Jeff Wolf's Notre Dame Preview: The Trifecta

The Golden Eagles and Fighting Irish split their two regular season meetings. Now they face off for a chance to advance to the Big East Semifinals.

No. 14 Notre Dame enters the Big East Tournament as the No. 3 seed after finishing tying for second-place in the regular standings.

Their 24-6 regular season mark was Notre Dame’s best record since joining the Big East in 1995-96. Notre Dame also went undefeated at home for the second straight, a first in Big East history.

The Irish also swept the conference’s top regular season honors, as forward Luke Harangody was named Big East Player of the Year and head coach Mike Brey was named Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

Harangody was also a unanimous first-team all-conference selection and became only the second player to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding during the regular season. He averaged 23.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, and recorded 17 double-doubles on the season. Harangody has proven to be nearly unstoppable in the paint this season, recording 20 or more points 13 times and 30 or more points three times and scoring a season-high 40 points in a February 28 loss to Louisville.

Brey has led the Irish to five 20-win seasons and is 166-84 (.664) in eight seasons at Notre Dame. Last year the Irish finished 24-8 and 11-5 in the Big East under Brey.

Shooting guard Kyle McAlarney was also named to First Team All-Big East. The Staten Island, N.Y. native averaged 15.0 ppg on the season and shot an even 45.0 percent (99-220) from three-point range on the season.

Senior Rob Kurz, averaged 12.7 ppg and shot 39.8 percent from long-range on the regular season.

The Irish are 2-2 on a neutral court this season, having beaten Kansas by eight in Madison Square Garden, and fallen to Baylor and Georgia Tech in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Marquette and Notre Dame split their two previous meetings on the season, with the Golden Eagles winning 92-66 on January 12 in Milwaukee and the Irish winning 86-83 in South Bend on February 9.

Marquette faces Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. CDT.