| Preview: West Virginia | ||||
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Butler had the winning hoop against Cincinnati.
“I’m not talking about any résumés. Talk to me about New York City,” said Brey. “I don’t want anybody talking about (the NCAA Tournament).” Brey counted on his veterans to explain the importance of the league tournament to the younger players. “For our senior class, they were a Russell Carter jump shot away from playing in the championship. I said, ‘Tell the young guys, you seniors, what it’s like playing on Friday night in the semis,’” said Brey. “We’ve gotten there twice, it’s an unbelievable atmosphere to get to that point.” After beating Seton Hall 68-56 in the second round and Pittsburgh 50-45 in the quarterfinals last night, the Irish are back to that point. #7 Notre Dame will face West Virginia at 9:30 p.m. tonight (ESPN) in the semifinals. The third-seeded Mountaineers used a three-pointer off the glass at the buzzer from Da’Sean Butler to edge #11 Cincinnati 54-51 last night. West Virginia is the only Big East team in the top four to advance to the semifinals. Kevin Jones had 17 points in the win over the Bearcats while Butler had 15 and Devin Ebanks 10. West Virginia, ranked sixth in the country, improved to 25-6 on the season, but one of those losses came in South Bend against the Irish. Notre Dame’s first major victory of the season was a 70-68 decision over West Virginia on Jan. 9. Ironically, Butler had a three-pointer for the win rattle out at the buzzer against Notre Dame. Tory Jackson was guarding Butler on the game’s final play and said, “My hand was so close to him he could smell what I last ate.” West Virginia fought hard just to have a chance at the end as the Irish led by 20 at halftime and as many as 22 in the second half. Luke Harangody led the Irish with 24 points while Tim Abromaitis chipped in with 17 and Tyrone Nash had 13. Ben Hansbrough had just six points, but dished out 10 assists and pulled down nine rebounds. Jones had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mountaineers in South Bend. Butler had 13 points and nine rebounds while Darryl Bryant added 11 points. While Notre Dame has done a good job of reincorporating Harangody into the offense after missing five games with a knee injury, the Irish are going to eventually need some contribution from Hansbrough. The senior guard is just 5-for-29 and only 2-for-18 on three-pointers over the last four games. Notre Dame came into the league tournament needing at least one win to secure a NCAA Tournament bid and now that the Irish have two and six straight, the pressure could be on West Virginia. The Mountaineers could very well earn a number one seed in next week’s tournament if they can capture the Big East title. “This run we made at the end of the season, it was pretty special. These guys have played great without me,” Harangody said after the Pittsburgh win. “Now to make a run in the Big East Tournament is great as well. We're just looking forward to playing as well (against West Virginia) and having the momentum we had (against the Panthers).” As thrilled as Brey is to be back in the semis, he made another thing clear when he met with his team before heading to New York. “We’ve never been to Saturday and I said, ‘Boy, I wonder what that would be like.’” |
| Last Updated ( Friday, 12 March 2010 09:40 ) |