Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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sity and rebounding and just doing the little things we need to win." Maryland announced Nov. 19 it is leaving the Atlantic Coast Confer- ence and joining the Big Ten in 2014 in order to bolster its bank account. Rutgers followed suit the next day, leaving the patchwork Big East and becoming the Big Ten's 14th member. Notre Dame had the The University of UNCERTAINTY IN THE ACC of Rockville, Md., who grew up following the Terrapins, the exit is dis- concerting. Before Notre Dame has even had a chance to compete in the ACC, which is expected begin in 2014, one of the original members of the basketball-rich league has bolted. "Growing up a Mary- same idea earlier this fall, choosing to exit the Big East and transfer all sports other than hockey and football to the ACC. For Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey, a native land fan, that is still hard for me to wrap my brain around," Brey said. "All the guys I grew up with and went to the Mary- land basketball camp with have been check- ing in with me. It's hard to picture. I was looking forward to going back there and playing." Brey, who back in Sep- athletics director Jack Swarbrick in believing the Irish's addition to the ACC would only help prop up the league in an era of widespread re- alignment, now isn't sure what to think. "Famous last words," Brey said. "I think I said at some point after we made our decision to join the ACC, I think things are going to sta- bilize now. Stay tuned. Is the ACC stable? Are we okay? What are we do- ing here? "It's an interesting tember echoed the sen- timent of Notre Dame time. I'd still like to know when we're going to play in the ACC. We still don't know that. Is it next year or is it two years? I think we're all kind of watch- ing that league now." ✦ Irish Kick Off Four-Game Home Stand With Two Wins a four-game home stand. Senior center Garrick Sherman scored 18 points to lead the Fighting Irish, which had a 32-21 lead at Notre Dame experienced little resistance against George Washington in a 65-48 victory Nov. 21 to open the break. Junior guard Jerian Grant added 13 points for Notre Dame, which shot 48.3 percent from the field and limited the Colonials to 32.8-perent shooting. Head coach Mike Brey's squad followed that up with a 69-52 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) Nov. 24. St. Francis connected on 9 of 18 three-point attempts to keep the game competitive, but five Fighting Irish (5-1) players reached double figures. Freshman forward Cameron Biedscheid, senior forward Jack Cooley and junior point guard Eric Atkins each registered 13 points, followed by Sherman (11) and Grant (11). Notre Dame made 28 of 57 shots (49.1 percent) and knocked down 8 of 18 attempts from behind the three-point arc. Cooley paced the Irish with 13 rebounds and helped the team win the battle on the boards 42-25. — Wes Morgan