It's early February, but stirrings of March Madness have been spreading like wild fire across campus ever since Notre Dame knocked off #1 Syracuse and the students poured out onto the court inside the JACC. Now blazing a hot-streak through their Big East schedule, the on-fire Fighting Irish look to continue living up to the never-say-die fighting mentality idealized here at Notre Dame.
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| Even Moose caught the wave of Irish Hoops fever sweeping campus |
If you haven't had a chance to watch Brey's squad in action this year, I highly recommend it. He has them playing some of the best team basketball you will find anywhere in the country, and the young backcourt featuring Atkins, Grant, and Connaughton could be a glimpse into something very special coming soon... maybe even, as the ever-hyperbolizing Brey recently put it, the greatest backcourt in school history.
UPDATE: Not only have the recent efforts of Brey's overachieving squad captured some well deserved attention, landing the Fighting Irish at the #23 spot in the AP Top 25 and #24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, but they are now being mentioned as one of the "powers" of the Big East and forward Jack Cooley has earned his first-ever Big East Player of the Week honors.
For those of us who can't help but look ahead, Joe Lunardi's latest "Bracketology"has Notre Dame's stock rising, with the Fighting Irish slotted as a #7 seed against fellow Hoosier State hoopers from Purdue, which would have to be one of the most intriguing first round matchups in the NCAA Tournament should it happen to play out that way.
All in all, it's great to feel the excitement continue to build around this hardworking team, and I'm eager to see what kind of magic reigning Big East Coach of the Year (and Honorary Alumni Dawg) Mike Brey can work with these guys come tournament time.
Once again, I highly recommend getting a taste of our home cooking in the JACC this Wednesday night by joining the Leprechaun Legion in creating a hostile environment as the Fighting Irish look for their 10th Big East victory of the season against Rutgers.
UPDATE: Not only have the recent efforts of Brey's overachieving squad captured some well deserved attention, landing the Fighting Irish at the #23 spot in the AP Top 25 and #24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, but they are now being mentioned as one of the "powers" of the Big East and forward Jack Cooley has earned his first-ever Big East Player of the Week honors.
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| Congrats to Cooley on being named Big East Player of the Week (Check out the ingenious Kanye reference on the t-shirt over his shoulder) |
For those of us who can't help but look ahead, Joe Lunardi's latest "Bracketology"has Notre Dame's stock rising, with the Fighting Irish slotted as a #7 seed against fellow Hoosier State hoopers from Purdue, which would have to be one of the most intriguing first round matchups in the NCAA Tournament should it happen to play out that way.
All in all, it's great to feel the excitement continue to build around this hardworking team, and I'm eager to see what kind of magic reigning Big East Coach of the Year (and Honorary Alumni Dawg) Mike Brey can work with these guys come tournament time.
Once again, I highly recommend getting a taste of our home cooking in the JACC this Wednesday night by joining the Leprechaun Legion in creating a hostile environment as the Fighting Irish look for their 10th Big East victory of the season against Rutgers.
