Mike Brey says Cormac Ryan 'sets the tone' for Notre Dame

Notre Dame and head coach Mike Brey were able to pull off a minor upset over Michigan State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. This was largely because of the play of Cormac Ryan, who led the way in scoring with 23 points.

After the game, Mike Brey praised Cormac Ryan for being the player who the Irish look to set the tone on both offense and defense.

“You know, I’ve got the utmost respect for this guy,” Mike Brey said. “Like, he’s the voice. He sets the tone. He knows this is the one to get us going, especially after Long Island and escaping, and not only does he guard their most potent guy for 40 minutes, he does that but then in the second half he didn’t really have stuff, so he just guarded.

Notre Dame came into the game against Michigan State off its first loss of the season. That was against St. Bonaventure out of the A-10. In that game, Cormac Ryan struggled offensively and it showed in the end result for Notre Dame.

“He’s our voice, he’s our vibe, he’s our emotion. He just sets the tone for us,” Mike Brey emphasized.

Cormac Ryan was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2018. He originally went to Stanford before transferring after his first season there. Now a redshirt senior, he’s a key contributor to Notre Dame’s success this season.

Notre Dame in the preseason poll

Mike Brey has been the coach at Notre Dame since 2000. During that time, he’s found plenty of success coaching the Irish, including since they moved from the Big East to the ACC with a conference tournament championship and two Elite Eight appearances.

This is a season where Notre Dame has the potential to be one of the better teams in the ACC again. The Irish were picked sixth in the ACC Preseason Poll. With a couple of upsets as the season goes on, Notre Dame could find itself in contention for the conference crown.