Georgetown, Notre Dame set for rematch two weeks after Hoya blowout
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Writer
Mike Brey was blunt when he described the last meeting between Notre Dame and Georgetown.
"It was like the varsity playing the JV," the Irish head coach said. "It was men among boys."
The Hoyas crashed the Joyce Center in late January and went home with a critical 83-73 Big East West Division win that sent the Irish below .500 in conference play.
Capitalizing on Irish forward Harold Swanagan's injured ankle which kept him out of the game, the Hoyas dominated in the paint as forward Mike Sweetney put up a game-high 21 points and led his team to dominate on the boards.
But a lot has happened since the Jan. 21 meeting.
Swanagan is back in the line-up.
Freshman point guard Chris Thomas has weathered through a midseason slump.
Notre Dame has picked up four straight conference victories since the loss and the Irish are coming off an impressive offensive display in their Wednesday win over Rutgers.
And the Irish have proven they can win on the road.
"We like the road," Brey said. "It takes older guys to be good on the road. They like to go in and quiet crowds. They've brought the younger guys along saying this is what we do and this is who we are."
The Irish have dropped only three of 12 road games this season, with two of those losses coming to ranked teams.
Notre Dame players seem to know they have survived a conference slump and are ready to continue their winning-streak well into February.
"The season's rolling now," guard Matt Carroll said. "February makes or breaks teams. We've overcome lots of obstacles and hope we've passed that."
With a 16-6 record, the Irish are ready to prove they have what it takes to recapture their Big East West Division title. A huge hurdle in that quest will be Saturday's rematch.
"I think we were [embarrassed] after that game with Georgetown. And it has stuck with our players," Brey said. "We'll accept that challenge Saturday."
That challenge will be a formidable one as the Irish enter a particularly hostile arena.
Georgetown is enjoying a two-game winning streak, including a 15-point win over then No. 14 Syracuse, a team Notre Dame fell to earlier in the season. But the Hoyas have also dropped two games to No. 21 Pittsburgh, a team the Irish have downed twice.
If they Irish hope to walk away with a win Saturday, they will have to pay particular attention to Sweetney. The forward, who received Big East Player of the Week honors last week, has led his team on both the offense and defensive ends. He averages 19 points and 10 rebounds a game.
Tip-off against Georgetown is at 12 p.m. The game is televised on WNDU-TV.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 8, 2002
