Most Notre Dame fans came to Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Saturday expecting an Irish victory over long time rival DePaul. What they got was an entertaining, if not frustrating, college basketball game.
In the end, the Fighting Irish (17-8, 9-3 Big East) found a way to “escape” from a hot shooting Blue Demons (11-13, 2-10) team for an 84-76 victory.
“It wasn’t going to be easy, it was going to be a grinding one,” Brey said afterward. “I loved our poise. It was an escape game today. It had that the whole time, even early in the half. It’s one of those, you say if we get out of here it’s gonna be a flat-out escape.”
The win is Notre Dame’s sixth straight overall and third straight at home. It would have been a devastating loss, considering how far the Irish have come since Big East play began back on Dec. 27.
“That’s as good of a win as the previous two Saturdays (vs. Marquette and Syracuse),” Brey said. “Because of what we’ve deposited in the bank. Coming in here, DePaul’s had a rough go of it already, but they were gonna play loose and man did they play loose. They’re really hard to guard.”
Notre Dame and Louisville are tied for the longest current winning streaks in the Big East at six, after Louisville beat West Virginia 77-74 Saturday in Morgantown.
Big Bad Jack
Irish big man Jack Cooley did the heavy lifting on Saturday against an athletic, albeit young, DePaul squad with his eighth double-double of the season - 22 points and 14 rebounds.
“I think his disposition is one of eating raw meat anyway,” Brey joked of Cooley’s on-court persona. “He certainly loves to play physically.”
He also blocked four shots and drew a crucial charge with 1:03 remaining to help thwart a possible comeback attempt by the scrappy Blue Demons.
“That was a huge charge he took there at the end,” Brey commented. “I think he was definitely outside the arc and he was set. The problem is when people bounce off of Jack, they bounce further off him, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have good position.”
Cooley said the charge, called on DePaul’s Brandon Young, was not even a charge.
“He (the referee) called a hook on that apparently,” Cooley said after the game. “I still am counting (it) as a charge on my season total, so…I’m in a competition with Scott (Martin). I need to make a comeback here,” he joked. “That was just a huge defensive play.”
Cooley’s big day came despite scoring just four points over the game’s final 8:39. The 6’9 junior was coming-off a 21 point, 12 rebound effort in Wednesday’s win over West Virginia. It’s the third time this season he has posted back to back double-doubles and the fourth time he has registered one in Notre Dame’s last six games (all Irish wins).
Cooley is averaging 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds during Notre Dame’s current six-game winning streak. His current stretch has brought his season totals to 11.5 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds, after averaging just 3.7 and 3.1, respectively, last season.
“He’s had a great focus,” Brey said of Cooley. “ He’s grown-up a lot and I think he’s a strong candidate for most improved in our league and probably a strong candidate to be first team all-league.”
Banging The Boards
Led by Cooley’s 14 boards, Notre Dame out-rebounded DePaul 33-23 Saturday. He was the only player for either team to hit double digit rebounds.
The Irish are + 4 in rebounds in their 17 wins and – 8.7 boards in their eight losses this season.
What Happened To The Defense?
Notre Dame opponents entered Saturday’s game shooting just 39.5% (242-612) from the field in Big East play (5th best in the conference), but that was not the case against DePaul.
DePaul shook that trend though in the first half, shooting 45.2 % (14-of-31) overall, including 3-of-7 (42.9 %) from long range. That clip forced a 34-34 tie after the game’s first 20 minutes.
The Blue Demons shot even better in the second half, going 16-of-33 (48.5%) overall and 6-of-9 (66.7%) on 3-pointers. Those numbers were good for a 30-of-64 (46.9%) overall performance and 9-of-16 (56%) three point effort.
The Fighting Irish defense ranked first in the Big East entering the game by surrendering just 57.6 points per game in league play, but DePaul was able to top that with it’s 76 points.
That total is the most ND has allowed in a Big East Conference win this season, and the second most (78 to Maine) the Irish have surrendered in any victory this year. However, Notre Dame’s 84 points is also their most in a Big East game this season.
3-Pointers
Notre Dame bounced-back from Wednesday’s 5-for-21 effort from three point range to hit a more respectable 6-of-16 (37.5%) against DePaul.
The Fighting Irish are now shooting 39.3% (107-of-272) from three-point range at home and 25.2% (55-218) in road/neutral contests this season.
The DePaul Series
Today’s game marked the 101st meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame leads the all-time series with the Blue Demons 58-44, with a 36-14 mark at home. Notre Dame has now won seven straight in the series, with DePaul going 0-5 at Notre Dame since joining the Big East.
DePaul is 4-62 in the Big East since the 2008-2009 season. They are just 9-49 on the road since they joined the Big East for the 2005-2006 season.
DePaul is 1-5 on the road in Big East Play this year. Their only Big East win came at the same spot of Notre Dame’s last loss – the Rutgers Athletic Center.
DePaul – 6-0 when it holds opponents under 70 points, but 2-12 when opponents score 70 or more in a game.
The March To 20
With six games to go in the regular season, Notre Dame needs just four more victories to reach the 20-win mark. It would be Mike Brey’s sixth straight season with at least 20 wins. The last time the Fighting Irish put together such a streak was from 1983-1989 under current ESPN analyst Digger Phelps.
ND’s remaining opponents are (in order): Rutgers, @ Villanova, West Virginia, @ St. John’s, @ Georgetown, and Providence.
No. 11/12 Georgetown is the only ranked team among those foes. The Irish already have five wins over ranked teams this season.
Notre Dame’s current streak of 12 straight postseason appearances is the best in school history. That stretch includes seven NCAA bids and five NIT appearances.
Irish Big In The Big East
Notre Dame is 27-7 (.794) over its last 34 BIG EAST regular-season contests. The Irish stood 6-8 through 14 regular-season games during the 2009-10 campaign and then won four straight to finish 10-8. Last season, Notre Dame posted a 14-4 regular-season mark in the league.
The Irish are 20-4 (.833) over their last 24 Big East regular-season games.
Notre Dame has gone 45-6 (.882) at home in Big East play over the last six seasons. That is the best home winning percentage for any Big East school in league play over that time period.
Connaughton
Notre Dame is now 9-0 in games that Pat Connaughton has started this season, including every game in the current six-game winning streak. The freshman rejoined the starting lineup for Notre Dame’s upset of then No. 1 Syracuse, and has started every game since then.
Connaughton had his best game to date with 23 points and 11 rebounds in last week’s win over Marquette. He followed that with, arguably, his worst game to date, going scoreless with four rebounds in 29 minutes against West Virginia. Connaughton was 0-for-3 from the field (all 3-pointers) in the Irish victory.
He came back with 9 points and 4 boards on 4-of-5 shooting against DePaul.
