2016-17 Men's Basketball Season Review

April 13, 2017

2016-17 Season Review

BY THE NUMBERS – NOTRE DAME IN 2016-17

IRISH MATCH NCAA WINS RECORD:

The senior class of V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, along with graduate student walk on Patrick Mazza, matched the records for the winningest graduating class in school history and the winningest class in terms of NCAA victories.

Notre Dame has won seven games over the past three years in the NCAA tournament, matching the 1979 class with seven NCAA victories. Bruce Flowers was the lone senior in 1979 to play in all three of those tournament trips.

A breakdown of the winningest four years, in terms of NCAA tournament victories, at Notre Dame:

* – includes a regional final consolation victory

ACC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

Notre Dame’s run to the ACC Championship game earned three members of the team all-tournament honors.

Juniors Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell were first-team selections, while senior Steve Vasturia was named to the second team.

A look at their ACC tournament statistics:

IRISH EXTEND THREE-YEAR WIN MARK RECORD:

Notre Dame’s two victories on the run to the ACC Championship game and first-round NCAA win, pushed the program’s win record over the past three seasons to 82. The Irish already posted the best two-year stretch of victories last season, winning 56 combined games in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

NOTRE DAME SETS ACC FREE THROW RECORD:

Notre Dame combined to shoot 489-611 (.800) from the free throw line this season, which led the NCAA and sets the ACC single-season record. The previous record holder was NC State, which shot 481 of 602 (.799) in 2004.

The Irish shot over .850 from the free throw line 14 times during the 2016-17 season and was a perfect 1.000 from the line three times during the year. Notre Dame was 14-for-14 against North Carolina A&T, six-for-six versus Villanova and capped the year 17-of-17 in the final game of the season against West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

COLSON LEADS ACC IN REBOUNDING IN HISTORIC FASHION:

Junior forward Bonzie Colson has been labeled as ‘under-sized,’ due to his listed 6-5 height measurement. The New Bedford, Massachusetts, native does boast a 7-2 wing span, however, which helped the Irish captain lead the ACC in rebounding at 10.1 per game.

Colson becomes the shortest ACC player to lead the league in rebounding since South Carolina’s Grady Wallace grabbed 14.4 rebounds per game in 1957 – a span of 60 years.

Since 1958 (Pete Brennan, North Carolina) Colson is the only player under 6-7 to lead the ACC in rebounding.

PLAYERS UNDER 6-7 TO LEAD THE ACC IN REBOUNDING:

Colson also became the second consecutive Notre Dame player to lead the ACC in rebounding, joining Zach Auguste (10.7 in 2015-16).

CONFERENCE WIN STREAK:

Notre Dame saw its program-best six-game ACC regular-season conference win streak end at Louisville on Saturday, March 4. It was the seventh conference win streak of five or more games of the Mike Brey era at Notre Dame (since 2000-01) and fourth longest.

WINNINGEST CLASS AT NOTRE DAME:

The 2016-17 senior class of Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem, Austin Torres (Torres will return for a fifth-year of eligibility in 2017-18) and graduate student Patrick Mazza matched the school record for wins over a four-year stretch this season.

The ’16-’17 class compiled 97 wins over the past four years, matching all-time mark of 97 by the 2012-13 group.

MOST WINS – FOUR YEAR SPAN:

ALL-ACC HONORS:

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the 2017 all-conference teams on Sunday, March 5. Junior forward Bonzie Colson was named to the All-ACC First Team, while seniors V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, along with junior Matt Farrell, all earned Honorable Mention honors. Notre Dame is the only conference team to have four players earn 10 or more votes for all-conference honors this season.

Colson, who finished third in Player of the Year voting, led the league in rebounds all season and is the only conference player to average a double-double for the entire conference season. Colson also finished the regular season ranked in the ACC top 10 in field goal percentage, blocked shots and free throw percentage. The New Bedford, Massachusetts, native also was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, presented to college basketball’s player of the year.

Colson joins Jerian Grant (2015) as All-ACC first-team selections in the four years the Irish have been a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Farrell finished among the ACC’s top seven in three-point field goal percentage, assists and steals and also finished third for the league’s Most Improved Player Award. Vasturia led the league in free-throw percentage (.910) and was named ACC Player of the Week on January 16, 2017 after helping the Irish start the ACC conference schedule with a 5-0 record with several game-clinching clutch plays.

Beachem has consistently been among the league leaders in three-point shooting his season and finished the season fourth in the ACC in three-point field goals made per game this season (2.42).

The honors are all the first for each player in their careers at Notre Dame and amount to the most all-league honors (first, second, third team or honorable mention) in program history. In 2002, current Irish assistant Ryan Humphrey earned First-Team All-Big East honors, Chris Thomas third-team honors and David Graves was named honorable mention All-Big East.

