Desperate times for UConn, Notre Dame

NCAA tournament talk dominates the college basketball world these days.

One day a team is a hot topic, the next they're left out of the conversation.

Kemba Walker ignores what the so-called experts are saying about UConn.

"They don't know anything," the point guard said Sunday after the Huskies were beaten at home by Louisville, 78-66. "I don't care what they're saying."

UConn is in jeopardy of falling out of the discussion after the Louisville loss. The Huskies are 17-12 overall (7-9 in the Big East) with two regular-season games left at Notre Dame Wednesday and at South Florida Saturday.

The Fighting Irish (19-10, 8-8) are another team on the outside right now of the NCAA tournament picture, but they have moved closer to a bid with consecutive wins over nationally ranked Pittsburgh and at Georgetown.

"You play your way in or out of the NCAA tournament in January, February or March and we've done both," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said Monday. "The power of the league certainly this last week has helped improve our chances. Obviously, we still have work to do."

The Irish are making a late run without star Luke Harangody, who has missed the last four games with a deep bone bruise on his right knee. He was a strong candidate to win his second Big East Player of the Year award until suffering his injury Feb. 11 against Seton Hall. Notre Dame has gone 2-2 during his absence.

While Brey doesn't expect Harangody, who's averaging a Big East-leading 24.1 points per game and 10.0 rebounds, to play against UConn, he hasn't ruled it out.

"We've been playing for a while without him and that's got to be our mind-set," Brey said. "If something changes, my gosh that would be a nice thing. But it's kind of week to week right now. … A bone bruise just takes time and then it's what you can tolerate.

"We're being very, very cautious about this. Obviously, he has a bright future making a living playing the game. That's part of the equation, too."

The Fighting Irish have adapted just fine, receiving contributions from a variety of sources. Junior Carleton Scott has emerged since stepping into the starting lineup. But just because they've experienced success recently doesn't mean they're better off without Harangody.

"That's kind of been the cool thing to talk about all week, but I don't agree with that at all," Brey said. "I'd love for that guy to walk through the door in practice today and, with the development and confidence of Scott and other guys, to throw him back in there.

"The reality is this team has gotten really good minus him. … That's one thing that I'm very proud of this group and I'm proud of Luke's leadership through it."

The loss of Harangody will be taken into account by the NCAA tournament selection committee. After hosting UConn, Notre Dame ends its regular season Saturday at Marquette.

There's also the matter of seeding for next week's Big East tournament in New York. The top eight teams receive first-round byes.

UConn is locked in a four-way tie for ninth place right behind Notre Dame, but don't ask coach Jim Calhoun to talk about his team's position.

"I could give a (expletive) about the landscape of the Big East," Calhoun said. "I have to get ready for Notre Dame. That's the only thing I know."

Prior to the Louisville loss, the Huskies had won three straight. They won the first meeting against Notre Dame, 82-70, Jan. 2 in Hartford.

"They were pretty darn good when we played them in Hartford," Brey said. "They were 10th in the country. Jim was coaching them. They were pretty impressive. We're playing the UConn that started the year now. We didn't get any of the stuff in between when they didn't have Jim.

"I narrowed down (UConn's improvement) to two things: Jim being back and Kemba Walker playing the best basketball of his career flat out."