| | March 10, 2000
We definitely fought and it was tough game against Notre Dame. Luckily, we
pulled it out.
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Inside the Locker Room
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Throughout Championship Week, ESPN.com and FANSonly.com are presenting an inside look into the Big East Conference tournament from some of the league's top players, including Johnny Hemsley of Miami.
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Everybody gave a lot of energy in key situations. We got the stops that we
needed and were able to hit some big shots. We put a lot of emphasis on our
defense because that opens up a lot of opportunity for us offensively. Our
defense is something that we really take a lot of pride in and it really
came through for us tonight.
We always look forward to playing Troy [Murphy]. He is a guy that plays
really hard. He is from Jersey. I am from Jersey so I know the kind of
tenacity that guys from the Jersey/New York area play with. It is
definitely good to play against a guy of his quality. The team has held Troy
under his average in the last three games. Each of us have put a lot of
emphasis on that in practice.
The game was so intense, especially at the time of the foul. I definitely
did not intend to hurt him or anything like that. It was a hard foul but it
was also a hard game and things like that are going to happen. I am just
glad that everyone kept their cool so that nobody got ejected or anything
like that.
I hope that the Selection Committee chooses them as one of the 64 but if
not, they will -- if Troy sticks around -- have a good nucleus for next year.
And I think that they could go all the way. If Notre Dame were to get into
the tournament, there is a chance that we could play them for the fourth
time this season. It would definitely be a fun game because we have never
played a team four times. We look forward to that challenge.
Actually, we look forward to every challenge that we have out there on the
court. Once you step in between the lines, it is just who wants it the most.
It definitely feels good to get a win, especially since we had the day off.
There are some teams that we thought would still be in the tournament which
are not, particularly Syracuse. We knew, coming in, that being the second
seed people would be after us.
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