Mike Brey Notebook | Florida State Win

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey spoke following the 83-73 win over No. 11 Florida State on Saturday afternoon. 

On the win:
"What a difference a couple days makes. Very proud of our group. I thought we had some edge about us. To get loose balls, stick our nose in there, take charges - that helped us. 

"You're not going to run anything pretty against that athletic switching defense. I thought we did a good job the last two days in practice of opening the floor up and just cutting more. 

"Nik Djogo's movement without the ball early helped him and helped us offensively kind of get some stuff." 

On finishing the game:
"I would say it was a group mentality and what they talked about in a couple of those timeouts and huddles. I thought the body language and what they talked about was a key. A little more confident look about them and determined. They talked about it at halftime - finishing the game. 

"I think it came from them. You know a run is coming. They're too good of a team to stay 12-14 points ahead. We got some key loose balls and defensive rebounds that we haven't done enough of this year. We did it and we can do it. Maybe we can take it with us to Greensboro." 

On being more aggressive to get to the free-throw line:
"I wish I had us in more 5-out cutting on Wednesday. I really kicked myself because the defense that NC State and Florida State play is very similar athletically switching stuff. As we digested Wednesday and moved on, we got ourselves in that a little bit better. 

"The floor was open for drives. When we drive, a lot of times, you're going to get fouled. We're a great free-throw shooting team and we got there a lot and cashed in. 

On late-game huddle conversations: 
"I think it's a Prentiss Hubb kind of voice in a huddle down the stretch. A Nik Djogo as a vocal guy. Cormac Ryan who was voted a captain in his first year of eligibility. I thought there was a great voice from him before the game in the locker room and throughout the game." 

On Prentiss Hubb coming up big once again:
"He is a gamer and loves to compete and believes. I think at times, he's had to force some plays that maybe don't look pretty or beautiful for us, but I give him the benefit of the doubt because he's unafraid. 

"I thought we had a few more guys driving it tonight. Cormac, Dane (Goodwin) - Trey Wertz handling the ball helps Prentiss. He comes in and handles the ball a little bit and takes Prentiss off the ball some."

On team huddles:
"I would say how they spoke to each other in huddles, 'We're going to finish this one.' It was great determination after not being able to do that a couple places. When young people learn and do it, it's really gratifying to watch." 

On Cormac Ryan:
"He's got a great edge about him. I thought his voice in the locker room was needed and really good before the game and throughout the game - making tough plays, making hard plays and being physical. The steal he had on the outlet was a big play because we were back on our heels. That was a big play. 

"He's really a tough kid. When you think about his year, he's still kind of a young player. He didn't play the whole season at Stanford and had some injury issues. Sat last year and then had some injury issues this year. I think as he grows and gets older - he's learning to play a little slower on offense and not playing as fast. That's helped him. There's so much to work with there. He's so gifted and he wants it so bad." 

On team finally showing an edge and energy today:
"They're great kids. We've been available for every game this season. I think we're the only team to play 10 road games. We've shown up every night. We've shown up when the ACC needed to reschedule. We should get a freakin' sportsmanship award or something. We have great kids. 

"Their pride was really hurt on Wednesday and at times throughout this year. There's no big speeches from me. It's a little bit of digging down and it's neat to see a group of guys rally and do it. You still get a chance to do it as you head to Greensboro." 

On message to the team after the last two weeks:
"When you have high character guys and their pride has been banged up, they respond and react. You don't have to push buttons. I give a lot of credit to our leadership starting Wednesday night with some text messages from Nik Djogo to the team about the next day and Friday. I give a lot of credit to that group. 

"I'm thrilled for them that they can respond after a tough stretch."