us hungry." Sophomore guards Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins have set the pace with 13.1 and 12.7 points per game, respectively, while adding exceptional quickness along the perimeter on both ends of the floor. Junior big man Jack Cooley had registered 10.6 points and 8.4 re- bounds through Feb. 4. who against Marquette started his fourth straight game, became the first Notre Dame true freshman to record a double-double since Luke Harangody on March 8, 2007. Along with 11 rebounds, the 6-5 Sophomore guard Jerian Grant paced the Irish in assists (4.9 per game) and was second in scoring (12.7 The Irish are 'burning' through the Big East HEATING UP I 70 BY WES MORGAN break. Having limped into Big East Conference play with an 8-5 record and without star forward Tim Abro- maitis (knee), tournament play, per- haps of any kind, wasn't in the cards. Six weeks later, Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey was in an umbrella- drink kind of mood. "I'm the loosest coach in America," n late December, it appeared the Notre Dame men's basketball players would be free to travel anywhere they liked on spring and a methodical "burn" offense that, when least expected, zips by you — down to the last detail in an amaz- ing midseason run that included four straight league wins, starting with an upset over then-No. 1 Syracuse Jan. 21. The reigning National Coach of the Year has his team burning out win af- ter unthinkable win with a young unit. Notre Dame is 5-4 against ranked Brey said after a 76-59 thrashing of No. 15 Marquette Feb. 4 in South Bend. "I am loose, baby. They ain't gonna get tight being around me. I may even have to wear my Don Johnson open- collar [shirt] again next Saturday." The Irish, 15-8 overall and 7-3 in the Big East, have followed Brey's blue- print — highlighted by stout defense MARCH 2012 opponents this season, with all five vic- tories coming in conference play, start- ing with a 72-59 win over then-No. 22 Pittsburgh Dec. 27. The five wins over Associated Press top-25 teams were tied with Ohio State for the most in the country this season. The Irish topped then-No. 10 Louis- points per game) through 23 contests, but his 6-5 frame especially has buoyed the perimeter defense. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Freshman wing Pat Connaughton, RED-HOT ROOKIE Connaughton's 23 points and five threes were the most by an Irish player in a league game this season. "He was grown up when he got here," Brey said of Connaughton, who will also pitch this spring for the Irish baseball team. "Watching him that July when we offered him and got in on him late, there was a fearlessness and a belief that he should be really ready. Anybody that stands on that mound and he's got the game on his shoul- ders, there's a psyche there that maybe other freshmen can't have. "I think people are still surprised — our opponents in the league — with how athletic he is. The way he re- bounded [versus Marquette] in there, he blocked some shots; he was just flying all over the place." want to come back for a sixth season in 2012-13. How the NCAA will rule is the unknown. Abromaitis, who went down in late TIM ABROMAITIS TAKE THE 6TH? Scott Martin and Tim Abromaitis CAN SCOTT MARTIN AND ville, 67-65, in double overtime on the road Jan. 7; stunned then-top-ranked Syracuse, 67-58, at Purcell Pavilion; and took down then-No. 24 Connecti- cut on the road, 50-48, Jan. 29. Notre Dame's January wins against November with a torn anterior cruci- ate ligament, was forced to sit the first four regular-season games this season because he appeared in two exhibition contests before redshirting as a sopho- more — a violation of NCAA rules. The NCAA, because it believed Abro- maitis and Brey did not knowingly break the rule, was lenient on the star forward. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED