George Washington also used big, physical players to knock XU out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. XU ranked third in the A-10 in rebounding differential. It's hard to rally against a team that controls the tempo and makes free throws, which Notre Dame does. But XU was also on unfamiliar ground. The Musketeers had trailed at halftime only five times and hadn't faced a halftime deficit in their previous 15 games.
Good teams execute their way out.
We didn't do a good job executing. Graves, replacing forward Harold Swanagan, made all seven of his field goal attempts and scored 20 points. He added two assists and two steals and defused XU's press. When you trap and press, sometimes you give guys open looks. The Irish shot 63.3 percent.