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Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
Matt Doherty left a good situation for a great one, but when he left South Bend to become coach at North Carolina, Notre Dame didn't seem like such a good situation after all. Players were hurt, if not angry, by Doherty's decision to leave after just one season. Star forward Troy Murphy had decided to return for his junior year in part to play for Doherty, and star-in-the-making Ryan Humphrey had transferred to Notre Dame from Oklahoma for the same reason. New coach Mike Brey, who made a name for himself as a winner at Delaware, didn't get off to such a great start. The team rolled up and down for a while -- beating Cincinnati and Vanderbilt, but losing to Indiana and Miami (Ohio). The Irish's start in the Big East wasn't much better, with losses to Syracuse and Seton Hall sandwiched around a ho-hum victory against Rutgers. Was this an NCAA tournament team or not? The answer came in the form of an eight-game winning streak. It began modestly, with victories against lesser Big East teams Pittsburgh and West Virginia, and continued with more impressive wins against Syracuse and Georgetown. Notre Dame followed that by winning games they ought to win: Pittsburgh, St. John's, West Virginia and Rutgers. After dispatching Xavier in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, a close loss to Ole Miss team in the second round of the NCAA Tournament ended the Irish season. Player to Watch The 6-foot-10 Murphy is a candidate for conference and national player of the year for averaging 23 points (first in the Big East), 9.1 rebounds (seventh) and 50.9-percent shooting from the floor (fourth). Murphy is the classic inside-outside big man on offense, shooting 36 percent on three-pointers and also grabbing more than three offensive rebounds per game. He also is an underrated defender who blocks two shots per game and averages almost one steal per contest. With the Ball Murphy is third nationally in scoring, but this is why the Irish have gotten this far: They are not a one-man show. Humphrey, a burly power forward, takes much heat off Murphy inside by averaging 15 points and 9.4 rebounds. The perimeter features scoring from Matt Carroll (12.4 points, 44.5 percent on three-pointers) and David Graves (14.4 points, 39 percent) and even point guard Martin Ingelsby, who averages 8.3 points and, more importantly, 6.8 assists. As a team, the Irish are shooting 40 percent on three-pointers. Defending the Ball The strength of the Irish defense is not on the perimeter, where Notre Dame often is at an athletic mismatch with its foe -- hence, their forced-turnover rate of only 13.9 per game. The strength is inside, where Murphy and Humphrey combine to block almost five shots per game. Opponents have tried to stay away from the low blocks on offense, shooting almost 20 three-pointers per game. Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed Playing to Expectations Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .800 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report1985-2000:It has been a decade (plus one) since there has been Irish dancing in the tournament. Digger Phelps took Notre Dame to the NCAAs six straight times from 1985-1990. This will be Notre Dame's first berth in the tourney since joining the Big East. The Irish have not won an NCAA game since 1989 (Vanderbilt), but a first-round victory this year will allow Notre Dame to play St. Patrick's weekend. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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Mike Brey told his team that no one expected them to beat Xavier on Friday. (courtesy NCAA)
