Dec. 9, 2009
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. IUPUI
December 9, 2009
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center | Notre Dame, Ind.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
On the first half performance…
“I think we came out and performed really well, we had 22 assists. It’s really helpful on the offensive end, they really do pass the ball well, and we did it well through the first half, we’re just going to continue doing it through the rest of the game… we shot the ball well, and I also thought we played very well defensively throughout the first half, to hold them to 22 points at the half, and I thought Ty Nash was really active, he got out there and transitioned… so it’s a good win for us, I did not think it would be like that at the half, I think that they are a really good team, I was impressed watching film of them, and I think they’re going to have a heck of a year.”
On combined offensive attack of Luke Harangody, Ben Hansbrough, and Tim Abromaitis…
“I think we did have some other guys score the ball tonight, Tim has certainly earned himself, he did 22 minutes tonight, Ben [Hansbrough] had 18, and he [Ben] really shot it well. I think sometimes he’s turned down that open three but I’ve been trying to get him to just take that and tonight he did and it worked out really well for us.”
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Tim Abromaitis o Junior o Forward
On having a good first half and having good control the second half…
“I think we just came out ready defensively. They’re a good team, but I think we came out ready for them defensively and offensively. It was nice having a game where we didn’t have to really get stressed out in the second half. Especially in the second half, I think that we gave a good effort today.”
On the team refining its roles…
“I think it’s good that the guys are going in knowing what they do and do well, and not trying to do too much, I think we’re doing a good job of that.”
On the keys to the win today…
“I think checking the zone is one of the things that we wanted to do, and then just pressuring on defense. As a good team, a good record coming in, and I think we were respectful and came strong in the first half on offense and defense.”
On Harangody being the third leading scorer… “He can score points, whenever we need him, he’ll be able to score them.”
On Harangody not being the only scorer… “We have plenty of guys that can do different things on this team, it’s not surprising that Ben (Hansbrough) gets that many points. He’s a really good player, a good shooter and a good scorer. I mean, I think we’ll need contributions from different guys going down the line.”
Luke Harangody o Senior o Forward
On points of emphasis before the game…
“We needed to get on the backboard, just needed to beat up that zone a little bit, cut it up a little bit. I thought we did a good job cutting up that zone and handled our pressures well.”
On being in the paint…
“Twenty-two assists is great for us tonight, especially against a long athletic team like them.”
Tyrone Nash o Junior o Forward
On dominating in the inside…
“We saw that it was a little skinny inside, and we took advantage of that. Coach said we needed to kill them at the boards and we really tried to concentrate on that today.”
Ben Hansbrough o Senior o Guard
On having an early run…
“We made an 11-0 run, and then I looked up and it was 14-10, so I think we controlled the ball a little better, stepped it up defensively, and made some really good plays.”
On the team having a complete game…
“I would say so. We had twenty-two assists, we were really starting to come together and play good in the first half, and we played good in the second half. I would say it definitely [was a complete game].”
On a good inside game…
“Well, we’ve got Big ‘Gody, just down there banging his body around, he’s always going to be around. Tyrone Nash will always be there, banging his body around. You got Tim Abromaitis there, as well. Everybody’s just contributing on the backboard.”
IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter
On Notre Dame as a team…
“I thought Notre Dame played really well. I guess our match-up-we count on guys that-especially when we play BCS schools, that they have to shoot it poorly. The game they lost to Northwestern, they shot the ball poorly, but tonight (Ben) Hansbrough and (Tim) Abromaitis, those guys just made shots. They kind of jumped on us early; they took us off guard. We didn’t play real strong, and we weren’t mentally tough like we had been, but it’s a good basketball team. We’ve played Auburn, we played Kansas State, and we’ve lost to Notre Dame – three BCS schools and by far Notre Dame’s the best out of the three we played, and Kansas State is pretty good. But these guys are good because they make shots, and when you can make shots, its cures a lot of ills.”
On if Notre Dame’s strong start was a missed opportunity…
“It was a missed opportunity for us. We didn’t come out ready to play. We’re having a good year, but we didn’t come out mentally ready to play, and they kind of jumped on us, and made some easy baskets and when you see the ball go in early, it makes a difference. And the ball went in early for them, so it made a huge difference.”
On playing zone or man-to-man defense…
“Well, we play match-up (zone). We play forty minutes of that, we trap out of that, and we thought that again, we’d get some things once we settled down. We played them even in the second half, once we settled down a little bit, but they just got going early, that’s something they haven’t done all year. Again, if you make shots against our match-up (zone), that’s what’s going to happen. We’ve had a lot of success this year, with people not making shots, and (Ben) Hansborough’s different – he will make (Luke) Harangody’s job a lot easier. you just can’t double (team Harangody) on them.”