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As poised as the Irish played down the stretch, they never really should have put themselves in position to have to make a play to get out of Tampa with such a test. For an eight-minute stretch, the Irish played some of their best basketball early in league play. They limited the Bulls to three baskets and five missed shots. They forced three turnovers. Harangody was amazingly efficient. Tim Abromaitis drove the ball to the basket. Tyrone Nash played big. Carleton Scott was effective despite limited minutes. A 13-point lead looked like it should swell to 20.
As well as the Irish were clicking, it got sticky. The offense went stagnant. The defense looked disinterested. South Florida got easy shot after easy shot, open look after open look. The game soon was too tight for comfort.
But was it? Not in Brey's eyes.
“I never felt we would win by 20,” he said. “We'll take them any way we can get them in this league, especially when you're on the road.”
Especially with this Irish team continuing to search for its identity. Even as the season reached its halfway point in chilly central Florida, nobody still can say if Notre Dame will sink, swim or tread the Big East waters this season.
“I love our group,” Brey said. “We're not a finished product, but I think we got tougher and we found out a little more about ourselves.”
