Mike Brey Notebook | Post-Boston College

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey spoke following Wednesday's overtime victory over Boston College. 

On the win: 
”That’s a heck of a league win. I knew it was going to be hard. Give them credit. Offensively, they shot it and made some tough shots and really could have broken our spirit at times. You have to give this group credit. They keep playing and trying to figure it out. I thought we never got discouraged even though they were very hard to guard tonight.” 

On scoring 99 points tonight:
"99 - it took us five more minutes, right? I told them at halftime, I had been coming in telling you the other team has 28, 26, 28, 26, 25, 26 and they got 43 on us. What did we have? 39?

"I'm thinking we're going to have to score to get out of here tonight because we're having a hard time guarding and they were making tough shots. We had enough defensive possessions to help us." 

On the team being able to turn the switch and win with offense instead of defense: 
"That's a good point. That is why in the second half we got away from our motion and predictable movement. We were just ball screening and playing. We call it open. 

"Hubb went to the hole and got the foul line because we were just driving it. That's an option for us too. That's kind of how we started playing early in the season, then we've gone to motion and at times, we go to open. We just said at halftime, let's just play and we're going to have to score tonight. 

"We played a little faster that way and got into a pretty good rhythm." 

On the point of emphasis at halftime:
"The book on us with almost everyone is just drive it. Sit down, clear out, drive and they picked on Dane for a while. They picked on a bunch of guys and just drove the heck out of it. 

"We had a hard time handling that and rotating at times. I don't know if we were as focused defensively as we have been. I think on the road, we've been better defensively because we're scared a little bit. On the road, you circle the wagons a little bit. 

"Halftime, you try to get them going defensively, but I'm thinking to myself we're going to have to score to escape. We got gifted offensive guys and they can do that too." 

On Boston College's three-point shooting:
"10 threes - I'm thinking when they rose up for a couple of them, that's what we want and just about every one of them went in. It could have been soul-crushing a couple times. We just hung in there. 

"It's a neat group. They're very poised in timeouts. They're not panicked. They really believe they should finish games because they have finished a lot." 

On putting Prentiss Hubb on Brevin Galloway down the stretch:
"He was fabulous. Prentiss has really improved defensively. Get up, get in them and make them drive it. I thought he was really disciplined and was the guy I thought we could rely on the most to take him away the last couple of minutes. 

"I didn't want Blake to lose him and lunge or anyone else. Prentiss took that assignment and made a bunch of offensive plays. He makes us believe. What he talks about in the huddles, timeouts - he's such a winner. He's not afraid and he senses the moment for us." 

On what allows Hubb to shine at the end of games:
"I think there's just an 'it' factor you cannot coach. I'll go back to him as a ninth-grader against DeMatha in the Catholic League championship in the fourth quarter. He came off the bench and hit three threes. They beat DeMatha. I remember watching that and going there is something about this guy. 

"He has always kind of had that. We've learned to live at times that he may throw a crazy one up, but all I know is I want him in there because a couple of those crazy ones have gone in this year. That last one off the board, I don’t know how he got that one off and the one at Pittsburgh. 

“I’m happy for him. After a tough start, he’s in total control of this group.”