Jack Cooley drives for two of his 15 points. Cooley added 11 rebounds for an impressive double-double.

#8/7 Irish Take Seven-Game Win Streak To West Virginia

Feb. 17, 2011

Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

#8/7 Notre Dame (21-4, 10-3) vs. West Virginia (16-9, 7-6)
Saturday, February 19 – 1:00 p.m. (EST)
WVU Coliseum (14,000) – Morgantown, W. Va.

TV: CBS
Ian Eagle (playobyoplay)
Jim Spanarkel (analyst)

Radio: Affiliate listings on page 10; Broadcast also on UND.com
Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
Jordan Cornette (analyst)

#8/7 IRISH CONTINUE ROAD SWING ON SATURDAY AT WEST VIRGINIA
– Notre Dame (21-4, 10-3) will take a seven-game win streak into Saturday’s showdown at West Virginia (16-9, 7-6). Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. (ET) inside the WVU Coliseum. This is the only regular-season meeting between the two schools. The Irish currently are in second place in the BIG EAST. This is the second of three straight road contests for Notre Dame.
– The Fighting Irish have won their last three BIG EAST road games, including a 78-55 triumph at USF on Saturday. Notre Dame is 3-3 on the road this season.
– This will be the 37th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and West Virginia. The Fighting Irish lead the series 25o11, including an 8-7 mark at West Virginia.
Twenty-three of the meetings have occurred since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995. The Irish are 16-7 in those contests.
– The Irish and Mountaineers split last season’s two meetings. Both contests were decided by two points. Notre Dame claimed a 70o68 home victory over West Virginia and the Mountaineers topped the Irish 53-51 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament.
– A win on Saturday would give Notre Dame its second eight-game win streak of the season. The Irish began the 2010-11 campaign with an 8o0 mark. The last time a Notre Dame squad had two win streaks of at least eight games was during the 1986-87 season. That year, the Irish produced an eight-game and 11-game win streak.

IRISH POST BEST START UNDER BREY
– Notre Dame’s 21-4 record signifies the best 25-game start under head coach Mike Brey. The last time an Irish squad won at least 21 of their first 25 games was during the 1980-81 campaign when that team also started 21-4.
– This season is the quickest (date wise) Notre Dame has ever reached the 20owin mark in the modern era. The 1908-09 squad hit the 20-win mark on Jan. 29 (see page 6 for additional information on top starts for the Irish).

IRISH MATCH BEST START IN BIG EAST PLAY
– Notre Dame’s 10-3 BIG EAST record matches the best 13-game start in BIG EAST play in program history. The Irish also began the 2000-01 league campaign with a 10-3 mark. That was Mike Brey’s first season on the Irish sideline.
– The Irish have secured their second straight 10-win BIG EAST campaign and it’s the seventh time (in 11 seasons) under Brey that Notre Dame has notched at least 10 league victories. The most wins for the Irish in BIG EAST play was 14 (14-4) in 2007-08.

STREAKING
– Notre Dame has won its last seven BIG EAST games. That matches the secondolongest BIG EAST regular-season win streak in program history. The Irish won the final five conference games of the 2006-07 season and the first two league contests of the 2007-08 campaign.
– This is the first seven-game conference win streak within the same season since the Irish won a program-record eight straight during the 2000-01 campaign, which was Mike Brey’s first year on the Notre Dame sideline.
– The Irish have won their last three BIG EAST road games. It’s the first three-game BIG EAST road win streak for the Irish since they strung together five straight league victories on the road during the 2000-01 campaign.

IRISH SECURE FIFTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN CAMPAIGN
– Notre Dame has reached the 20-win mark for the fifth consecutive season and for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons under head coach Mike Brey. The last time Irish teams reached the 20-win plateau in five straight campaigns was from 1983o89 when those Notre Dame squads under Digger Phelps strung together six consecutive 20-win seasons.

BREY GETS WIN IN 500TH CAREER GAME
– Last Saturday’s contest at USF was Mike Brey’s 500th career game as a head coach. Brey has a 331-169 (.662) career mark. He was 99-52 (.656) at Delaware from 1995-2000 and he is 232-117 (.665) at Notre Dame.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– on Saturday (Feb. 12) versus USF, the Irish had six players reach doubleofigures in points for the first time ever in a BIG EAST game. Jack Cooley (18), Carleton Scott (13), Tim Abromaitis (12), Ben Hansbrough (12), Scott Martin (10) and Tyrone Nash (10) all netted double-digits. It’s the second time this season Notre Dame has had six double-figure scorers. Those same six players all did so versus Maine (Nov. 22).
– The Irish have had at least four players reach double-figures in points in the past four games. Notre Dame has had at least four double-figure scorers in 11 games this season.
– Notre Dame has had at least five players reach double-digits in the same contest six times (see box on page 8).

