Irish, Eagles battle for top spot in conference
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
The possession arrow points toward Boston College.
Notre Dame's loss to Seton Hall Sunday gave the Eagles a one-game lead in the race for the Big East regular season title, but that just means the Irish need a steal. The Irish (17-6, 9-3 Big East) can swipe the advantage away from the Eagles (19-3, 10-2) by knocking off their cross-divisional rivals in a 7:30 p.m. Joyce Center clash tonight. A Notre Dame win would leave both teams at 10-3 in the league.
"We still dream about maybe winning a regular season championship," Irish coach Mike Brey said Sunday.
Notre Dame's schedule makes that a reasonable goal, since the one team higher than Notre Dame in the standings — Boston College — must beat the Irish tonight in order to stay there.
The Eagles and the Irish are both sharp shooting squads with Player of the Year candidates in BC sophomore Troy Bell and ND junior Troy Murphy but legions apart in most areas.
The Eagles are small and quick, with four players in their starting lineup who could be considered guards.
Having a court full of ball-handlers, with point guard Bell at the helm, helps the Eagles hold onto the ball, as they boast the best turnover margin in the Big East. The squad coached by Al Skinner also tops the Big East in steals per game — Bell alone averages three per contest — and scoring.
Boston College's speed should concern Notre Dame, which was bothered by Seton Hall's pressure defense Sunday.
"They're No. 1 over in their division," Irish guard Matt Carroll said. "They're probably going to be the favorite in this game."
Notre Dame's other downfall Sunday was a shorter wingspan than Seton Hall, which won't come into play against a shorter Boston College team.
Height is where Notre Dame holds the advantage tonight.
All-American Murphy, at 6-foot-11, towers over all Boston College's players, and 6-8 Ryan Humphrey has a great vertical leap. Behind Murphy, Humphrey and junior Harold Swanagan, the Irish are second in the conference in both rebounding and blocks, while the Eagles creep among the two lowest-rated teams in each category. Notre Dame's stature helps it smother its opponents into shooting a league-low 39 percent.
So while the Eagles can dart in and out of the pockets to defend their opponents, Notre Dame can stand tall as the Irish Guard.
"We're still in first place," Murphy said Sunday of Notre Dame's lead in the Big East West Division. "We're still in the driver's seat.
The game tempo could be key, as the Eagles are 12-0 when they score more than 80 points. Another point to watch will be the shooting. The Irish, whose normally strong 3-point shooters Martin Ingelsby, David Graves and Carroll were off against the Pirates, but won't be likely to stay that way for long.
The Eagles are confident, coming off a close home win over smooth-sailing Providence, but the Irish are hungry after a disappointing loss to the Pirates that ended an eight-game win streak.
"It's going to be a big win for us," said Carroll.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 21, 2001
