Notre Dame

The return of the "burn" paid dividends for Mike Brey's Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, with a style of play that got them to the NCAA Tournament making the difference in a 56-51 win at #2 Pittsburgh. Ben Hansbrough led the Irish with 19 points, 13 of which came in the final nine minutes of the game, while Carleton Scott added 16 and Scott Martin 10.

The best game in regards to the national polls would be Notre Dame visiting Pittsburgh in the first game of the Big Monday doubleheader. But a good argument can be made that the matchup between the Fighting Irish and Panthers isn't the most important game of the night. That distinction goes to Baylor visiting Kansas State in a matchup of two teams who need a win period, not just one to prop up their respective resumes.

It would have been extremely difficult to find many people who expected Wednesday's rivalry game between Texas A&M and Texas to be a blowout. But that's what happened in Austin as the Longhorns took control of the game defensively while also executing on the offensive end, winning by the final score of 81-60 and ending the Aggies' 13-game win streak.

With the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game between Auburn and Oregon taking center stage (the pick here is Oregon) there isn't a whole lot to keep tabs on in college basketball. But there is an important resume-boosting opportunity for arguably America's favorite cardiac program as Marquette (11-5, 2-1) looks to rebound from their loss at Pitt on Saturday. And the return to Milwaukee won't come without a challenge as Mike Brey's Fighting Irish are the visitors, and they're looking to build on a productive 2-0 week (wins over Connecticut and St. John's).

Notre Dame knew that they had to make Kemba Walker work for his points if they were going to beat Connecticut on Tuesday. And thanks in large part to Ben Hansbrough, who also scored 21 points they were able to do just that in beating the Huskies 73-70 to move to 2-1 in Big East play. Walker scored 19 points but had to attempt 23 field goals to do that, making just eight while outside of Shabazz Napier (4-6 FG, 18 points) and Roscoe Smith (11 points) his teammates struggled offensively.

Notre Dame (12-2) arrives at the final game of a three-game stretch of Top 10 (in last week's rankings) teams to open Big East play, and the fact that Mike Brey's team has the opportunity to win two say a little about the quality of his club. Tuesday night brings Connecticut (11-1) to Purcell Pavilion, and the Huskies are looking to put forth a better performance than they did in a loss at Pittsburgh as well as an overtime home win over USF.

If Notre Dame can play defensively against Syracuse and Connecticut the same way they did last night, Mike Brey's team will be situated well within the Top 10 at the end of a rough slate to begin Big East play. Georgetown, one of the nation's best three point shooting teams, made just four of eighteen in a 69-55 loss in South Bend. Tim Abromaitis led Notre Dame with 20 points and Tyrone Nash added a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) in a game that the Irish controlled for most of the way thanks to their defense.

While Mike Krzyzewski going for win number 880, which would push him past Dean Smith and into second place all-time, is a big deal that does not make Duke playing UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum the game of the night. That distinction goes to the Big East opener for #9 Georgetown (11-1) and #15 Notre Dame in South Bend.

While billed as the marquee matchup in the SEC/Big East Invitational many expected #3 Pittsburgh to hold serve at the CONSOL Energy Center against #11 Tennessee, thanks in part to a neutral court crowd that would be in their favor. Although the word "upset" shouldn't be used to describe the fact that Bruce Pearl's team left with the 83-76 victory, the way in which Tennessee won the game was a surprise to say the least. The Vols, now 7-0 on the season, controlled the game throughout and led by as many as 20 before the Panthers attempted to mount a rally.

A pair of undefeated teams will meet in the final game of the SEC/Big East Invitational as #11 Tennessee (6-0) takes on #3 Pittsburgh (10-0) at the new CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Volunteers, who won the NIT Season Tip-Off by beating Villanova in the title game, are actually the top ranked team in the RPI and they've done a good job so far of not allowing the issues swirling around their head coach to affect their play. Three Volunteers are averaging double figures in scoring with freshman forward Tobias Harris (16.7 ppg) and junior guard Scotty Hopson (16.3 ppg) leading the way.