Irish narrowlly edged Big East foe two weeks ago
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Writer
When Notre Dame traveled to Pittsburgh in mid-January, Mike Brey's team was feeling good.
Walking away with a 56-53 win over the No. 23 Panthers and a 12-3 record, the Irish were confident they could be Big East conference contenders and make a splash in the NCAA tournament. The team's heart and soul, Harold Swanagan, was playing quality minutes to keep the Irish in games. Forward David Graves hit one of his trademark 3s to give the Irish the winning edge over the Panthers. And freshman point guard Chris Thomas was just days away from earning his third Big East Rookie of the Week award.
But with three straight losses to tough teams like Syracuse, Kentucky and Georgetown in the following week and a half, the team's core threads started to unravel.
"We lost to three great teams," Graves said. "A lot of teams lost to those teams. You get into the bulk of the schedule and some things just don't happen."
Swanagan was sidelined with a left-ankle sprain. Graves, along with many of his teammates struggled to find their shots. Thomas hit an offensive rut. And with losses to Villanova, Kentucky and Georgetown, the Irish suffered through their worst home losing streak since the 1992-93 season.
Now, after getting back on track with a home win Saturday over Seton Hall, the Irish again face a tough Pittsburgh squad which amassed a 16-3 record and jumped up to No. 21 in the rankings.
And the Irish are looking forward to the challenge.
Swanagan is back in the lineup and looking forward to logging some minutes on the court.
"I'm very excited and ready to go," Swanagan said. "It's been very hard because I think in tough games I can come in and make a difference."
The senior has made a huge difference on the court this season as a key hustler for the Irish.
"Harold is our MVP," Graves said. "When we don't have him on the court, you miss him so much because of what he does on the floor."
Graves is finding his shot again, with some key baskets to propel the Irish to a win Saturday, and the Irish are ready for the chance to make some more waves in the Big East.
"I think a win is very important," Swanagan said. "We're still in the chase to a bye [in the Big East tournament]."
If the Irish hope to put another notch in the win column, they will have to buckle down on defense and attack the boards.
"They're going to be more aggressive this time," Graves said. "It'll be a defensive struggle. Whoever controls the defensive rebounds will win the game."
Key to the Irish defensive strategy will be containing Panther guard Brandon Knight. Knight, who scored a team-high 13 points in the squads' last meeting, averages just under 15 points a game and is a threat from outside. Knight also leads his team with almost seven assists a game.
The Irish did a good job containing Knight at Pittsburgh, forcing him out of rhythm and pressing him to take off-balance shots most of the night.
"We need to control Brandon Knight, and if we can do that we'll be in good shape," Graves said.
In the two teams' last meeting, the Irish stepped on the court ready to play, shooting their way to a seven point halftime lead. The Panthers quickly regrouped and after a 9-2 run took the lead just three minutes into the second half. Pittsburgh led for most of the second half before Matt Carroll's two free throws tied it up and a Graves' 3-pointer put the Irish ahead for good with less than a minute on the clock.
Tip-off tonight at the Joyce Center is at 7 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, January 30, 2002
