SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As his last official act Wednesday, Notre Dame center Jack Cooley bear-hugged a loose ball to which an unfortunate Rutgers player attached himself. As referees whistled a jump ball, Cooley whipped around and sent his would-be antagonist flopping to the floor.
Suitably, the junior then left to a standing ovation, his imprint all over the No. 23 Irish’s 71-53 dispatching of the Scarlet Knights in every sense. It was a 22-point and 18-rebound bludgeoning from the reigning Big East Player of the Week and it forged his team a seventh straight victory.
“In the second half, there was another play where I got shoved to the floor again,” Cooley said after a third straight double-double. “They just aren’t learning. They really shouldn’t push me to the floor. That really doesn’t work out in the end. That lit a fire in me and helped me get on a little run.”
More a wild rumpus, really, to go with the Irish’s rollicking ride of late.
Notre Dame (18-8, 10-3 Big East) clinched a winning Big East record for the third straight year, coming from non-conference oblivion to do so. An NCAA tournament bid is all but guaranteed. What remains is navigating three of the next four on the road in pursuit of a league tournament double-bye.
“They’ve never really rested on their laurels or been distracted,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “We’ve been very greedy winners.”
Rutgers (12-14, 4-9) was the last team to defeat the Irish, so there was some concern. It lingered after Notre Dame hit six 3-pointers but missed 12 of 14 two-point attempts in the first half and led by just five at the break.
Notre Dame’s plan to change all that? Jack Cooley. End of plan.
“I was frustrated with myself. I really wasn’t finishing,” Cooley said of a five-point first half. “Coach told me that we were going to keep going into the post. I took it upon myself to make more shots.”
So the Irish let Cooley feast. He scored nine of the team’s first 11 after halftime, his production a calming force that allowed Notre Dame to settle into 52.2 percent second-half shooting that fueled an eventual runaway.
“He did a good job just getting open, but Jerian (Grant) and I did a good job dribbling into gaps and getting easy shots for him,” guard Eric Atkins said. “He’s a big target. It’s hard to miss him. As long as he’s playing that way, we’re really hard to beat.”
Afterward, Cooley was asked how good the resurgent Irish could be. He said no one really knows. No one argued, for many reasons.
Twitter @ChiTribHamilton
