With 5:35 left in the second half at Freedom Hall on Monday night, Notre Dame led Louisville, 73-69, in the first Big Monday of the season. Luke Harangody had just hit two free throws — bizarrely his only two of the game as it turned out — and had 28 points. Irish coach Mike Brey had to consider himself fortunate that his team had braved a withering Louisville defense to battle back from a seven-point, second-half deficit to take that four-point lead.

What Brey couldn’t have imagined, though, was that Harangody’s free throws would be the reigning Big East Player of the Year’s last points of the game and that his team would only score once more over the next 10:35 of the second half and overtime in an 87-73 loss. Read More »