MEN'S BASKETBALL: Irish run into hot Knights
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Associate Sports Editor
It always seems like Notre Dame has the misfortune of playing top Big East opponents when they're on a roll.
Back in early January, the Irish beat a Pittsburgh team that was on a 10-0 run. The then-No. 7 Syracuse Orangemen beat the Irish in January to win their ninth-straight. And before losing to the Irish for the second time last week, No. 21 Pittsburgh had easily beaten Syracuse by 15 points and Georgetown by 11.
Tonight, 15-6 Notre Dame hosts another red-hot opponent in 14-7 Rutgers, who is coming off back-to-back wins against Top 25 foes.
"We have run into a few teams when they've been on a roll, and Rutgers is certainly one of the hottest teams in the league," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "They're a very confident team."
Last week, the Scarlet Knights knocked off No. 22 Connecticut 61-53, who was previously undefeated in Big East play. Last Saturday, Rutgers handled No. 10 Syracuse 82-74.
"The wins they've had are just huge," guard Matt Carroll said. "It makes them real dangerous. They can beat anybody. It's going to be a tough game for us and they've got a lot of confidence."
Since losing three-straight in the middle of January, the Irish have reeled off a three-game winning streak that moved them into position to control their own destiny in the Big East West Division. If the Irish win the remainder of their games, they will repeat as West Division Champions.
Part of the reason for Notre Dame's recent run has been the addition of defensive-minded Torrian Jones to the starting lineup. Since Jones entered the lineup three games ago, he typically guards the opponent's top player early in the game. As a result, opponents haven't been able to jump out to big leads, a problem that plagued the Irish earlier in the season.
David Graves, who was sent to the bench in favor of Jones, has prospered under the switch. The senior forward hasn't had his playing time reduced and is averaging 16.6 points per game, much higher than his nine points he was averaging during the last five games he was in the starting lineup.
"Torrian lets us get after them defensively early, and when Dave comes in, he provides a spark that Torrian wasn't able to provide," point guard Chris Thomas said. "Torrian has a great offensive game, don't get me wrong, but Dave is one of the best."
Notre Dame's perimeter players will have to handle the task of stopping Rutgers' potent guards. Jerome Coleman, the Scarlet Knights' leading scorer, is averaging 16.3 points per game and Ricky Shields averages 11.7 points.
"Once they get going, they get on fire," Carroll said. "They've got some long range shooters who we've got to slow down."
The Scarlet Knights are about as streaky from behind the 3-point line as the Irish. As a team, they average 32.5 percent from behind the arc. If Rutgers has trouble scoring from the perimeter, they typically throw the ball in to 6-foot-6, 275-pound Rashod Kent, who averages 10 points and 10 rebounds a game.
"Solid defense is what sets the tone for our program and allows us to get easy baskets on our end," Thomas said. "Rutgers is pretty much limited offensively, and if we shut their perimeter down, we'll be fine."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 6, 2002
