Strong defensive performance gives Notre Dame first Sweet 16 berth since 1987
JOE HETTLER
Sports Editor
INDIANAPOLIS
When asked what he thought about his team shaving their heads before the NCAA tournament, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey could only shake his head and laugh.
"If they play defense, I don't care what they do," Brey said.
The Irish did just that Saturday afternoon against Illinois, and now they're advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1987.
Dan Miller had 23 points, including five first half 3-pointers, and Notre Dame held their second straight opponent to under 35 percent shooting, en route to a 68-60 victory over the Illini.
"Our defense won the basketball game for us today," said Brey, who celebrated his 44th birthday Saturday. "It is an area where we knew we needed to be better at if we wanted to win any games in this tournament.
Chris Thomas added 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and Matt Carroll limped his way to 11 points for the Irish, who will face top-seeded Arizona Thursday in Anaheim, Cal.
"This is huge for our program," Brey said. "In the summer, we talked about playing on the second weekend. I'm happy this group set a goal and achieved it. They should be proud of themselves."
Brey also credited the superb play of Miller, who has played in 12 NCAA tournament games in his college career, as the difference in the basketball game.
"Dan Miller was fabulous and that's one of the reasons we invested in him," Brey said. "… He's made us an overall tougher team. There's no question he has talked in our locker room on what it takes to advance. He has helped us take the next step."
Illinois's All-American candidate Brian Cook had 19 points, but made only six of his 23 shots and Dee Brown added 14 points for the Illini. Neither got many easy looks, thanks to the defensive play of Jordan Cornette, Tom Timmermans and Torin Francis.
The Irish jumped out to an early 8-0 lead on 3-pointers by Miller and Carroll and two Torin Francis free throws. Francis, who scored 23 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday, was held to only two points, but did pull down 14 rebounds for the Irish.
Brown then knocked down a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the Irish lead to 8-5. Notre Dame extended their lead to nine, at 16-7, when Thomas nailed another 3-pointer. The Irish drilled 11 of their 16 3-pointers in the first half.
Illinois cut the Notre Dame lead to six on a Brown free throw, but the Irish responded with a Timmerman layup and a Chris Quinn 3-pointer to give them a 32-21 lead with 7:42 remaining in the half.
Notre Dame went up by 12 on another Carroll 3-pointer, before Illinois ripped off a 6-0 run to trim the Irish lead to 42-34 with 1:29 left before halftime.
But Miller answered the Illini run with a long 3-pointer to put the Irish ahead 45-34. Brown missed a layup on Illinois' next possession. Thomas then took the ball, raced through the lane and finger rolled a layup in with three seconds remaining to put the Irish up 47-34 at the break.
"The way they came out and played in the first half, no one would have been able to beat them," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We got a lot of looks. They just didn't fall today."
Carroll couldn't believe the way the Irish shot the ball during the first 20 minutes of the game.
"I haven't seen a stat sheet yet, but I feel like we didn't miss any shots," Carroll said. "Especially when you're hitting threes; if they're hitting twos and you're hitting threes, you're going to win."
Illinois came out strong in the second half and went on a 7-2 run to get within 49-41. But Illinois' Roger Powell missed a 3-pointer at the 14:56 mark that would have gotten the Illini within five.
With 13:40 remaining in the game, Brown made a free throw to get the Illini to 52-44. But Notre Dame came right back when Thomas and Miller made layups and Miller added a jumper to put Notre Dame ahead 58-44.
Illinois made one last run when Sean Harrington nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to slash the Notre Dame lead to 64-58. But Carroll made a layup on the next Irish possession and Quinn sank two free throws to clinch the victory.
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 24, 2003
