Jerian Grant leads the ACC in points per game (19.0) and assists per game (6.1).

#25 Notre Dame To Face Florida State In ACC Opener

Dec. 12, 2014

Notre Dame Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

Game 11
Florida State (4-4, 0-0 ACC)
vs.
#25/RV Notre Dame (9-1, 0-0 ACC)

Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014
8 p.m. (ET)
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center
Notre Dame, Ind.

TV/INTERNET
ESPN2
WatchESPN
Jason Benetti (play-by-play)
LaPhonso Ellis (analyst)

RADIO
Broadcast on WatchND (free)
Sirius 84/XM 84
Check affiliates on Pg. 3 of notes packet
Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
Jordan Cornette (analyst)

LIVE STATS

IRISH OPEN ACC PLAY AGAINST FLORIDA STATE
– Notre Dame will open its 2014-15 Atlantic Coast Conference slate Saturday with a home tilt against Florida State. The Fighting Irish and Seminoles will tipoff at 8 p.m. (ET) inside Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
– Saturday’s contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 and WatchESPN with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst) on the call. A free audio broadcast will be available on WatchND.tv. Jack Nolan will handle play-by-play duties, while Jordan Cornette will serve as the analyst. The contest also is available on Sirius 84 and XM 84.
– The Fighting Irish are ranked 25th in this week’s Associated Press poll. It’s Notre Dame’s first appearance in the AP poll since the Irish were No. 21 in the rankings released Nov. 11, 2013.

THE FLORIDA STATE SERIES
– Saturday will be the third meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Florida State. The Seminoles have won the first two encounters, including last season’s 76-74 decision in Tallahassee.
– The first showdown occurred in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Championship in Chicago as second-seeded Notre Dame fell to No. 10 seed Florida State, 71-57, inside the United Center.

FIGHTING IRISH IN THE ACC
– Notre Dame is entering its second Atlantic Coast Conference campaign. The Fighting Irish posted a 6-12 mark in ACC regular-season play in 2013-14 and fell to Wake Forest, 81-69, in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
– Notre Dame defeated Duke, 79-77, in its first-ever ACC contest on Jan. 4, 2014.

EARLY OPENER
– This is the earliest Notre Dame has opened a conference campaign under head coach Mike Brey (since 2000-01 season). The earliest the Irish had opened a league season under Brey prior to this year was when they began BIG EAST play versus Pittsburgh on Dec. 27, 2011.

FIGHTING IRISH-SEMINOLE CONNECTION
– Florida State Director of Athletics Stan Wilcox played basketball for the Fighting Irish from 1977-81. Wilcox was a freshman on Notre Dame’s 1978 team that played in the NCAA Final Four in St. Louis. He played in 100 career games with the Irish and helped Notre Dame to the NCAA Tournament each of his four seasons (including six postseason wins) and a combined record of 92-26.
– Wilcox was the Deputy Director of Athletics at Notre Dame from 2005-08.

IN THE LEAD
– The Fighting Irish have been tied or in the lead for their last 89:25 of game time.
– Notre Dame has not trailed in either of the last two games (Fairleigh Dickinson and Mount St. Mary’s). The last time the Irish were down was when they trailed Michigan State 61-59 with under five minutes left in regulation during the Dec. 3 contest, which Notre Dame won 79-78 in overtime.

HOMESTAND ENDS
– Saturday’s showdown will be the sixth and final contest of Notre Dame’s current homestand.
– Notre Dame is 8-0 at home this season and the Irish are averaging 87.0 points per game in those contests, while allowing just 57.1 points per game.

BUSY BEGINNING FOR THE FIGHTING IRISH
– The matchup with Florida State will be Notre Dame’s 11th game in the first 30 days of the season. The Fighting Irish will have a week off before returning to the floor next Saturday against Purdue at the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.

FIGHTING IRISH AFTER 10
– Notre Dame has posted at least nine wins through its first 10 games of a season for the seventh time in 15 campaigns under head coach Mike Brey.

HOT SHOTS
– Notre Dame leads the nation in field goal percentage at 56.2 percent.
– The Irish have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in nine of 10 games this season and they topped 60.0 percent in two contests — 65.6 percent (40-61) vs. Coppin State and 62.2 percent (28-45) against Grambling State.
– All five Notre Dame starters are shooting better than 50.0 percent from the field — Zach Auguste (64.0%), Jerian Grant (58.1%), Demetrius Jackson (56.6%), Steve Vasturia (52.5%) and Pat Connaughton (52.2%).
– Notre Dame is third in the ACC in free throw percentage (71.9%).

