Men's Basketball: On the road again

On the heels of a run of strong defensive play, Notre Dame heads on the road Sunday to take on defending NCAA champion and No. 24 Connecticut.

Irish coach Mike Brey acknowledged the need for his team to continue to focus on the defensive end against the high-tempo Huskies.

"The way we [play]: the tempo is low, the score is low, but we never stop defending," Brey said. "It shows a lot of maturity in this team that they definitely couldn't have done way back in November or December. They have come a long way in that department."

In eight Big East games this year, the Irish (13-8, 5-3 Big East) have allowed more than 67 points only once, a 71-55 Jan. 4 loss at Cincinnati.

Notre Dame's 55-42 road victory over an upstart Seton Hall team on Wednesday was no exception, with the Irish holding the Pirates (15-5, 4-4) to almost 30 points below their season average. The Irish gave up only 18 points in the first half and held one of the top scoring duos in college basketball, senior forward Herb Pope and senior guard Jordan Theodore, to 16 points combined.

"The ugliness of the game was good for us because we have won some ugly ones this year and were able to control the tempo," Brey said. "I thought the defense was fabulous the whole night, especially on Theodore who may be one of the best guards in the league right now."

While stifling opponents on one end of the court, the Irish have also had their struggles on the offensive end, ranking 177th in the NCAA in scoring with 68.2 points per game. Despite shooting 50 percent from the field in Saturday's upset over then-No. 1 Syracuse — while holding the Orange (21-1, 8-1) to 34 percent shooting — Notre Dame only connected on 13 shots while going the last 8:50 of the game without a field goal. Given the quick turnaround following an emotionally draining, season-defining upset over the No. 1 team in the country, Brey said the win over Seton Hall added to the maturation of his young team.

"I'm really proud of our team," he said. "Most groups after what we did on Saturday would not be as focused and would be given a free pass since our fans are still celebrating [the Syracuse win] back home. For our group to come and win this after such a big win shows that we have the makings of something special."

In their last meeting, the Huskies (14-5, 4-3) ended Notre Dame's 29-game home winning streak, led by sophomore guard Shabazz Napier's 16 points and a double-double from freshman center Andre Drummond. Despite the indefinite suspension of freshman guard Ryan Boatright while the NCAA investigates his recruitment, the Huskies rode a second-half outburst to a 67-53 victory Jan. 14 on Notre Dame's home court.

The Huskies are currently in a two-game slump following three-point losses to Cincinnati and Tennessee, but the Connecticut big men will provide a tall task for the Irish frontcourt, which was outrebounded 42-30 in the Jan. 14 contest.

"I've been telling [the team] if you get this one, everyone will look around and say ‘Uh-oh, you're right in the middle of this thing,'" Brey said.

The Irish will try to exact revenge when they travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on the Huskies on Sunday at 12 p.m.