Brey is, correctly, only worried about this week's tournament.
“You play to win the game.”
I would never argue that point and don’t agree with any team putting on anything other than its best effort. But is winning always best in the long run?
In reality, no it is not always best.
While teams are obligated to do everything – within the rules – to try to win, I do believe that, on occasion, fans are within their rights to hope that their team comes up short.
If a professional team has already been eliminated from playoff contention, I don’t think there is anything wrong with fans hoping for a higher draft pick or a chance at a higher pick. If a college program is stuck in a rut and a fan believes that a change in leadership is necessary then a couple of steps back could be required to take huge steps forward.
Again, I don’t agree with any team tanking a season, but it’s fine with me if followers of that team have a longer-range outlook.
That brings me to this year’s Notre Dame basketball team.
The Irish’s late-season run has been one of the entertaining storylines this season in college basketball. From not on the bubble to on the bubble to in the NCAA Tournament in a matter of weeks, without their best player on top of it has been a truly amazing run.
That run has continued this week at the Big East Tournament in New York City. Notre Dame probably needed one win to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament and victories over Seton Hall and Pittsburgh have placed the Irish in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament for the first time in three years.
Let me be clear, the run has been extremely enjoyable, nobody wants it to end and a chance at a Big East Championship trumps everything else.
Having said that, will the Irish’s win last night over Pittsburgh hinder their chances at a similar run next week?
Before the win over Seton Hall, ESPN’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Irish as a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but nothing was guaranteed. The win over Seton Hall pushed Notre Dame to a #9 in Lunardi’s East region with the Irish facing #8 Florida State in the first round and a potential matchup with top-seeded Kentucky in round two.
According to Lunardi, the win over Pitt bumped the Irish up to a number seven in the East with an opening-round matchup against Saint Mary’s and a possible showdown with second-seeded Ohio State in round two.
A loss to the Mountaineers tonight would probably drop Notre Dame back down to an 8/9 line.
It seems that the Irish may have been better with a lower seed. While the opening-round matchup would be more favorable as a higher seed, it would set up a potential second-round contest with a one or two seed. With a lower seed, Notre Dame could end up playing a 4 or 5 seed in the second round with a much better shot at reaching the Sweet 16.
Of course, a win tonight over West Virginia would push Notre Dame up even higher and two wins could move the Irish to a spot where they could be playing an 11 or 12 seed in the first round and still have that favorable second-round matchup.
And, there may be something more important than seeding. In his last two brackets, Lunardi had the Irish playing its first two rounds in Milwaukee, a much more favorable draw than being shipped out somewhere like San Jose or Spokane.
But since the Irish are now in the Big East semis, there is only one thing left to do. In the immortal words of the Cleveland Indians' Jake Taylor, “Win the whole (expletive) thing.”
