Irish remain hungry for conference wins
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
The Irish have a chance to do something this week they've never done before, move into the hunt for a Big East Championship.
"Notre Dame's never been in a league race," men's basketball coach Mike Brey said.
Notre Dame joined a league for the first time in 1995-96 when it entered the Big East, and last year's 8-8 conference record marked the first time the Irish did as much winning as it did losing. This year's Irish, at 3-2 in the conference, stand third in the West division of the Big East, just one game behind Georgetown and Syracuse, both teams that Notre Dame (11-5) will play this week.
But beating No. 11 Syracuse (15-2) tonight won't come easily, since the Irish have lost five straight games against the Orangemen. In the two team's first meeting this season, a Jan. 2 clash in the Carrier Dome, the Irish fell behind early while shooting just 1-for-10 from the free throw line in the first half. Syracuse went on to win 79-70.
A slow start against West Virginia gave Notre Dame a 13-point handicap, but the Irish managed to come back. Dropping behind early against Syracuse could diminish the home court advantage and tie a noose around Notre Dame's neck.
"We have to come out with the intensity in the first 20 minutes," Irish point guard and captain Martin Ingelsby said after beating the Mountaineers Sunday. "Tonight we got down. We can't get down at the beginning against Syracuse."
Syracuse may be missing one of the weapons that struck down Notre Dame in January. Senior forward Damone Brown, who scored a career-high 26 points to go with 13 rebounds in his team's early-season win over Notre Dame, is likely to miss tonight's matchup.
Brown hobbled through the Orangemen's 77-65 loss to Seton Hall Sunday. He played just 24 minutes and scored only five points in the game, after bruising his thigh in practice late last week and taking a bump in the same location early in the game with Seton Hall.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told the Herald-Journal Monday, "I don't anticipate him playing Tuesday."
The Irish better avoid taking Brown's injury as a green light to sit on their haunches. Notre Dame played Seton Hall when the Pirates were without top player Eddie Griffin, yet came away 78-76 losers.
Syracuse is still a team that has only lost twice this year, to No. 16 Seton Hall and No. 6 Tennessee. The Orangemen's Preston Shumpert, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, leads his team with 20.5 points per game and 5.4 assists. DeShaun Williams and Allen Griffin both average in double digits as well.
"They're a team that we haven't beat since I've been here," junior guard/small forward David Graves said. "To be the best, you have to beat the best."
The Orangemen employ a stifling zone defense. Notre Dame's defense is on the upswing, and in Sunday's divisional victory, the Irish switched between zone and man. Defensive efforts will be especially crucial if the normally hot-shooting Irish squad struggle from the field as they have in several losses.
Finding a way to get All-American Troy Murphy's hands on the ball more would boost the Irish, as would a repeat of Ingelsby's double digit performances the past two games.
A sellout crowd is expected for the 7:30 p.m. tipoff, but Brey's hoping for none of the antics that occurred in last year's Joyce Center game against Syracuse. A Notre Dame student threw a water bottle onto the court late in the game after repeated warnings from both referees and then-coach Matt Doherty, and the Irish were assessed with a technical foul. Syracuse pulled out the late-season victory, a knife in the heart of Notre Dame's NCAA Tournament hopes.
A close loss won't satisfy the Irish, who are aiming to go undefeated at home in the Big East.
"Their program versus our program, over the history, it's time," Brey said.
Notes
u West Virginia center Chris Moss, who was assessed two technical fouls and spit at a Notre Dame cheerleader in Sunday's loss to Notre Dame, took an unspecified leave from the Mountaineers Monday for personal reasons.
u Freshman guard Chris Markwood has been cleared to play for the Irish, but will probably not see action until next season. Markwood underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Sept. 29, and had been in rehabilitation ever since.
"I just don't think playing him this season is an option," Brey said. "He's not in game shape. He hasn't played a full practice yet."
He has been practicing on a limited basis.with the Irish the past two weeks, but sitting out games for the rest of the season would give him an extra season of eligibility.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, January 23, 2001
