Mike Brey Notebook | Virginia

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey spoke following the 50-49 loss in overtime to Virginia on Tuesday night. 

On the loss: 
"God, I'm sick for our guys. We played our hearts out and give credit to Virginia. They're really hard to score against. We had a couple possession down the stretch where they shut us down and it was hard to run our stuff. 

"I'm disappointed for us because I think we're playing pretty well. We played fearlessly and put ourselves in position. You have to tip the cap to Virginia. They made some big-time defensive plays." 

On Virginia's defense being better than previous teams:
"I think the defense has been pretty consistent through the years. The principles Tony (Bennett) teaches are fabulous. The reputation is well deserved.

"Last year, they had some offensive guys. Sometimes offensive guys don't want to guard as much - on every team. I think they've got guys who are trying to earn everything, so they dig into you. 

"I thought (Prentiss) Hubb did as good of a job as he could dealing with that ball pressure. We thought it would be a rock fight and it was. They're probably more accustomed to rock fights than us." 

On game feeling like a crucial game for the NCAA Tournament:
"That's why I was disappointed. Both our nets are in the 50's. It's a quality win for Virginia, so it's disappointing we couldn't get it. You kind of felt the fourth double-bye is up in the air. I think Virginia puts themselves in the driver's seat with the win tonight." 

On if Notre Dame got the shot he wanted at the end of the game:
"I love Hubb - you really aren't going to design something against them and get it. You almost have to play and take the open look. I loved that Hubb didn't shoot a flyer and made the extra pass. 

"Pflueger is coming off a game where he made some shots. If anybody deserved one to win the game, it would probably be Rex Pflueger. 

"I think for us, we almost have to live with it because you can't design something. They take away stuff and you have to be a basketball player. We'll kind of live with that." 

On Prentiss Hubb:
"He's a fearless guy. He's become such a winner and a leader for us. He loves big moments, especially on the road, when the atmosphere is tough.

"Handling the ball against ball pressure - he almost has to do it the whole game. We don't really give him much of a rest. That job is underappreciated when you have to handle the ball the whole night and make decisions against a great defender in (Kihei) Clark.

"I'm really pleased with where he is and that he has two more years with us." 

On John Mooney's rough shooting night:
"They double a lot. I thought he made some really good decisions. He hit Nate (Laszewski) a couple of times. We had some open looks and we're going to have to make more to win here.

"If we can't make 10 threes, we're probably not going to beat good ACC teams and that's our weapon. It was exhausting playing against that frontline, a very physical frontline. 

"He had some good three-point looks too. We want him to take those. His percentages aren't great, but he's got to shoot those." 

On ACC being the 5th toughest conference in Bracketology:
"Just from talking to the league office people at Clemson on Sunday, I don't think we did enough in the non-league, especially other than the top three. I don't know if any of us did enough in that. The Big Ten did and that's why they're kind of running with it right now. 

"The other thing we don't is the math of 20 league games. There are more opportunities with 20 league games. For us, because we didn't get tonight, you look and you have Duke, Florida State and some other shots.

"I think we got four right now. We feel we can fight our way - I was amazed we got out of the hole to 6-6. It's not going to be easy sledding, but I love our group." 

On if he had ever been in a 3-2 overtime game:
"Never. It's amazing. We played 45 minutes and still only scored 50. You have to give them credit. They do what they do. It's a mental test. The pace is slow, but we wanted to play slow too. You just have to value every possession." 

Extra Painful: Irish Fall in OT