Notre Dame will be short its star for the third straight game.
Luke Harangody has been ruled out of tonight's game against No. 12 Pittsburgh, Irish coach Mike Brey said.
The senior forward bruised a bone in his right knee during Notre Dame's 90-87 loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 11 and missed the next two games. The Irish (17-10, 6-8 Big East) have lost three straight.
"He's not ready to go, after watching him in practice," Brey said on his radio show. "And I don't know when he's going to be back. That's the reality of what we're looking at now."
Brey said bone bruises cannot be healed with ice, only with time.
"You just can't put somebody in there on this kind of thing until it's better," he said.
In Harangody's absence, junior forward Carleton Scott will start. Scott made his first start against Louisville and had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes.
"I thought Carleton Scott maybe took a step forward into some new territory that we've been kind of waiting on," Brey said.
The bench also saw more playing time: freshman Jack Cooley played 19 minutes and freshman Mike Broghammer played 10.
"Our young big guys did a heck of a job," Brey said.
Notre Dame had a bye week this week, a much-needed rest after losing to Louisville in double overtime on Feb.17.
"It seems like we played a month ago after not playing this weekend," Brey said. "I don't know if I've been prouder of a team in 10 years after a loss."
Pittsburgh (21-6, 10-4) is third in the Big East and has won five straight conference games. The Panthers beat No. 7 Villanova Sunday and took down No. 8 West Virginia in overtime on Feb. 12.
Guard Ashton Gibbs leads the Panthers in scoring with 16.8 points per game and shoots 38 percent from 3-point range.
Notre Dame got help in Harangody's absence, help it will need again tonight. Junior forward Tim Abromaitis scored 29 points, senior guard Tory Jackson added 19 and senior guard Ben Hansbrough scored 21, making 10-of-12 foul shots in the process. The bench didn't add many points, but they allowed the starters to rest — except Jackson, who played all 50 minutes.
The Cardinals made 3-of-5 3-pointers in the overtime periods, something Gibbs may attempt to exploit. The Irish made 13-of-14 free throws in extra time but it was not enough.
Brey said Saturday's game against No. 11 Georgetown was a possible time for Harangody to return but was not certain that he would be ready.
"This group that has played 100 minutes without him will continue to play without him until it's really ready," Brey said.
