He has done a better job of coaching this year, but, in addition to the two flaws you point out -- bench and slow-down -- with which I agree, he has never had players (possible exception of Swanagan) who could play post defense. Brey sticks with his formula: lots of good shooters and pass the ball unselfishly. Saturday night was an example of winning despite being out-manned. [He also did a good job of getting FSU to miss their foul shots at a rate that my granddaughter's 7th grade team could match.] When they're on they can literally beat almost anyone, although I would have the team manager lock Brey in the locker room for the last several minutes (Kentucky????).
But the law of averages suggests they cannot stay hot long enough in the Tournament to beat teams with better athletes (and often better coaching) on a consistent basis. Remember -- this is Brey's 18th year, and this is ND.