It had the makings of a game that the Notre Dame men's basketball team
could let get away given all the hoopla that surrounded their daily
existence the previous five days.
Three team captains wouldn't let complacency become part of the process.
On a night when they could have been excused had they not packed their
best effort for the charter flight East, Notre Dame delivered a
defensive performance Wednesday for the ages.
In a game that was anything but easy on the eyes, but picture-perfect
in the view of the winners, Notre Dame followed its historic upset of
Syracuse with a 55-42 win at Seton Hall.
The victory ran Notre Dame's record to 13-8, 5-3 in the Big East. If
the season ended today, the Irish would finish fifth in the league
standings. Any team seventh or better at season's end likely secures
an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
But it wasn't the future that was most on the minds this week of
tri-captains Tim Abromaitis, Eric Atkins and Scott Martin. It was the
present (Seton Hall) and the past (Syracuse). Between the buzz of
Saturday's win and Tuesday's road test, the three made sure to deliver
a message to an Irish team seemingly adding years to their game
could let get away given all the hoopla that surrounded their daily
existence the previous five days.
Three team captains wouldn't let complacency become part of the process.
On a night when they could have been excused had they not packed their
best effort for the charter flight East, Notre Dame delivered a
defensive performance Wednesday for the ages.
In a game that was anything but easy on the eyes, but picture-perfect
in the view of the winners, Notre Dame followed its historic upset of
Syracuse with a 55-42 win at Seton Hall.
The victory ran Notre Dame's record to 13-8, 5-3 in the Big East. If
the season ended today, the Irish would finish fifth in the league
standings. Any team seventh or better at season's end likely secures
an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
But it wasn't the future that was most on the minds this week of
tri-captains Tim Abromaitis, Eric Atkins and Scott Martin. It was the
present (Seton Hall) and the past (Syracuse). Between the buzz of
Saturday's win and Tuesday's road test, the three made sure to deliver
a message to an Irish team seemingly adding years to their game
