Rout of Hokies wraps up first ever division title
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
Notre Dame didn't take any chances with wrapping up its first-ever conference title, cementing the Big East West Division championship Saturday by flattening Virginia Tech 85-61 in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Coupled with Georgetown's win over second-place Syracuse, Notre Dame's victory put the Irish (19-6, 11-3 Big East) three games ahead of both the Hoyas and the Orangemen. Since just two regular season games remain, the Irish assured themselves the luxury of hoisting a championship banner in the Joyce Center, where none hang for men's basketball, next Sunday in the final home game against Georgetown.
"We knew what today meant as far as getting a West Division title," Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "I wanted it bad for them. As much as this team has been through, they should be the first ones to hang a league banner in the Joyce Center."
The Irish, coming off a one-point victory over East Division leader Boston College, kept their defenses high heading into Cassell Arena to play the last-place Hokies (8-18, 2-13). After missing their first two tries, the Irish opened the game 9-of-12 from the field with sophomore Matt Carroll scoring seven of the team's first 11 points to start the Irish engine.
By midway through the first half, Carroll, Troy Murphy, David Graves and Martin Ingelsby had all drilled shots from behind the arc, and the Irish had opened up a 26-13 lead. The long-distance shots weren't quick prayers, either, they were wide-open shots earned with good ball rotation.
"We made the extra pass and got some open looks," Brey said. "Our veterans really set the tone early with great unselfishness and really got the job done."
Murphy led the Irish into a 45-28 halftime lead with 14 points. He put on a shooting workshop, getting points on free throws, a 3-pointer, a slam dunk from Ryan Humphrey, a fadeaway jumper and a layup.
But the junior All-American had a lot of help in taking the game from the Hokies.
"We don't have any individuals," Murphy said. "We're the perfect definition of a team."
Ingelsby's and Humphrey's pictures appeared next to that textbook definition of team play against the Hokies. Ingelsby, a senior point guard, dished off six assists, while Humphrey tossed a few well-placed post feeds.
The hot shooting that marked the game's early going continued all game long, with Notre Dame scoring on a torrid 53 percent of its shots. Murphy, who topped the Irish with 20 points, and Carroll, who had 19, each hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts. Graves broke out of a shooting slump to score 19 on 8-of-14 shooting.
Notre Dame pulled off a 46 to 29 advantage on the glass, led by 10 rebounds apiece by Murphy and Graves.
Not to be overlooked was the security cover the Irish kept Virginia Tech's top scorer Brian Chase under. Chase scored just eight points in the game. The Hokies were held to 49 points until just five minutes to play in regulation. At that point, the Irish had sizzled to a 34-point lead late in the game after a Graves layup and Carroll's third trey of the game, but the Hokies cut the gap down somewhat by scoring with Notre Dame's subs in.
All 12 of Notre Dame's players got in on the action as the Irish won their fifth consecutive road game for the first time since the 1953-54 season.
Reserve center Ivan Kartelo saw his first game time in more than a month after spraining his left ankle in January.
The game was Notre Dame's first in Blacksburg, and the first against Virginia Tech since the Hokies beat the Irish 92-91 in overtime of the NIT Championships in 1973.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 26, 2001