NOTES FROM MOUNT ST. MARY’S
– Notre Dame never trailed in Tuesday’s 93-67 victory over Mount St. Mary’s. It was the second straight contest (Fairleigh Dickinson) and the third time this season the Irish did not trail in a game (Coppin State is the other).
– Notre Dame’s 52 first-half points marked the second time this season the Irish netted over 50 points in an opening half (53 vs. Coppin State).
– The Irish shot 59.0% (36-61) from the field. Notre Dame has shot 50.0% or above in nine of 10 games this season.
– Notre Dame shot a season-best 57.1% (8-14) from three-point range.
– Mount St. Mary’s shot 36.8% (25-68) from the field. Notre Dame has held seven of 10 opponents under 40.0% shooting from the floor this season.
– Notre Dame committed just eight turnovers. It was the sixth time this season the Irish had fewer than 10 turnovers in a game.
– The Fighting Irish had four players score in double-figures – Steve Vasturia (19), Jerian Grant (19), Zach Auguste (19) and Demetrius Jackson (15).

VASTURIA VERY IMPRESSIVE
– Sophomore guard Steve Vasturia scored a career-high 19 points in Tuesday’s win over Mount St. Mary’s. He was 7-of-7 from the field (3-of-3 from three-point range) and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. He also had four rebounds and three assists.
– It was the first time during his career that he tallied a team-high point total.
– Vasturia currently has a career-best three-game double-figure scoring streak.

GRANT HAS AN ALL-AROUND GAME
– Senior guard Jerian Grant leads the ACC in points per game (19.0) and assists per game (6.1). He is the only player in the country averaging at least 19.0 points and 6.0 assists per game this season.
– Grant has had a hand in 40.1 percent of Notre Dame’s 851 points this season. He’s netted 190 points and his 61 assists have led to 151 Fighting Irish points.
– Grant ranks ninth nationally – and second in the ACC – with a 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. His 2.51 career assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth nationally among active Division I players.

EN FUEGO
Jerian Grant is averaging 21.8 points per game in the last four contests. The senior guard scored a career-high 27 points versus Michigan State on Dec. 3 after tying a career-best mark with 26 points in the previous outing against Chicago State.
– Grant is 31-53 (.585) from the field, 12-27 (.444) from three-point range and 13-14 (.929) from the free throw line in the last four contests.
– He has committed just six turnovers in the last five games.
– Grant has scored 20-plus points four times in the last seven games.
– He has reached double-figures in points in each of his last 12 games and 75 times during his career, which are the most for any current Fighting Irish player. Grant is the only Irish player to score in double-figures in every game this season.
– Overall, Grant is averaging 19.0 points and 6.0 assists per contest and owns a 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

GRANT NAMED ACC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jerian Grant and Virginia’s Justin Anderson on Monday were named the ACC Co-Players of the Week. Grant averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds. 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals in leading Notre Dame to wins over No. 19/18 Michigan State (79-78 in overtime) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Fairleigh Dickinson (75-57). Grant scored a career-high 27 points in the victory over Michigan State.
– It’s the first ACC player-of-the-week accolade for Grant. He is the first Notre Dame player to receive the honor since Eric Atkins on Jan. 6, 2014.

TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
– Notre Dame ranks fifth nationally in both fewest turnovers per game (9.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.69).
– The Irish have committed fewer than 10 turnovers in six games this season. Notre Dame had a season-low four turnovers against Michigan State (Dec. 3).

MILESTONES
– With his fifth rebound against Michigan State, Pat Connaughton reached the 600-rebound mark for his career. He is the first Notre Dame player to notch 1,000 points and 600 rebounds since Luke Harangody (2006-10). Harangody finished his Irish career with 2,476 points and 1,222 rebounds. Connaughton has 1,121 points and 616 boards.
Jerian Grant needs two assists for 500. With 1,301 career points and 498 assists, he would become the sixth Irish player in the 110-year history of the program to score 1,000 points and dish off 500 assists.

IRISH GET OFFENSIVE OUT OF THE GATE
– The Irish rank 10th nationally – and second in the ACC – in scoring (85.1 ppg.).
– Notre Dame’s 851 points are the most for the Irish through the first 10 games of a season since they tallied 870 in 2006-07.
– Notre Dame has scored 74 points or better in each of its first 10 games of a season for the first time in program history.
– The Fighting Irish have deposited 90-plus points four times this season (104 vs. Coppin State, 93 vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 92 vs. Navy, 90 vs. Chicago State).

