ND reached Elite 8 this year by beating 3 unranked teams, with two miracle finishes.
They were much better last year, darn near beat Kentucky, and deserved their plaudits. They had 4 potential NBA players -- some of us disagree about Auguste (and after last night, I may be wrong about him being NBA-caliber) -- for the first time during Brey's incumbency.
Brey coached very well for much of the year. I thought his tournament coaching was so so.
I believe the "burn" offense was a mistake last night, particularly when they got behind. Numerous posters below noted desperation shots became the norm in the second half.
ND can't rebound -- much of that is NOT physical size, but coaching and discipline -- but it sure can play outstanding offense. Why get the team out of what it does best? And why convince your team that it does not have the stuff to play the opposing team in the manner which got the team to this point? What is the risk? That you get murdered by UNC's offense??