Notre Dame coach John MacLeod could finally lay claim to No. 1 Saturday, though it is a far cry from championship glory.
MacLeod and his Fighting Irish broke through the winless column in the Big East with a 79-67 victory over Rutgers, keyed by solid defense, nifty passing by freshman Doug Gottlieb and clutch, long-range shooting by Ryan Hoover.
The win ended their six-game skid in the conference and marked two straight solid performances by the Irish, who looked good but lost to Georgetown earlier last week.
“I hope it doesn’t take us as long to get our second as it did to take our first,” said MacLeod, whose Irish are 6-8 and take their 1-6 conference record to Miami on Tuesday.
“Our players were happy to get the monkey off their back. If this had kept going on, obviously it would have been a focal point of discussion.”
Hoover, the senior co-captain, appears to be hitting a groove. He scored 26 points for the second straight game, and his 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers, opened up the inside for Pat Garrity, who scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half.
Rutgers, like Notre Dame a new Big East member, had beaten the Irish in both teams’ conference opener in overtime after Notre Dame blew a 17-point lead. It almost looked like more of the same by the end of Saturday’s first half.
Rutgers shot 31 percent and had 11 turnovers, but the Irish walked off their home court at halftime trailing 32-29 after blowing an eight-point lead.
The Irish lost their first possession of the second half and Geoff Billett poured in a three-pointer to make it 35-29 before Notre Dame found its composure against a pesky, pack-it-in zone defense.
Garrity moved out to a wing inside, Hoover’s shooting kept the Rutgers defense honest and Gottlieb dished off seven assists for the game.
Keyed by a Garrity layup and a steal by Pete Miller, the Irish went on a 13-0 run to take a 55-43 lead.
The 50 points by Notre Dame in the second half tied its biggest scoring output for a half this season.
“He’s a dangerous player,” Rutgers coach Bob Wenzel said of Hoover. “He extends the defense and that helps them inside.”
Notre Dame was outrebounded 38-22, but had only eight turnovers while forcing Rutgers into 22, uncharacteristic for a team that averages about 14 a game.
The Notre Dame defense helped hold Rutgers to 35 percent shooting for the game.
