Notre Dame men's basketball team speaks about their tough matchup against a Texas Tech in round 2 of March Madness
SAN DIEGO, Ca -- Notre Dame men's basketball is being viewed as underdogs in round two of March Madness and are prepared to upset more brackets to advance into the Sweet 16.
Tomorrow the Irish will be fighting for a trip to the sweet 16 as they take on Texas Tech.
Notre dame addressed the matchup today as they prepare for their third game in five days.
"I think we're ready to get out and we'd play today if we could. We're hungry. We want to get out on the court, lace them up and go get it," said Notre Dame men's basketball senior guard Cormac Ryan.
"We beat Virginia on a Saturday. Got our butts kicked by Duke on Monday. 48 hours later we went to Miami and won. And then we went to NC State and won," said Notre Dame men's basketball Head Coach Mike Brey.
Notre Dame's matchup versus Texas Tech will be the second matchup in history and bring the best out of two teams who made their presence felt in the round of 64.
Starting with Texas Tech and that Red Raiders defensive intensity.
"The bodies and their stances. I have been so impressed," said Brey.
In their first matchup Texas Tech faced Montana State and although they stand on their defense the team managed to score 97 points.
When it comes to facing Notre Dame after a big performance from beyond the arc, the Red Raiders aren’t concerned with offense.
"With this team we have anybody can go off on this team. So, we're not really worried about offense. We're worrying about locking them up," said Texas Tech men's basketball senior guard Davion Warren.
Coming off a game where Notre Dame made 10 three pointers on16 attempts, the offense is in a good position and they’re looking to keep the momentum going regardless of the opponent.
"I think we're just two teams that are going to go battle it out in march madness. I think seeds kind of go away when you're out on the court. It's just two teams trying to battle and survive and advance," said Notre Dame men's basketball senior guard Paul Atkinson Jr.
Coach Mike Brey says the fans that showed up on the west coast are going to be a big help in a matchup, where Notre Dame is viewed as underdogs, once again.
"I was really thrilled with our turnout yesterday. We've had a great contingent of nd people. Certainly we have a lot of alums out here on the west coast. I think it would be even better. So we're going to need that. I think that really helped us in the second half when we got a little run, our crowd was really in it. And it gave us some momentum," said Brey.
Notre Dame will play Sunday at 7:10 p.m. est on TBS.