ROLLING To VICTORY oN THE ROAD
– During Notre Dame’s current three-game BIG EAST road win streak, the Irish are winning by an average of 17.7 points per game.
– The Irish captured a 78-55 victory at USF on Saturday. on Feb. 3, Notre Dame won at DePaul, 83-58. The 25-point victory over the Blue Demons was Notre Dame’s second-largest road victory ever in BIG EAST play. The Irish won by 26 points (95-69) at Seton Hall during the 2007-08 season.

BURRYING THE BULLS
– Notre Dame shot 55.7% (34-61) from the floor in Saturday’s 78-55 win at USF. That is Notre Dame’s highest shooting percentage in a BIG EAST game this season. The Irish have shot 50% or above from the floor eight times this season (four times in BIG EAST play).
– Notre Dame’s 34 made field goals against USF matched a season-high total. The Irish also made 34 shots against Chicago State (Nov. 17) and Stony Brook (Dec. 19).
– The Fighting Irish held the Bulls to just 30.4% (21-69) shooting from the floor. That is the lowest shooting percentage for an Irish opponent in a BIG EAST game this season.
– Notre Dame shot 66.7% (18o27) from the field in the first half versus USF. That was the best shooting percentage in a half for the Irish this season. LEAGUE HONORS FOR SCOTT
Carleton Scott was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. That marked the second time this season he has received that honor. Scott averaged 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in wins over Louisville and USF last week.

HANSBROUGH NAMED TO NAISMITH TROPHY MIDSEASON 30
Ben Hansbrough is among a list of 30 players on the Naismith Trophy midseason list.
– Three other BIG EAST players also are on the list o Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Kemba Walker (Connecticut) and Brad Wanamaker (Pittsburgh).

HANSBROUGH STAYING HOT
– Senior guard Ben Hansbrough is averaging 22.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists over the past six games.
– For the season, Hansbrough is averaging a career-best o and team-high o 17.3 points per game. Hansbrough has a team-best 103 assists (4.1 apg) and a team-high 31 steals (1.2 spg).
– His 19.2 ppg. average in BIG EAST games ranks third in the league. His 36.8 minutes played per game in BIG EAST contests also ranks third in the conference.
– Hansbrough has led the Irish in scoring in seven of the past eight games.
– He has made at least five three-pointers in a game five times this season, including twice in the past four contests. Hansbrough made a career-high six treys earlier this season versus Chicago State (Nov. 17).
– Hansbrough has notched at least five assists in a game 10 times this season, including in five of the last seven contests. He dished out eight assists on Saturday at USF.
– He is shooting 81.1% (107o132) from the free throw line overall this season and boasts an 84.8% (67o79) average in BIG EAST play.
– Hansbrough scored a caree-ohigh 28 points on Jan. 22 versus Marquette.
– Hansbrough has reached double-digits in 46 of his 60 career games with the Irish.

JACK ATTACK – Sophomore forward Jack Cooley scored a career-high 18 points and hauled down a career-high tying eight rebounds on Saturday at USF. Cooley made his first nine shots of the contest before missing his final attempt from the field.
– overall, Cooley had made 15 straight field goal attempts before the miss against the Bulls. Cooley made his final field goal attempt versus Rutgers (Feb. 6) and made all five of his tries against Louisville (Feb. 9).
– Cooley gave the Irish a huge lift off the bench in the win over Louisville (Feb. 9). He scored all 10 of his points in the first half.
– The Louisville and USF contests marked the first time Cooley ever has scored in double-figures in consecutive games. Cooley has four double-digit scoring effort this season.
– Cooley is an efficient 47-69 (.681) from the field this season. He is 23-33 (.697) from the floor in BIG EAST play.