STARTING FIVE
– Notre Dame has fielded the same starting lineup of Jerian Grant, Demetrius Jackson, Pat Connaughton, Steve Vasturia and Zach Auguste in each of its first 10 games.
– Last season, the Irish juggled its starting lineup throughout the season and ended up with 12 different rotations throughout the 2013-14 campaign.
– Through 10 games last season, Notre Dame already had three different starting lineups.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Four Fighting Irish players are averaging double-figures in points – Jerian Grant (19.0), Zach Auguste (14.1), Pat Connaughton (13.1) and Demetrius Jackson (12.8).
– Notre Dame has had at least four players reach double-figures in every game this season. The Irish had five double-figure scorers twice this season (Coppin State and Providence).

DRAINING FROM DEEP
– Notre Dame is eighth nationally in made three-point field goals (87) and 27th in three-pointers per game (8.7).
– Notre Dame is shooting 41.0 percent (87-212) from beyond the arc.
Pat Connaughton’s 24 three-pointers are tied for second among ACC players and he ranks fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.462).
– Notre Dame made a season-best 14 three-pointers (14-25) against Chicago State on Nov. 29.

AUGUSTE STAYS HOT FROM THE FIELD
– Junior forward Zach Auguste ranks 17th nationally – and fourth in the ACC – in field goal percentage at 64.0 percent.
– Auguste posted a career-high point total in each of the first three games of the season. He tallied 19 points in the season opener versus Binghamton and followed that up with a 20-point effort versus Navy. Against Coppin State, Auguste topped the 20-point mark for the second straight game with a personal best 21 points.
– Auguste was a perfect nine-for-nine from the field against Coppin State and five-for-five versus Grambling State. His performance against Coppin State tied a Notre Dame record for most field goals without a miss in a single game.

A DYNAMIC DUO
– Seniors Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant have spent a lot of time on the court together since they first stepped onto the floor during the 2011-12 campaign.
– The duo has combined for 202 games played (184 of them starts), 2,422 points, 879 rebounds, 717 assists and 203 steals.
– Even more impressive is the fact they have accounted for 6,704 minutes played on the court (33.2 mpg.).

IRONMAN
Pat Connaughton has never missed a game during his Fighting Irish career. He has played in all 111 contests, including 95 starts. Connaughton has started 92 consecutive games.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR PAT
– Senior guard Pat Connaughton leads Notre Dame in rebounding (7.5 rpg.) and is third in scoring (13.1 ppg.).
– Connaughton netted a season-high 19 points last Saturday versus Fairleigh Dickinson.
– Connaughton has two double-doubles this season. He registered 13 points and 11 boards versus Providence and notched 17 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener against Binghamton.
– He has nine career double-doubles, which are the most of any current Irish player.
– Connaughton has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game 13 times during his career, including three times this season.
– Connaughton ranks fourth in the ACC in defensive rebounds per game (6.2) and 13th in rebounds per game (7.5).

1,000-POINT PERFORMERS
– With his 17-point performance against Binghamton in the season opener, Pat Connaughton eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career to become the 56th member of Notre Dame’s 1,000-point club. He has netted 1,121 points in 111 career games (10.1 ppg.).
– Connaughton became the second current Fighting Irish player with at least 1,000 career points. Senior Jerian Grant has tallied 1,301 points in 91 games in an Irish uniform (14.3 ppg.).
– Grant ranks 28th in Irish history in scoring, while Connaughton is 42nd.

GRANT ON PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR WATCH LISTS
Jerian Grant has been named to the watch lists for the John R. Wooden Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy.

BREY NOTCHES 400TH CAREER WIN
– Notre Dame’s season opener against Binghamton signaled the beginning of head coach Mike Brey’s 20th season as a head coach. The 82-39 win over the Bearcats marked his 400th career win as a college head coach. He has registered a 408-212 (.658) record in 19-plus seasons at Delaware and Notre Dame.
– Brey earned his 300th win at Notre Dame last season against Georgia Tech (Feb. 26, 2014). He has compiled a 309-160 (.659) record in his 14-plus seasons in South Bend. He is one of 17 active head coaches to have 300 or more Division I victories at their current institution.
– Only two other Notre Dame head coaches have reached the 300-win milestone. Digger Phelps led the Fighting Irish to a 393-197 record from 1971-91. George Keogan notched a 327-97 mark from 1923-43.

IRISH ECLIPSE CENTURY MARK AGAINST COPPIN STATE
– The 104 points scored by the Irish in the win over Coppin State were the most in a regulation contest since a 106-65 victory over Sacred Heart on Dec. 19, 2011. It marked the first time Notre Dame eclipsed the 100-point mark since a 101-67 win over Cornell on Dec. 1, 2013, and the 17th time that an Irish team under Mike Brey scored 100 or more points.