NOTRE DAME POSTS 10 CONFERENCE WINS FOR THE 12th TIME UNDER BREY:

With the victory at NC State on Feb. 18, 2017, Notre Dame posted double-digit conference wins for the 12th time in Mike Brey’s 17 years at Notre Dame. Here is a breakdown of Notre Dame’s conference seasons with 10-or-more wins, final regular-season finish and what kind, if any, of tournament bye was earned.

20 WINS A TRADITION FOR BREY AT NOTRE DAME:

For the 13th time in 17 seasons and 10th time in the past 11 seasons, Notre Dame reached the 20-win mark for the year.

That matches the school record for 20-win seasons at Notre Dame with Digger Phelps, who posted 20 wins 13 times in his 20 years as head coach with the Irish.

COLSON A 20-10 SPECIALIST:

Junior forward Bonzie Colson, who was a candidate for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and the ACC Player of the Year, posted eight 20-point, 10-rebound performances this year. All eight of those performances have come against power conference (ACC, Pac 12, Big 10) teams.

* – Legends Classic, Barclays Center, Brookly, N.Y. | & – Crossroads Classic, BankersLife Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.

% – ACC Touranment, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

SUCCESS ON TOBACCO ROAD:

Notre Dame joined the ACC at the start of the 2013-14 basketball season. The Irish ended up 0-3 in the state of North Carolina that year (65-58 loss at Wake Forest, 63-61 loss at North Carolina, 81-69 loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro).

Since breaking through for the program’s first win in Chapel Hill, 71-70, at North Carolina on Jan. 5, 2015, the Irish have won eight of the last 10 games they have played on ‘Tobacco Road’:

* – 2015 ACC Championship, Greensboro Coliseum

COLSON POURS IN 33 POINTS VS. FLORIDA STATE:

Junior forward Bonzie Colson led the Irish to victory over No. 14/15 Florida State on Saturday, Feb. 11, with a career-high 33 points. It was the second 30-point game of Colson’s career (he posted 31 points in a victory at Duke on Jan. 16, 2016) and the first 33-point game at Notre Dame since Matt Carroll’s 33-point effort against DePaul on Dec. 14, 2002.

Colson’s 33 points mark the 50th time that an Irish player has reached at least 30 points in a game during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 to present). It is the most points scored in a game by an Irish player since Luke Harangody posted 37 against Cincinnati on Feb. 4, 2010.

BREY REACHES 700-GAME MILESTONE:

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey coached his 700th career game on Saturday, Jan. 7, in the victory over Clemson. Brey is the 35th active Division I head coach to reach the 700-game plateau.

Brey entered the 2016-17 season 30th on the winningest active coaches list and 36th on the active total wins list.

Brey is 12 wins away from the all-time mark at Notre Dame of 394 victories and coached his 550th game at Notre Dame against Miami on Thursday, Jan. 12. He also is approaching the school record for games coached at Notre Dame (567, school record is 590).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE WATCH:

Junior forward Bonzie Colson posted impressive scoring and rebounding numbers this season. His ACC-leading 19 double-doubles are tied for the fourth-most in a single season at Notre Dame during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – current).

A list of the top single-season double-double totals of the Mike Brey era (minimum of 10):

VASTURIA = CLUTCH:

Notre Dame’s first four ACC victories in 2016-17 would not have been possible without three clutch plays at the end of each game from Steve Vasturia.

In the ACC opener at Pittsburgh, Vasturia’s two FTs pushed the game to overtime and his three pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining proved to be the game winner in the 78-77 OT victory.

Vasturia would end the Pittsburgh game scoring 10 of Notre Dame’s final 12 points while assisting on the other field goal.

Against No. 9/9 Louisville, Vasturia poured in a career-best 24 points, none more important than his runner in the lane with :19 seconds remaining to put the Irish ahead 73-68 in the eventual 77-70 victory.

In the win over Clemson, Vasturia nailed a corner three-point field goal at the shot clock buzzer off an inbounds play with 1:45 remaining, pushing the Irish ahead 70-68 in an eventual 75-70 victory.

On the road at Miami, Vasturia’s drive to the basket with :08 seconds remaining pushed the Irish ahead 65-62 in an eventual 67-62 victory. Vasturia followed up the clutch score against Miami to score 20 points at Virginia Tech and was named the co-ACC Player of the Week on Monday, Jan. 16.

THE 1,000-POINT CLUB:

The Notre Dame men’s basketball program welcomed three players – seniors Steve Vasturia and V.J. Beachem, along with junior Bonzie Colson – to the 1,000-point career point club this season. It marks the first time three players have reached the 1,000-point plateau in the same season since 1991-92.

