Rick Pitino
--Stephan Van Treese has missed the last two days of practice with a stomach virus, but should be back today (Tuesday).
--Rakeem Buckles will see the doctor on Thursday and everyone will know more then.
--Gorgui Dieng will not make the trip with the team to South Bend.
--Preston Knowles returned to practice yesterday and is good to go for tomorrow night's game. Preston is fine.
--Considering how long it takes players to get back into basketball shape after being injured for an extended period of time, we won't be completely healthy until late February.
--Notre Dame has great experience and is better defensively than they've been in recent years. We've had difficulty playing there, but hopeful this team can change that.
--Doesn't expect the Fighting Irish to employ the burn offense at home.
--His "we're going to win that game" comment on Saturday about the Notre Dame game was tongue-in-cheek.
--Ben Hansbrough is a legit national player of the year contender. Thinks Jimmer Fredette will win national POY, but would put Hansbrough at two or three.
--Have been pushing Rock Buckles really hard in practice. It might take him a while to get over his injury mentally, but he'll be ready physically. Hoping to have him back within the next week.
--Marra, Preston and Gorgui are all out-of-shape right now.
--Trying to get Kyle Kuric to drive the ball more and get 2-6 points on lay-ups. He's been doing it more in practice, but not in games.
--Notre Dame is just as good against zone as they are against man. Hard to get them to shoot an unusually low percentage. It's going to be a very tough game.
--Doesn't know how to get Peyton Siva any more rest. "DeJuan Wheat is not walking through that door."
Chris Smith
--The chance to play Notre Dame in South Bend is a big opportunity. This team could use another big road win.
--Is aware of what happened up there two years ago.
--There are no off-nights in the Big East. Much different than when he was at Manhattan. "Oh, we're playing Canisius? That's a night off."
--Everyone can shoot for Notre Dame. If we can contain the three-point line it will dramatically change the game.
--Have to counteract their size with our quickness. Backdoor pursuit is going to be big on defense.
--Once everybody come back it's going to be a big lift as far as avoiding fatigue at the end of games.
--Knows the season could go either way at this point. Could compete for a Big East title or plummet down the standings.
--TJ's playing his best basketball of the season. He picked it up because he knew the team needed him to. His confidence level and motivation has been a lot higher in recent weeks.
--Winning at UConn made this team feel like it can win anywhere.
--Nobody expected us to win this year. It's going to get even more fun once everyone gets healthy.
--The injuries have allowed people to get more experience than they would have otherwise. Now everyone knows what to expect from each other when they're on the court.