SOUTH BEND – When Notre Dame’s biggest win this season came down to needing a final defensive stop, there was little doubt who the Irish would turn to – Tory Jackson.

With Notre Dame clinging to a two-point lead with 8 seconds remaining against then-No. 8 West Virginia on Jan. 9, the 5-foot-11 senior guard was charged with defending the Mountaineers’ 6-foot-7 forward Da’Sean Butler.

Butler was able to get off a shot, but it rimmed out to give the Irish a 70-68 victory. Jackson said he was so close to the West Virginia star that Butler could smell what he had for lunch.

“We put Tory on the best player again to end the game, and he made him work,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “We may give up size, but Tory Jackson makes guys work.”

Jackson and the Irish (14-4, 3-2 Big East) will have their work cut out for them when they play host to No. 5 Syracuse (17-1, 4-1) at 7 p.m. today.

The Orange is third in the Big East in scoring, averaging 84.5 points, and lead the league in steals, averaging 11.7. Forward Wes Johnson averages team highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (8.8), but the Orange, which leads the conference in assists (20.2 per game) also has two players averaging more than 10 points and three averaging just a fraction less than that.

A chance at another victory over a top-10 team is one Jackson embraces, and a win would help ease the heartbreak of Saturday’s 60-58 road loss to Cincinnati.

“It’s huge for our program. It’s huge for our team,” Jackson said of tonight’s game. “We got a great group of guys. They know how much it means to get a conference win, not just knock off a top-10 team. (Syracuse) being top 10, top five, it makes it even better. It makes guys go even harder in practice.”

Just like the team welcomes the challenge of facing a top-five team, the Irish welcome Jackson’s leadership.

At the start of the season, Brey said Jackson could lead practice if the coaching staff didn’t show up, and Jackson, along with fellow seniors Luke Harangody and Jonathan Peoples, led offseason pickup games and workouts.

“(Jackson) is always talking to us,” Ben Hansbrough said. “I can’t say he’s too vocal, but he’s the most vocal guard I’ve ever been around. He’s always talking to us, trying to keep everybody’s head cool.”

Jackson etched his spot in program history when he became the 50th Irish player to score 1,000 points in this season’s final non-conference game, a 101-69 win over Bucknell on Dec. 22.

And with that milestone, Jackson became the fourth Irish player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists in his career. Jackson, who has 1,045 points and 607 assists, joined Chris Thomas, David Rivers and Elmer Bennett.

“It’s a huge honor. I mean, you think about all the guys who have gotten there before him,” Harangody said. “It’s kind of a big deal too because he’s a point guard. And he’s one of the only players to get 1,000 points and 500 assists.”

Jackson’s climb into the 1,000-point club was as steady as how he leads the offense.

He entered this season averaging 8.9 points for his career, and he has stayed on course averaging 8.4 points this season. The guard also continues to find teammates, averaging 5.2 assists which is consistent with career average of 5.

The Saginaw, Mich., native has also been durable, playing in 119 games. He is on pace to match Matt Carroll’s record of 133 games played and can break the school record if the team wins its first game in the Big East tournament.

“That’s the heart and soul of this team,” Tyrone Nash said of Jackson.

“It’s amazing because he’s gone next year. I’m just trying to enjoy these last moments I have with him and cherish everything and learn from that. That is one heck of a point guard we’ve got there.”

tkrausz@jg.net