SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Coach Mike Brey knows this could be Notre Dame’s last season in the Big East, so he’d like the Fighting Irish to take something to remember: their first ever Big East regular-season title.
Brey said he began talking about that goal with his players in March, after they squandered a 10-point lead midway through the second half and lost 67-63 to Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament. That was well before the Irish announced they would be leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, possibly as early as next season.
Brey knows some people will have even higher expectations for a team that has all the starters back from a squad that went 22-12. But he says he wants to keep his players focused.
