NEW YORK -- As we watch No. 3 Memphis take on USC in the second game of our double-header here at a more crowded, yet still rather empty Madison Square Garden, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey seemed to be pleased with his team's effort after securing a 68-59 win over Kansas State.

"It's certainly a game for us to build on," he remarked during his post-game press conference. "We had to fight off a very good basketball team and make some game-winning plays.

"Just winning a game against a good team on this stage when the lights are very bright and there's game pressure, that's more important than all the math and bracketology that we start talking about early. Sometimes you forget about the process with the team, so I think it's a big step forward for our team."

Several of those plays came from Staten Island native Kyle McAlarney, who hit a big three with less than three minutes left to put Notre Dame up by five and then knocked down by a pair of free throws a couple minutes later that sealed the victory for the Fighting Irish.

"It's a great feeling," the junior guard said about his strong homecoming performance that included 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. "I heard a lot of people in the stands cheering my name. It's just good to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. At the end of the game, I just wanted the ball in my hands to just knock down those free throws."

While McAlarney made the big plays down the stretch for Brey's team, it's hard to forget about sophomore forward Luke Harangody, who battled down low with Kansas State's Michael Beasley and matched the freshman phenom with a team-high 19 points and 14 rebounds. Beasley finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes.

"He's definitely going to be a major factor in years to come," Harangody said of Beasley. "In the first half I don't think we bodied up on him well enough and then in the second half we started getting out on him a little more and getting physical with him."

And while Beasley didn't have his typical 30-point performance under the Big Apple's bright lights, Bill Walker came on strong in the second half after tallying just two points at halftime and actually gave the Wildcats the lead at one point in the second half.

"In the first half we settled for a lot of jumpers," the 6-foot-6 freshman said after finishing with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and six rebounds. "We just tried to focus [after halftime] on pounding the ball inside, and I think that jumpstarted us."

But Kansas State couldn't make enough plays late in the game when it needed to and struggled to rebound the ball against a broad-shouldered Big East team that's known for its physical style of play down low.

"It's frustrating," Kansas State coach Frank Martin, who saw his team suffer a tough loss to Oregon in overtime last week and battle against the Irish before falling late. "It's just a matter of us continuing to work. There's a reason we have to play these kind of games."

But was even more disappointing -- for this reporter at least -- was the fact that Beasley couldn't even offer a few words on his performance or the game in general. According to a policy set out by the school's media relations department, all Kansas State freshmen are not allowed to conduct interviews with the media until they've completed their first academic semester. So for Beasley, that means he won't be talking to anyone until Dec. 16, a day before the Wildcats face Florida A&M in the K-State Holiday Classic at the brand new Sprint Center.

And while its understandable that the school has every intention of protecting its players and giving them a shot at playing basketball rather than just talking about it, why bring your team to New York City with all the national media in attendance and not let him say a single word?

Because the fact is, it's what every reader wants, and if the Wildcats knew what was good for them, they would let Beasley say a few words every now and then -- especially when you lead not just your team in scoring and rebounding but an entire nation.