Lofty National Ranking Not Changing Notre Dame’s Mentality
When it comes to men’s basketball, Notre Dame is often a team that exceeds expectations.
Last season was just another in a line of examples for the Irish under head coach Mike Brey. ACC media picked Notre Dame to finish seventh in the league, but the Irish recorded a 12-6 league record and a No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament before advancing to the championship game for the second time in three seasons.
Notre Dame started the 2017-18 season No. 14 in the preseason Associated Press poll thanks to the senior duo of forward Bonzie Colson, who was tabbed as preseason ACC Player of the Year and also first-team All-American by several outlets, and point guard Matt Farrell.
This season isn’t going to be one where the Irish sneak up on anyone. And that was displayed this past week when Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 in the AP poll after taking down then-No. 6 Wichita State during its run to the Maui Invitational title.
It is the highest ranking for the program since 2011 and its first top-10 AP ranking in November since 2008 (No. 8).
Notre Dame, no matter the result in Thursday’s matchup against No. 3 Michigan State, has now become closer to the hunted rather than the hunter, at least nationally.
Even with the shift in expectations for the Notre Dame program from the outside, Brey doesn’t think it will be difficult to continue the program’s “chip on the shoulder” mentality given tomorrow’s matchup against the Spartans.
“I think it goes to our leadership,” Brey stated. “I think Bonzie and Matt Farrell were born ‘chip on the shoulder’ guys. There’s always that chip. There’s no question in Thursday’s preparation Miles Bridges was the Player of the Year kind of guy. He was the guy being talked about more than Bonzie all through the preseason.
“They’ve been talked about a Final Four pick. We’re kind of back in that mode a little bit. Two games in a row really. I told them before we played Wichita State, even at the banquet Dan Dakich talked about them being a Final Four team, we don’t play any defense.
“There’s some great stuff to hang our hat on. Again, it’s another let it rip, nothing to lose kind of night.”
Though such a lofty ranking can bring new expectations and distractions, Brey sees a lot of positives with the recognition.
“I think these days with public relations, marketing and recruiting any time you can be ranked and that ticker scrolls across 24 hours a day and you’re up there — it’s a good thing,” Brey said Tuesday. “Certainly to be in the top five is really powerful. I think the combination of how we played against LSU and what we did against Wichita State in the second had us jump like that.
“It’s a pretty focused group. … This is an older group. They expected a lot of themselves. They’ve been in big games, and they’ve delivered in big games before. I’m excited to take them north on Thursday.”
Brey will look to his senior leaders and to continue that underdog mindset throughout the team even with the national recognition.
“I think it’s great for the program,” Colson said of the ranking. “It just shows the type of guys Coach Brey recruits and shows what we can do as a team. It’s a great motivator for us.
“We’re staying humble and hungry at all times. We’re excited for that acknowledgement and keep playing Notre Dame basketball.”
The Irish players are certainly excited about the lofty ranking, but their focus is on the Spartans.
“It’s something we’re proud of and we know that and the staff knows that,” Farrell said. “But it’s time to turn the page. We have a really big opportunity on Thursday and we have to come out and play hard and play really well.”
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