IN THE POLLS
– For the second consecutive week, Notre Dame is ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll and the Irish are No. 7 according to the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. It’s the highest the Fighting Irish have been in either poll this season. v

SOLID SHOWING FOR IRISH ATHLETICS IN THE POLLS
– Notre Dame is the only school in the country that fields men’s and women’s basketball and hockey teams and has all three squads currently appearing in the top 10 in their respective national rankings. The women’s basketball team is ranked 8th in both polls (AP & ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll), while hockey is 10th in the latest USA Today and USCHO.com polls.
– Notre Dame and Duke are the only two schools in the country to have both its men’s and women’s basketball teams currently in the AP Top 10. The Blue Devils men are ranked fifth, while the women are seventh.

BEATING THE BEST
– Five of Notre Dame’s 10 BIG EAST wins have come against a ranked opponent. The Irish defeated #9/9 Georgetown 69-55 in the league opener. Notre Dame topped #8/9 Connecticut 73-70 and downed #25/o Cincinnati 66-58. The Irish upended #2/2 Pittsburgh 56o51. Most recently, Notre Dame defeated #16/15 Louisville 89-79 in overtime.

STOUT SCHEDULE
– There currently are eight Irish opponents ranked in the AP top-25 poll. The Irish are 5-2 against those squads so far this season.

TAKING DOWN A TOP-10 FOE
– Notre Dame has defeated three top-10 teams this season. Most recently, the Irish won at No. 2/2 Pittsburgh, 56-51, on Jan. 24. Notre Dame opened BIG EAST play with a 69-55 triumph of No. 9/9 Georgetown (Dec. 29) and the Irish produced a 73-70 victory over No. 8/9 Connecticut (Jan. 4).
– Prior to this season, the last time Notre Dame defeated three topo10 teams in the same season was during the 2008-09 campaign. That season, the Irish took down No. 6/7 Texas (81-80), No. 9/10 Georgetown (73-67) and No. 5/7 Louisville (90-57).
– This season’s wins over Georgetown and Connecticut marked the first time since the 2002-03 campaign that Notre Dame defeated two top-10 teams in a three-game span. – Prior to the wins over Georgetown and Connecticut, the last time Notre Dame recorded back-to-back home wins over topo10 teams was during the 1960-61 season when the Irish knocked off No. 7 DePaul (61-58 on Jan. 17, 1961) and No. 7 St. John’s (64-63 on Feb. 2, 1961).

CHASING THE MARK
– Coming off the most successful four-year run in program history (2006-10), Notre Dame’s current four-year stretch may produce a couple of record-breaking numbers. From 2006-10, Irish teams produced an overall record of 93-43 for an overall winning percentage of .684, while finishing with a 43-27 mark (.614) in BIG EAST regular-season play. Both the 93 overall victories and 43 BIG EAST wins are both the most in program history. Since 2007, Notre Dame has produced an 90-39 mark (.698) and is 42-25 (.627) in conference regular-season contests.

BALANCED ATTACK – Six different Notre Dame players have led the team in scoring during a game this season. Ben Hansbrough has led the Irish in scoring a team-best 14 times. Tim Abromaitis has led the Irish in points on six occasions. Carleton Scott has done so three times, including one tie with Eric Atkins, who has posted a team-high point total twice this season. Jack Cooley and Tyrone Nash have led the Irish in scoring once each.
– Three Notre Dame players (Abromaitis, Hansbrough and Scott) all have scored 20-plus points in a game this season. Hansbrough has accomplished the feat a team-best 10 times. Abromaitis has scored 20oplus points eight times, while Scott has done it twice.

SCOTT PROVIDES A SPARK
– Notre Dame is 18-2 this season when Carleton Scott is in the starting lineup.
– Scott had to leave the Syracuse contest (Jan. 1), a 70-58 loss, in the second half after suffering a hamstring injury. Notre Dame went 2-2 in the next four contests without his services. Scott returned to game action on Jan. 19 versus Cincinnati. After checking into that game at the 14:32 mark of the first half, the Irish proceeded to go on a 16-3 run to break open the tied contest.
– Scott returned to the starting lineup on Jan. 22 versus Marquette and notched his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Scott then posted 16 points and nine rebounds in a 56-51 win at Pittsburgh.

