Why does ND always choke in the Tournament?

[johnnykillz]

I'm sorry. You asked how a coach could have less regular season wins and get to the Final Four and I provided two examples, one of which you ignored. By the way, Calhoun wasn't COY. Imagine that.

Your logic is unbelievable.

Last year he won both the BE and NC.

Let me know when you get Coack K or Calhoun over to SB.

Im certain Brey would move over and resign to allow either access to our program.

Or we'd pay him off and which him well.

And then watch him go on to coach Syracuse or UConn to multiple NCs.

You're killing me.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

It's going to be really funny watching you guys try to defend Brey after a 1st/2nd round upset/NIT bid this time next year. It'll be just like how throughout the fall, there were plenty of people on here saying that Rees would cost this team in later games against better teams but were shouted down by people saying "He gives us the best chance to win" and my personal favorite, "He's a GAMER". I'm sure those who were ND bball fans before Brey are happy with consistent competitiveness in the Big East and fairly consistent trips to the NCAA tournament. However, during my four years at ND, I consistently got my hopes up in the tourney (two years ago, we had a ridiculous path to the sweet 16 - Old Dominion and some other team; how'd that turn out), and even got my hopes up this year, and they've consistently been shat upon. I (and I'm sure others) would definitely settle for a coach who doesn't get as many regular season wins, but actually does something in the Tournament. I don't feel that is unreasonable for a coach who has won Big East COY and National COY honors.

Oh, so how about ten wins a season and an ncaa tournament championship. That's sounds good .... oh wait, you mean you have to win a lot of games to make the tourney with a good seed...oh, my bad lol..... seriously man, you make no sense lol.

Peyton Manning had a hell of a time doing anything in the post season for the longest time... is he a bad Qb? Riddle me that.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

We all know the Brey is NOT the best coach in the country. However he learn under on of the best. I didn't know that he used to coach at University of Delaware. Notre Dame Basketball isn't going toget top basketball recruits. Alot of people think football is bad look how many of the top player in college play 1 or 2 years and go to the NBA. Brey does what he can with the players he can get. But this is just like the football team. There is only some much the coach can do. He didn't make the bad pass Atkins did. He didn't leave early to get the rebound Grant did. Our best player was hurt almost all season i get it but you have to move on. Our players have to use their nuggets if they don't you can't win.

You don't need top recruits to win in the NCAA Tournament.

 

[returnofthemack]

Your logic is unbelievable.

Last year he won both the BE and NC.

Let me know when you get Coack K or Calhoun over to SB.

Im certain Brey would move over and resign to allow either access to our program.

Or we'd pay him off and which him well.

And then watch him go on to coach Syracuse or UConn to multiple NCs.

You're killing me.

Second time you've ignored Brad Stevens

 

[IrishLax]

I don't understand how you guys defend Brey when he always chokes in the tourney. I understand ND bball sucked before he got here. I know he's a great guy, and I know he loves ND. I like him a lot. But he is an awful Tournament coach. He works magic in the regular season, somehow getting into the top 5 of the Big East with gumps like Scott Martin. But come Tournament time, the only thing you can count on with him is an early exit.

BECAUSE ALL TOURNEYS ARE CRAPSHOOTS!!!! In any one singular game of basketball anything is possible. That's why the NBA plays 5/7 game series. You think Lehigh or Norfolk State has a prayer of hanging with Duke or Missouri in a series?

Losing to an evenly matched opponent (Xavier) is NOT choking. There was AT LEAST a 45% chance of us losing that game. Losing to an FSU team last year that was the perfect matchup to beat us is NOT choking. It's called a bad matchup.

 

[johnnykillz]

You don't need top recruits to win in the NCAA Tournament.

It's weird how a greater than top 4 seed has never won without recruiting prowess...

 

[irishff1014]

You need a top big in the paint. We have an ok guy in the paint can score but terrible defender and is slow getting to the back to get on defense.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

It's weird how a greater than top 4 seed has never won without recruiting prowess...

You don't need to be a top 4 seed to win in the NCAA Tournament. And I thought ND was a 2 seed last year?

 

[returnofthemack]

Oh, so how about ten wins a season and an ncaa tournament championship. That's sounds good .... oh wait, you mean you have to win a lot of games to make the tourney with a good seed...oh, my bad lol..... seriously man, you make no sense lol.

Peyton Manning had a hell of a time doing anything in the post season for the longest time... is he a bad Qb? Riddle me that.

Peyton took his team to the AFC title game and won the MVP in 2003. And he had ridiculous stats every year before that. So the comparison is definitely not appropriate. In Brey's 10+ years, he has been past the round of 32 once.

 

[johnnykillz]

You don't need to be a top 4 seed to win in the NCAA Tournament. And I thought ND was a 2 seed last year?

Last year was the most painful bball year of my life.

But, this year was a great year.

The future is bright.

Step away from the ledge.

 

[returnofthemack]

BECAUSE ALL TOURNEYS ARE CRAPSHOOTS!!!! In any one singular game of basketball anything is possible. That's why the NBA plays 5/7 game series. You think Lehigh or Norfolk State has a prayer of hanging with Duke or Missouri in a series?

