Notre Dame Men's basketball Head Coach Mike Brey is trying to lead the men into consecutive Elite 8 appearances for the first time in program history. He also discussed a respect for Wisconsin head Coach Greg Gard.

Both Coach Brey and Coach Gard have been in this position before.

It's clear there's mutual respect.

"I think Greg Gard should be mentioned as a National Coach of the Year candidate. I don't know why he's not mentioned. He has put this thing together and is riding great momentum. I've always had respect for his program. They have a group that has been through this and they believe they should win," Coach Brey said.

"Mike's got a great team. Every year nobody talks about ND - yet they seem to be there in the second weekend. He's done a tremendous job of identifying the type of student-athlete he needs. The names change - the numbers change. But the production in terms of what they do together, their ability to develop players, doesn't change," said Coach Gard.