During his teleconference Thursday afternoon, Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey called his team “the most consistent program in this state,” and that it isn’t even close.
His comments came just days before IU would take on Notre Dame in Indianapolis as part of the Crossroads Classic – a mini tournament held annually between Indiana’s four major men’s basketball programs.
“We have been winning for a while. They should be enamored with us, quite frankly,” Brey said of basketball fans in Indiana.
When IU Coach Tom Crean was given a chance to respond, he didn’t. Instead he simply said: “We just want to win the game tomorrow.”
And when guards Rob Johnson and Nick Zeisloft were asked about Brey’s comments, both said they hadn’t heard anything about it.
Crean said his team isn’t focused on what people on the outside are saying – whether it’s about Brey’s comments or it’s about Notre Dame being a statement game for the Hoosiers.
It’s just the next game on their schedule.
“There’s no focus on anything but our finals this week, improving as a team and playing Notre Dame,” Crean said.
The Irish and Hoosiers have met twice before in the Crossroads Classic – a 79-72 win for Notre Dame in 2013 and a 69-58 victory for IU in 2011, the tournament’s inaugural year.
Brey and his squad are coming off an Elite 8 finish in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
They are led by junior guard Demetrius Jackson, who has topped 20 points on four occasions this year. He is averaging a team-high 17.8 points and five assists per game.
Crean said Notre Dame is more than just a one-man team, as they always are. At the same time, however, he added every player on the court will need to have an eye on Jackson.
Crean called him a great pick-and-roll passer and a guy who’s always in the play.
“That’s one thing we try to get across to the guys,” he said. “Whether he has the ball or not, he’s always in the play.”
Saturday is a chance for IU to earn maybe its most impressive win of the season. Since a subpar 1-2 record at the Maui Invitational and a 20-point loss to Duke a week later, the Hoosiers have yet to get a statement win.
Although the players echoed their coach’s sentiment, saying it’s just another game, a win against Notre Dame would almost assuredly increase IU’s chance at a postseason appearance.
In talking about Notre Dame, Crean had a long list of things the Irish do well. But one final comment quantified it.
“They know how to win.”