Losing to an evenly matched opponent (Xavier) is NOT choking. There was AT LEAST a 45% chance of us losing that game. Losing to an FSU team last year that was the perfect matchup to beat us is NOT choking. It's called a bad matchup.

FSU was legitimately good, I had no beef with Brey for that loss. They were big, athletic, and were shooting 3s like they hadn't all season. Xavier was not good. ND let them hang around and Tu Holloway got hot. Cooley was humiliating them in the post and Grant was hot. We should not have lost this game.

 

[IrishLion]

I'm nowhere near as familiar with the x's and o's of basketball as I am with football, but it appeared that Brey changed NDs offensive strategy late when Xavier started their run. Anyone else notice this?

 

[IrishLax]

FSU was legitimately good, I had no beef with Brey for that loss. They were big, athletic, and were shooting 3s like they hadn't all season. Xavier was not good. ND let them hang around and Tu Holloway got hot. Cooley was humiliating them in the post and Grant was hot. We should not have lost this game.

Cooley got hurt... lead to a turnover.... and then we lost our lead. He wasn't the same all game after he got banged up. He couldn't jump at all.

The only thing I put on Brey last night was not calling a timeout with Cooley laying on the ground injured. That was horrendous coaching and led to both a turnover and direct points to Xavier.

 

[returnofthemack]

Last year was the most painful bball year of my life.

But, this year was a great year.

The future is bright.

Step away from the ledge.

We'll definitely find out next year if Brey is as worthless a Tournament coach as I think. He'll have the most athleticism and talent in a while. But of course, even if/when he gets bounced in the first round, all of you will just say, "Wait till next year when Biedschied and the others have more experience". Let me just say, I do not expect this team to get to the National Championship. It is unreasonable given the level of talent teams like UK and KU have on a regular basis. But when we beat teams like Cuse, Uconn, Marquette, G'Town, etc. in the regular season and then lose to an inferior team like Xavier, it upsets me. Sorry if I offended anyone. I just want to see ND become a regular Sweet 16 team and once in a great while, get to the Elite 8. If we reached that level, I would be ecstatic, and I would even join you guys heaping laurel wreaths at Brey's feet.

 

[johnnykillz]

We'll definitely find out next year if Brey is as worthless a Tournament coach as I think. He'll have the most athleticism and talent in a while. But of course, even if/when he gets bounced in the first round, all of you will just say, "Wait till next year when Biedschied and the others have more experience". Let me just say, I do not expect this team to get to the National Championship. It is unreasonable given the level of talent teams like UK and KU have on a regular basis. But when we beat teams like Cuse, Uconn, Marquette, G'Town, etc. in the regular season and then lose to an inferior team like Xavier, it upsets me. Sorry if I offended anyone. I just want to see ND become a regular Sweet 16 team and once in a great while, get to the Elite 8. If we reached that level, I would be ecstatic, and I would even join you guys heaping laurel wreaths at Brey's feet.

When we make the elite 8, I'm going to find this post for ya...

 

[returnofthemack]

When we make the elite 8, I'm going to find this post for ya...

I swear to you, if ND makes an Elite 8 appearance, or two Sweet 16s in a row, I will never talk $hit about Brey again. I would have been ecstatic if they had made it to the Sweet 16 this year. I didn't expect them to beat Baylor.

 

[returnofthemack]

But if Colorado upsets Baylor, I will unleash a facepalm heard 'round the world haha. Can you imagine if our path to the Elite 8 would have been the 10 seed, 15 seed, and 11 seed?

 

[johnnykillz]

I swear to you, if ND makes an Elite 8 appearance, or two Sweet 16s in a row, I will never talk $hit about Brey again. I would have been ecstatic if they had made it to the Sweet 16 this year. I didn't expect them to beat Baylor.

This team was hot and cold.

I'm marking that up to experience.

In a year or two, they will have no excuse. Last year they had no excuse.

If they had won game 1 in style, we would have beat Baylor.

Hot and cold.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Peyton took his team to the AFC title game and won the MVP in 2003. And he had ridiculous stats every year before that. So the comparison is definitely not appropriate. In Brey's 10+ years, he has been past the round of 32 once.

Manning won the MVP lolol. Wtf does that have to do with his early lack of success in the post season? Like, youre making yourself look silly.

Brey has won coach of the year in the big east three times, so by your logic that proves he's good lol. Man, you're a sore sore loser. Be happy, I can see the bball program on the rise... not so sure about ND football, thats just based on faith at this point lol.

 

[returnofthemack]

Oh, so how about ten wins a season and an ncaa tournament championship. That's sounds good .... oh wait, you mean you have to win a lot of games to make the tourney with a good seed...oh, my bad lol..... seriously man, you make no sense lol.

Peyton Manning had a hell of a time doing anything in the post season for the longest time... is he a bad Qb? Riddle me that.