Vasturia reached the plateau against Northwestern on Nov. 22, 2016, as his 18th point in the game moved him to 1,000 for his career.

Beachem entered the game at Georgia Tech on Jan. 28 needing 10 points to reach 1,000 and eclipsed the mark in the first half, eventually scoring 23 points in McCamish Pavilion.

Colson, the 61st Irish player to reach 1,000 points at Notre Dame, did it in style against No. 14/15 Florida State on Feb. 11, scoring a career-high 33 points with 13 rebounds. His 1,000th and 1,001st points came on a fast break tip in, which also earned him his 16th double-double of the season.

It is the first time since the 1991-92 season that three Irish players have reached 1,000 career points in the same year. LaPhonso Ellis (1,505), Elmer Bennett (1,488) and Daimon Sweet (1,410) all reached the milestone during the 1991-92 season.

A final note for the 1,000-point club. Every Irish player who played in the ACC Championship game against North Carolina in 2015 and the classic NCAA regional final game against No. 1/1 Kentucky has reached at least 1,000 career points in their careers at Notre Dame (Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton, Demetrius Jackson, Zach Auguste, Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson).

VASTURIA AMONG HISTORICAL LEADERS IN GAMES PLAYED AND STARTED:

Senior guard and team tri-captain Steve Vasturia started 117 consecutive games for the Irish. As a freshman guard, Vasturia’s first start came at Maryland on Jan. 15, 2014, but he entered the starting line up permanently on February 16, 2014, playing 30 minutes and scoring seven points in a victory at Boston College. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native has not left the Irish starting five since that game.

Vasturia ended up third on the Notre Dame list of players to start 100 consecutive games in a career.

Consecutive Games Started at Notre Dame:

Vasturia also finished very high on the charts at Notre Dame for most career games played with 137.

GAMES PLAYED AT NOTRE DAME:

FORMER STANDOUTS RETURN TO THE IRISH BENCH:

For the first time in the Mike Brey era, the Irish head coach was tasked with replacing two assistant coaches in the same season. Long time aides Martin Ingelsby accepted the Delaware head coaching job (the same first-time Division I job Brey assumed in 1995-96) while Anthony Solomon joined the Georgetown coaching staff in the offeseason.

Brey immediately looked to his former players, hiring 2002 Notre Dame graduate and All-American Ryan Humphrey and 2009 stand out shooting guard Ryan Ayers to fill his two coaching vacancies. Three-time team captain Eric Atkins, a 2014 Notre Dame graduate, then came aboard as the video coordinator.

Joining long time director of basketball operations Harold Swanagan (2002 Notre Dame graduate), Brey’s staff now features four of his former players on the game day bench.

Here is a breakdown of the Irish staff members and their statistics at Notre Dame (Humphrey played his first two seasons at Oklahoma, those numbers are not included here).

IRISH PICKED SEVENTH IN ACC PRESEASON POLL, FINISH IN A TIE FOR SECOND PLACE:

On Oct. 26, 2016, during Operation Basketball for the ACC (media day) the league announced its preseason poll. The Irish were selected to finish seventh in the conference this season.

Here is a breakdown of Notre Dame’s projection, final position and conference record in its three full years in the ACC.

* – Notre Dame finished in a three-way tie for second place with Louisville and Florida State, by virtue of the league tie breaker rules, Notre Dame was the #3 seed in the ACC Championship.

LEGENDS CLASSIC CHAMPIONS:

Notre Dame claimed its first in-season tournament title since 2010 with a 70-66 victory over Northwestern on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in the championship game of the 2016 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The four victories for the Irish in the tournament (over Bryant, Seattle, Colorado and Northwestern) mark the most the Irish have ever won in an in-season tournament. The trophy was the first in-season award claimed by the Irish since they won three games in 2010 to claim the Old Spice Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. Previous to the 2010 Old Spice victory, Notre Dame’s most recent in-season tournament title came at the Hawaii-Pacific Thanksgiving Classic in 2001.

LEGENDS CLASSIC MVP:

Bridgewater, New Jersey, native Matt Farrell enjoyed his return to the Barclays Center, not far from the area where he played during his prep career, for the Legends Classic semifinal and final victories over Colorado and Northwestern, respectively.

Farrell, whose first two career starts came in Notre Dame’s two NCAA tournament victories over Michigan and Stephen F. Austin in the Barclays Center during March of 2016, played a career-best game in the semifinal over Colorado, scoring 20 points with six assists and three steals.

He followed up that performance with 18 points and six assists against Northwestern in the championship game, including scoring Notre Dame’s final five points in the come-from-behind victory.

With a 19 point-per-game average in the two games at Barclays Center, along with 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, Farrell was the easy choice as the tournament’s most valuable player.