11/22/2021 basketball Edit

Why Irish’s game vs. like-minded Saint Mary’s is key in Maui Invitational

Patrick Engel • InsideNDSports

Beat Writer

Despite their longevity in their respective jobs, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey didn’t meet his West Coast equivalent until two years ago while on a trip to the Bahamas.

In 2019, Under Armour took all the men’s basketball head coaches from the Division I schools it sponsors to the islands. At dinner one night, Brey found himself next to Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett, another successful Catholic school coach who built a sustained program with a similar style of play. They started sharing philosophies and talking shop. Before they knew it, three hours passed.

“I always have respected him from afar,” Brey said Friday. “We’ve been on that same track. But I never really got to know him on the road. It was interesting to share and talk basketball with him, because we kind of do it the same way. He has found a spot. He has been true to what they do.”

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball head coach Mike Brey — Mike Brey and Notre Dame are in the Maui Invitational for the first time since 2017. (Nell Redmond/USA Today Sports)

The 62-year-old Brey and 59-year-old Bennett have spent 43 combined seasons in their current jobs – with 902 total wins, 20 NCAA tournament appearances and six conference coach of the year awards.

Monday, they’ll oppose each other for the first time in the Maui Invitational (11:30 p.m., ESPN2), which was relocated to Las Vegas due to Hawaii’s COVID-19 travel advisory.

Notre Dame (2-0) under Brey and Saint Mary’s (4-0) under Bennett are two programs that know themselves and have established identities. Scan the top 25 of KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings in any of the last 21 years, and chances are you’ll see both teams show up. The same goes for turnover rate. These are two teams that value the ball, generate quality shots and spread the wealth. They’re often strong three-point shooting outfits.

“It’s a real challenge for our defense,” Brey said. “They’re a gifted, smart team.”

In many ways, scouting Saint Mary’s is like scouting Notre Dame.

Each team plays four out on offense. They have shooters. They have a post presence who’s the leading scorer – Notre Dame with Paul Atkinson Jr. (17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds per game) and Saint Mary’s with Dan Fotu (13.3 points, 5.5 rebounds). They’re veteran teams with 12 combined academic seniors and graduate students. If Brey knows how to beat his own team, he ought to know how to beat Bennett’s.

“They throw it in to the big guy and move off the post like we throw it in to Paul,” Brey said. “That’s like playing us. They’re steady, they’re solid with it. I really respect groups like that who just don’t beat themselves.

“I think they’re a little further ahead than us right now, just with the experience as we’re plugging in some new faces.”

At the same time, though, this is a game Notre Dame needs to win. Full stop. And not just to show it’s better than last year and offer some evidence it’s on an NCAA tournament track. A victory likely sets up a second-round matchup with Oregon, one of just two teams in the Maui field viewed as a consensus tournament contender. (Reigning Final Four participant Houston is the other).

The Ducks would present the Irish with a healthy early challenge for the second straight night. Playing them would provide a chance for Notre Dame to write strong opening lines on a tournament résumé.

A loss to Saint Mary’s, though, does quite the opposite. Not only does it hand Notre Dame a loss in a winnable game, but it would presumably set up a Tuesday meeting with Division II Chaminade, which does nothing for a résumé. Notre Dame’s chances to maximize its Maui appearance hinge on this Monday night meeting with the Gaels.

“You have to get that first one,” Brey said. “Then, you can start to feel like you can move on. It’s no different than an ACC tournament or NCAA tournament feel. If you can somehow survive the first one, it can jump-start you.”

Notre Dame players see a chance to make a statement and put last year’s 11-15 record further in the rear-view mirror. Point guard Prentiss Hubb put it in the simplest terms when asked what he’s most looking forward to about the week ahead: Doing something he and his teammates haven’t done frequently enough the last three years. It’s past time.

“Shoot, I can’t wait to see us win,” Hubb said. “It’s going to be a big challenge playing three days in a row, regardless of if we win or lose. We’re coming in from not a good season last year. We need to come out of the gate jumping. If we can do that, I think we’ll have some success in this tournament.”