McAlarney

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — You’d think that a coach whose team is riding a 31-game home winning streak couldn’t wait to see his fans for the start of a two-game Big East homestand.

While Notre Dame’s Mike Brey admits he’s looking forward to playing in front of the green-and-gold-clad Irish fans tonight at the Joyce Center, he also says he’s plenty scared of games against Providence College tonight and DePaul on Saturday.

“The only guy to worry about (the streak) is the coach. He’s wacky,” Brey said with a laugh. “Our guys can’t wait to get back here. You just have to stay loose and go for it. I don’t want us to play like they’re protecting or defending anything. I want us to be attacking.”

No Big East team has attacked on its home floor like Notre Dame. The Irish haven’t lost here since late in the 2006 season (to Marquette). Twenty-four of the 31 wins have come by 10 points or more, 13 by 20 points or more and nine by 30-plus points. Brey says he’s most proud of the 12-game Big East home winning streak his team hopes to build on. The 31-game streak is the third-longest in the country, trailing only Memphis (42 games) and Brigham Young (40).

Notre Dame finished 18-0 last season on the way to a 24-8 mark and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish lost to Winthrop, 74-64, in the first round, but sparked by an 11-0 home mark this season, Brey’s team is poised to return to the NCAAs. ND is 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big East after an impressive 90-80 win at Villanova last Saturday. Notre Dame returns home for the first time since a Jan. 15 win over Cincinnati.

“Obviously, there’s a confidence with our guys and in our building once we get this place ignited,” Brey said. “We’ll be excited to come back. Our students have been to only one league game, so they’ll be fired up.”

The Fighting Irish have given their fans plenty of reason to be excited. The team is filled with 3-point shooters, as usual, and the emergence of sophomore center Luke Harangody as inside force gives the Irish a new dimension this winter. Harangody leads the Big East in scoring and has enjoyed some huge games, such as 29-point outbursts against both West Virginia and Marquette.

The outside bombers are led by Kyle McAlarney, one of the better stories in all of college basketball. McAlarney was booted off last year’s team, and out of school, after an off-campus arrest for marijuana possession. After nearly cutting his ties to Notre Dame, McAlarney returned to school and has matured into one of the better guards in the Big East. He’s averaging 15.4 points, including a 32-point outburst, including six 3-pointers, to shoot down Connecticut and 30 points and five 3-pointers in the win at Villanova.

“McAlarney’s like (URI’s) Jimmy Baron. He shoots it four feet behind the (3-point) line whenever he wants to,” said Providence coach Tim Welsh. “They have a lot of good scorers.”

Like all coaches, Brey isn’t counting on a return home to guarantee success. PC played Notre Dame tough last year at the Joyce Center before losing, 81-78.

“I’m scared to death of them,” Brey said. “Offensively, they are amazingly talented. You don’t know where it’s going to come from with them. They have my attention and my team’s attention after that win (against UConn) at Hartford, that’s for sure.”

PC (12-7) has lost two games in a row three times this season, but always avoided a third defeat. Welsh says his team’s slow offensive start at Syracuse concerned him, but his focus is clearly on defense against an Irish team that can heat up in a hurry.

“I wasn’t happy with the way we started (at Syracuse). We have to attack more from the start, and that’s been a big emphasis,” Welsh said. “I’m not happy with our defense right now. We’re in a lull, and there’s no time for that. We have to get back to defending and rebounding against the type of good basketball teams we face every night in this league.”

kmcnamar@projo.com