SOUTH BEND -- Hard to create energy in a college basketball game.
It's either there, or it isn't.
Notre Dame tried everything in its 65-58 loss to Connecticut Saturday.
With 7:20 left in the game and the Irish down by two, coach Mike Brey showed he meant business by shedding his coat. The Notre Dame bench did its best to plead with the crowd to amp up the volume. "Crazy Train" even got onto the play list.
Nothing could help the Irish shots fall. Or any defense to be played against UConn guards Ryan Boatright (14 points, 5 assists) and Shabazz Napier (19 points, 4 assists). Or ignite any sort of urgency.
"It wasn't going great for us," Brey said. "We were trying to figure out a way to steal it."
There are some sure-fire ways to "steal" a win:
Hit some shots: After making 7 of their first 10 attempts in what was like a layup drill, Notre Dame hit 6 of its next 19 in the first half.
Rebound the basketball: The Huskies owned the boards, 34-28.
Get the 50-50 ball. UConn came up with more loose balls than the Irish.
Rebounding and securing the loose ball are all about attitude. So is turning up the heat on Boatright and Napier. Not to mention 6-foot-9, 225-pound Tyler Olander, a role player averaging all of 4.6 points a game, who outplayed Notre Dame's Jack Cooley with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Every team in America has games in which offense is a struggle. The good ones, though, can muster the intensity to avoid losing to a team they probably should beat.
The Irish fell flat in that department.
With 6:12 to go in the first half, a layup by Cooley gave the Irish an eight-point lead. In less than five minutes, the advantage had dissolved and the game was tied.
The second half was an uphill battle until Eric Atkins hit a jumper to tie the score at 58 with 1:13 to play.
"It never felt good in there," Brey said. "The vibe was different than other nights. It was going to have to be a flat-out theft."
An Irish team loaded with veterans should be above that sort of letdown. Experience should provide immunity.
"Us getting (defensive) stops gets our energy going," said Irish guard Jerian Grant, who hit 5 of 18 shots. "We couldn't get stops when we needed them.
"(The UConn guards) were really quick. Today, they were hitting jump shots (Boatright and Napier combined to hit 12 of 24, 4 of 8 3-pointers). It was tough to stay in front of them. They were on fire today."
"We just didn't have it in the second half," said Cooley, who hit 7 of 12 shots and scored 14 points. "It was weird to see shots weren't falling. If we hit two more, three more, shots, maybe we win this game.
"The only shots that were going in were layups. It was hard for us to find any rhythm. (Connecticut's) pressure was really good today. It got to us.
"They caught us off guard, on our heels. On days like that, you've gotta find a way to push your way through it. We just didn't have it today."
That begs the question: Why not? With a meat grinder of a Big East schedule looming for Notre Dame, the most terrifying proposition for a coach and a veteran team is to not know how to solve a situation when the flow isn't there ? especially at home.
Saturday's loss has hoisted the red flag of concern. The next few weeks, starting with Tuesday night's trip to Madison Square Garden to play St. John's, will determine if this is a trend or a blip in the radar.
Whatever the case, there's reason for concern.
Without energy, the Irish will be lost.
Staff writer Al Lesar:
alesar@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6318
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