Mike Brey Notebook: Duke

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke following the 88-66 loss at Duke on Monday night. 

On the loss:
“We hung for about 28 minutes, but they eventually wore us down. They’re so gifted offensively. That run was amazing.

“I’m proud of our group. We’re trying, scratching and clawing. They were really good tonight. That offensive run in the second half kind of broke our back.” 

On team:
“I love our group. Maybe we’ll have a few bodies back for NC State on Saturday. We could use a couple of bodies back. 

“We have the back nine of the league. We were 3-6 on the front nine, and we’ll have to do a little bit on the back nine of the league. We’ll see if we can.” 

On maximizing team:
“The remaining group is just so good and giving us everything they have. They empty the tank every night. We have great leadership, and they’ve hung together. 

“It’s been cool to be around this group because they’re hanging in there with us. We’re all trying to figure it out together. I wouldn’t mind having a few guys back, quite frankly.” 

On blowout loss:
“It was a matter of time. I was worried about this one. I love how we competed for 28 minutes. We loved where we were at halftime. They have the ability to just explode offensively, and they did. 

“We’re going to try and hit the reset button. Let’s see what we can do on the back nine starting on Saturday.” 

On TJ Gibbs and John Mooney:
“They were great. For John Mooney in this atmosphere, he’s really growing as a player. TJ was doing his thing again. All seven of these guys, they’re doing everything we ask them to do. 

“You got some guys growing up. People say ‘Well, it helps you for next year.’ Well, I don’t want to go there yet. We got some basketball to play. How about helping us for February?"