By Brian Hamilton
NEW YORK -- This is what methodical, deliberate, snooze-inducing basketball gets you: a chance to stay in a game when you've been outplayed in almost every facet.
Notre Dame didn't look nearly as bouncy or efficient as West Virginia in the first half of their Big East tournament semifinal on Friday, but that didn't stop the Irish from clinging to relevancy and trailing just 23-20 at halftime.
NEW YORK -- This is what methodical, deliberate, snooze-inducing basketball gets you: a chance to stay in a game when you've been outplayed in almost every facet.
Notre Dame didn't look nearly as bouncy or efficient as West Virginia in the first half of their Big East tournament semifinal on Friday, but that didn't stop the Irish from clinging to relevancy and trailing just 23-20 at halftime.
In fact, but for the basketball lingering on Ben Hansbrough's fingers
for a fraction of a second too long, the game would have been tied. But a
buzzer-beating 3-pointer was waved off, meaning that the Irish were in
an unlikely one-possession game.
West Virginia shot 47.8 percent from the floor, used a floating 1-3-1 zone defense to flummox the Irish into 34.8 percent shooting and just 4-of-15 efficiency from 3-point range. But the Mountaineers couldn't shake loose entirely, even with the Irish going 11 minutes with just one field goal at one point.
West Virginia shot 47.8 percent from the floor, used a floating 1-3-1 zone defense to flummox the Irish into 34.8 percent shooting and just 4-of-15 efficiency from 3-point range. But the Mountaineers couldn't shake loose entirely, even with the Irish going 11 minutes with just one field goal at one point.
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