Pittsburgh set on revenge in rematch with Notre Dame
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Assistant Sports Editor
The last time the Irish men's basketball team played the Pittsburgh Panthers, Troy Murphy and co. delivered an 81-66 win in the Joyce Center.
Sunday's challenge will be different, as the Panthers (9-9, 1-6 Big East) possess the home court advantage and a powerful source of motivation — revenge.
"We played them at home, and beat them at home," freshman guard Matt Carroll said, "So I'm sure they're all fired up for us. I'm sure they're going to be ready to play, but I'm sure we're going to be ready to play."
Pittsburgh has only played two games since losing at Notre Dame (14-8, 5-3), leaving the loss to the Irish fresh in the minds of the Panthers.
After falling to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh did an about-face and defeated Villanova 79-70. It then headed down to Miami, ending just four points behind against a squad that humbled Notre Dame 63-49 in the Joyce Center.
Ricardo Greer, a 6-foot-5 forward, is capable of bouncing with the big boys down low.
He is the only player in the Big East besides Notre Dame star Murphy to rank among the top five in the Big East in both rebounding and scoring. Greer led the Pittsburgh offensive on Notre Dame Jan. 22 with 20 points and eight rebounds.
But the question may not be whether Greer can hold his own with Murphy.
A better query might be whose supporting cast will shine brighter on Sunday.
For the Panthers, forward Chris Seabrooks and guard Jarrett Lockhart both average in double digits.
Lockhart came through with 20 points for the Panthers in their first meeting with the Irish.
Freshman forward Donatas Zavackas, averaging 10.8 points per game in the conference, may be an unexpected force for the Irish to contend with.
He sat out the first contest with Notre Dame for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Since returning to play, he led Pittsburgh in points against Villanova, and in rebounds against Miami.
Notre Dame is led by 6-foot-10 All-American candidate Murphy, who averages 24 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Few teams have been able to find an answer for him this season.
In addition to Murphy, the Irish have a solid crew of starters and reserves who can produce.
"I think we're playing really well right now," Murphy said. "We have a balanced attack. Last night we had a bunch of guys who scored in double digits. It's tough to stop a team like that when they have different guys who can go out there and score 25 points. Teams really have to be ready for them."
Freshman guard Matt Carroll and sophomore forward David Graves were high scorers in the win over West Virginia, with 17 points apiece.
Sophomore forward Harold Swanagan joined Graves and Murphy in high rebounding honors with nine boards each.
Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon ups the team's scoring with his six assists per game. Junior Martin Ingelsby, who helped heat up the Irish with two 3-pointers and three assists Wednesday, backs him up.
The Irish hit the road after four consecutive home games.
"It's really important for us to win on the road," Murphy said. "The way you move up in the standings is you beat people at their home arenas. The [NCAA] selection committee really looks for how you play in the month of February and how you play on the road."
Beneath the tutelage of dynamic first-year coach Matt Doherty, they are on a high after defeating then-No. 23 St. John's and middle-of-the-road West Virginia.
The two wins left the Irish just one game out of second place in the Big East and in the midst of the hunt for an invitation to March Madness.
"These games could make or break our season," Carroll said. "If we can win these games on the road, we should be in good shape."
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 4, 2000
