Irish put home winning streak on the line against Okafor and Huskies
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
Sitting in the locker room minutes after wrapping up a blowout victory against Virginia Tech, the Irish couldn't help but talk about tonight's marquee matchup against Connecticut.
And for good reason, too. The storylines surrounding tonight's nationally televised game at the Joyce Center are limitless.
There's the story of Husky coach Jim Calhoun, who will be coaching just his second game tonight since he took a little more than two weeks off to recover from prostate cancer surgery.
There's the tale of how the Huskies, winners of four of the last seven Big East Tournaments, beat the Irish in the semifinals last year.
There's the matchup of prolific sophomores — Notre Dame's Chris Thomas and Connecticut's Emeka Okafor — who finished 1-2 in last year's Big East Rookie of the Year voting.
There's Notre Dame's undefeated home record this season and the fact that the Irish haven't lost in the Joyce Center in 372 days.
But most importantly for both teams, there's the pivotal role tonight's game will play in the race for regular season Big East titles.
Fresh off the heels of a 98-76 blowout of Virginia Tech Saturday, the No. 12 Irish (21-5 overall, 9-3 in the Big East) are ready to take on Connecticut (17-6, 8-4) tonight.
"This game gives us a little bit of juice heading into Connecticut," Matt Carroll said Saturday. "With Big Monday, we'll be ready to go."
Thomas called his fellow sophomore Okafor "the bread and butter" of Connecticut's team, and for good reason. The two last year were widely considered the best freshmen in the Big East, and when Thomas won the award, Okafor made a point of talking to Thomas about it before the two teams squared off in the semifinals of the Tournament.
"He said to me last year that I stole his rookie of the year award," Thomas joked. "I think he had a little chip on his shoulder."
Although Okafor only scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Irish last year, he averages 15.4 points, 11 rebounds and 4.7 blocks a game.
Yet playing in Okafor's shadow is his classmate Ben Gordon, who averages a team-high 20.4 points a game.
"Ben Gordon is one of the best guards in the Big East, Okafor is one of the best centers in the Big East," Carroll said. "It's going to be a very difficult game."
Chances are it will also be an emotional one for Calhoun and the Huskies. The 60-year-old Connecticut coach was expected to take three to four weeks to recover from surgery to remove a cancerous prostate in early February.
But against St. John's Saturday, to the deafening roar of 10,000 fans, Calhoun led his team to a 77-69 victory just 16 days after undergoing surgery.
"We saw coach was there — the general's back — and it got us fired up and ready to go," Gordon said after the game.
Neither team had a significant amount of time to prepare solely for tonight's matchup. Both squads finished their games Saturday afternoon, leaving a little more than 50 hours between the conclusion of Saturday's games and tonight's 7 p.m. tip-off.
But Brey isn't concerned about the short turnaround, nor does he think the relative ease with which the Irish beat the Hokies will take any sharpness away from the Irish.
"Our frame of mind is really good," he said. "We're loose, we're playing to win. Sometimes we're a little too fearless, jacking up shots to quick. But my gosh, that's a fine line."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 24, 2003