DEFENSIVE DISPLAYS
– Notre Dame ranks 20th nationally in total steals (82). Sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson is fifth in the ACC in steals per game (1.9).
– The Irish have held seven of 10 opponents under 40.0% shooting from the floor this season.
– The 39 points scored by Binghamton in the season opener marked the third time that a Notre Dame team under Mike Brey has held an opponent to under 40 points and the first time since 2007.
– The Irish limited Chicago State to just 42 points in the 90-42 win on Nov. 29.
– The 48-point margin of victory over Chicago State was the largest for Notre Dame since a 50-point win (101-51) over Rider on Dec. 28, 2006.

CAPTAIN CONNAUGHTON
– Senior guard/forward Pat Connaughton has been named captain for the 2014-15 season. Connaughton served as one of four captains for the Irish a year ago and becomes the 22nd different Notre Dame men’s basketball player to serve as a captain in multiple seasons.
– Since the 1985-86 campaign, only four other players have served as lone captains for their Irish teams– Ken Barlow (1985-86), Tim Singleton (1990-91), Ryan Hoover (1995-96) and Rob Kurz (2007-08).

TOM HAWKINS TO BE INDUCTED INTO NOTRE DAME RING OF HONOR
– Nearly 56 years have passed since Tom Hawkins played his final collegiate men’s basketball game for the University of Notre Dame, yet the indelible mark he left on the program remains intact today. While dozens of players have donned an Irish uniform since Hawkins last took the court, none have been able to duplicate his rebounding as he remains the career leader in that category.
– Hawkins, whose 1,318 career rebounds rank currently as the oldest record in the 109-year annals of Fighting Irish men’s basketball, will become the seventh inductee into the Notre Dame Basketball Ring of Honor on Jan. 17, 2015, at halftime of the Notre Dame-Miami men’s basketball game. He will follow six former players–Austin Carr (2011), Adrian Dantley (2012), Skylar Diggins (2013), Luke Harangody (2010) and Ruth Riley (2010)–and former men’s head coach Richard “Digger” Phelps (2014) into the school’s Ring of Honor.

FIGHTING IRISH IN ITALY
– In early August, the Fighting Irish squad traveled to Italy for a 10-day, four-game foreign tour. Notre Dame posted a 4-0 record. The Irish visited Rome, Perugia, Pesaro, Venice and Como during the trip.
– It was the program’s first foreign tour since 2008 when the Irish ventured to Ireland for 13 days.

CONNAUGHTON DRAFTED BY ORIOLES
– The Baltimore Orioles selected Irish swingman Pat Connaughton in the fourth round of June’s Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 121st pick overall.
– Connaughton spent part of June and July pitching for the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Class A Orioles’ affiliate.
– Connaughton finished his Fighting Irish baseball career last spring. He posted a 3.03 ERA and had an 11-11 record on the mound during his three seasons. He fanned 105 batters in 154.2 innings pitched.

ANOTHER CROSSROADS CLASSIC CLASH
– Notre Dame will battle Big Ten rival Purdue in the fourth annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The game between the Irish and the Boilermakers will be the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 20. Butler and Indiana will square off in the first contest.
– The Fighting Irish are 2-1 in their three previous Crossroads Classic showdowns. Notre Dame topped Indiana, 79-72, last season and the Irish downed Purdue, 81-68, in 2012. Notre Dame fell to Indiana, 69-58, in the inaugural event in 2011.

NOTRE DAME FIRST AGAIN IN GRADUATION RATE SUCCESS
– The University of Notre Dame once again claims the 2014 national championship for graduating student-athletes in all sports–in the process posting the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figure (99) for its student-athletes for the eighth straight year.
– The GSR number for all Notre Dame student-athletes rates the Irish first among the football-playing institutions in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). The 2014 NCAA figures are based on entering classes from 2004 through 2007.
– Twenty-one of Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s athletic programs posted GSR numbers that rank them best in the nation within their sports (including 20 perfect 100 scores)– and 11 produced federal graduation rates that led all NCAA FBS institutions (including eight perfect 100 scores). Men’s basketball at 100 tied for first with 14 other schools.
– Five Irish women’s programs had perfect 100 federal rates ranking them first within their sports among the NCAA FBS subset. Six Irish men’s programs had federal rates ranking them first within their sports (three with perfect 100 scores) among the NCAA FBS subset. Men’s basketball at 85 ranked tied for first with Penn State.
– Five Irish women’s programs had perfect 100 federal rates ranking them first within their sports among the NCAA FBS subset. Six Irish men’s programs had federal rates ranking them first within their sports (three with perfect 100 scores) among the NCAA FBS subset. Men’s basketball at 85 ranked tied for first with Penn State.