The first part of your comment is not even close to what I said. And I responded to the Peyton thing. And I'm done arguing. What's done is done. Have a nice day.

 

[returnofthemack]

Manning won the MVP lolol. Wtf does that have to do with his early lack of success in the post season? Like, youre making yourself look silly.

Brey has won coach of the year in the big east three times, so by your logic that proves he's good lol. Man, you're a sore sore loser. Be happy, I can see the bball program on the rise... not so sure about ND football, thats just based on faith at this point lol.

OK couldn't let this go. A coach of a college basketball team and a professional
QB are nothing alike. Peyton was on a worthless team and won the MVP! If he had better teammates, he could have gone a lot further (Think Jimmy 2009 sans Tenuta). Totally absurd comparison. And that's not even taking into comparison the relative parity of the NFL compared to the teams that have knocked ND out of the tourney. Also, it is noteworthy that the Colts coach during this postseason ineptitude was fired. When Tony Dungy came in, it became a different story, as we all know.

 

[returnofthemack]

And I'm an extremely sore loser. I hate losing, and I especially hate losing when my team should have and had every opportunity to win. That's why ND football, especially the games against scUM always get me riled up.

 

[kmoose]

Answer: Mike Brey

Consider the following:

SEASON W-L RESULTS

2012 (0-1)
Lost to Xavier in the first round, 67-63

2011 (1-1)
Defeated Akron in first round, 69-56
Lost to Florida State in second round, 71-57

2010 (0-1)
Lost to Old Dominion in first round, 51-50

2008 (1-1)
Defeated George Mason in first round, 68-50
Lost to Washington State in second round, 61-41

2007 (0-1)
Lost to Winthrop in first round, 74-64

2003 (2-1)
Defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee in first round, 70-69
Defeated Illinois in second round, 68-60
Lost to Arizona in regional semifinal, 88-71

2002 (1-1 )
Defeated Charlotte in first round, 82-63
Lost to Duke in second round, 84-77

2001 (1-1)
Defeated Xavier in first round, 83-71
Lost to Mississippi in second round, 59-56

What has Brey done in his 12 year tenure? The above is your answer: Nothing. He needs to go.

As you pointed out, he has taken his team to the tournament in 8 out of 12 years. That's what he's done.

 

[BeauBenken]

How are you so pleased when this team proved they could beat good teams during the regular season, and then loses to Xavier? They play and beat much better teams during the regular season and then annually choke against inferior teams in the tournament. I am ecstatic about the regular season success, but I wish they could get to the Sweet Sixteen once in a while.

Xavier was a very good team until they got in that fight with Cincinnati. X had beaten teams better than ND too.

 

[returnofthemack]

Xavier was a very good team until they got in that fight with Cincinnati. X had beaten teams better than ND too.

I respectfully disagree. The only ranked team they beat was Vandy, admittedly a good team. UGA is ok. Cincy is pretty good, I'd say ND is better. Purdue is ok. Players were suspended for a max of 4 games after the brawl. They then lost to Gonzaga, La Salle, Dayton, SLU, Memphis, Temple, Umass, SLU, and St. Bonaventure.

 

[BeauBenken]

I respectfully disagree. The only ranked team they beat was Vandy, admittedly a good team. UGA is ok. Cincy is pretty good, I'd say ND is better. Purdue is ok. Players were suspended for a max of 4 games after the brawl. They then lost to Gonzaga, La Salle, Dayton, SLU, Memphis, Temple, Umass, SLU, and St. Bonaventure.

Like I said, until the fight with Cincy. The potential to be a good team was always there, but they were off for sure after the brawl. And keep in mind they absolutely handed it to Cincy in that game (although admittedly, I would love to try to see them do that to Cincy now).

 

[irishff1014]

They shuold have been suspened for the rest of the season. Not saying that because we got beat by them i think if you don something that dumb you should pay for it.

 

[Redbar]

People who rip on Brey are morons, it's as simple as that.

No one, and I mean no one, expected Notre Dame to make the tournament this season. Hell, no one expected it on January 1st either. The amount of improvement this team had throughout the course of the season was insane.

Next year Atkins and Grant will limit their idiotic plays, simply because of their experience growth and Brey's coaching. If Notre Dame adds some height and consistency in the paint and a guy on the edge who can make plays independently...look out. Oh that's right, Sherman and Biedschied accomplish that.

Sweet 16 or Bust in 2013.

This.^ Coach Brey did a wonderful job this year, our guys are young and need to get a little more seasoned and we continue to up the talent level. Our best basketball is in front of us. Congratulations guys, E.A. don't you dare hang your head, we are proud of you.

 

[Irishnuke]

As you pointed out, he has taken his team to the tournament in 8 out of 12 years. That's what he's done.

So is that the ceiling for ND basketball? Are we happy with him just making the tournament 8 out of 12 years?

 

[IrishMoore1]

As you pointed out, he has taken his team to the tournament in 8 out of 12 years. That's what he's done.

Is that what we should expect out of Notre Dame basketball? I don't know about you, but teams play in the tournament to win it, not just show up.