IRISH AMONG NATION’S BEST IN PR0TECTING THE BASKETBALL
– Notre Dame boasts a 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Fighting Irish rank sixth nationally in that category and second among BIG EAST teams. The Irish have registered 419 assists on their 619 made field goals this season (.677). The Fighting Irish average just 10.9 turnovers per game, which is the 11thobest mark in the country.
– Notre Dame has notched at least 20 assists in a game seven times this season. The Irish had a season-high 29 assists (on 34 made field goals) versus Chicago State (Nov. 17). Notre Dame is 13th nationally in assists per game (16.8).
– Senior guard Ben Hansbrough leads the Irish with 103 assists (4.1 apg). Freshman point guard Eric Atkins is second with 94 (3.8 apg). Atkins has a team-best 3.13 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks sixth nationally and first in the BIG EAST.
– Notre Dame matched a season-low total by committing just seven turnovers versus Louisville (Feb. 9). The Irish have committed fewer than 10 turnovers in three of the past four games. The Irish have had fewer than 10 turnovers in a game nine times this season (five times in BIG EAST play).

DYNAMIC DUO
Ben Hansbrough has reached double-figures in points a team-high 23 times this season (out of 25 games), while Tim Abromaitis has netted double-digits 21 times.
– Hansbrough has led the Irish in scoring a team-best 14 times this season, while Abromaitis has done so on seven occasions.
– Hansbrough has scored 20-plus points a team-best 10 times this season, while Abromaitis has done so on eight occasions.

CONSISTENCY FROM CARLETON
– Despite missing four games earlier this season with a hamstring injury, senior forward Carleton Scott has been one of Notre Dame’s top performers this season. Scott has scored in double-figures 15 times this season (out of 21 games played). He posted his team-best sixth double-double of the season on Saturday at USF with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
– Scott is 19-21 (.905) from the free throw line in BIG EAST play. overall this season, he is shooting 88.2% (45o51) from the charity stripe, which ranks third among all BIG EAST players.
– Scott’s five made three-pointers at Pittsburgh (Jan. 24) were a career-high total. He dished out a career-high six assists versus UMBC (Dec. 22).
– His 20-point effort against Stony Brook (Dec. 19) was Scott’s second straight game o and second of his career o with 20 or more points. He netted a career-high 23 points versus Gonzaga on Dec. 11.
– His perfect 8o8 performance from the field against Stony Brook ranks in a tie for third all-time in program history for most made field goals in a game without a miss. He was 4-4 from threeopoint range versus the Seawolves.

BLOCK PARTY
– Notre Dame matched a season-high total with eight blocked shots on Saturday at USF. Scott Martin led the way with a career-high tying three blocks. The Irish also had eight blocked shots versus California (Nov. 26).
– Senior forward Carleton Scott has a team-best 37 blocked shots this season (1.8 per game).
– Scott has blocked two or more shots in a game 13 times this season, including in each of the past four contests. Scott tied a career-high total with a season-high four blocked shots against Indiana State (Nov. 30).

MARTIN MAKING AN IMPACT
Scott Martin has reached double-figures in points in six of the past seven games and in 12 of the last 14 games overall. He has registered double-figures 15 times this season.
– Martin notched his first career double-double versus Marquette (Jan. 10) as he tallied 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. He has led the Irish in rebounding four times this season.
– Martin has netted a season-high 15 points three times (Maine, Indiana State, UMBC). Those were his highest point outputs since he netted a career-high 17 points against Missouri State during his freshman season at Purdue.
– Martin did not play in 2008-09 due to NCAA transfer rules and he missed all of last season with an ACL injury.
A IS FOR ABROMAITIS
Tim Abromaitis has scored in double figures in 21 of 25 games this season. He has reached double-figures in the past four games. Abromaitis has netted 20-plus points in a game eight times this season (twice in BIG EAST play).
– Abromaitis’ point (14.3) and rebound (6.4) averages rank second on the team.
– He has scored in double-figures in 27 out of 31 BIG EAST regular-season games over the past two seasons.
– Abromaitis has two double-doubles this season. He has grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds twice this season (California and UMBC).

ABROMAITIS EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
– Senior forward Tim Abromaitis has been named to the Capital one Academic AlloDistrict V men’s basketball first team. Abromaitis boasts a 3.72 GPA in Notre Dame’s intensified one-year MBA program. He now will be placed on the national ballot for a chance to earn Academic All-America honors. He was a first-team Academic All-American last season.

ROOKIE HANDLING THE ROCK
– Freshman point guard Eric Atkins boasts a team-best 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks sixth nationally and first in the BIG EAST. He is second on the team with 94 assists (3.8 apg).
– over the past six games, Atkins has compiled 25 assists and just three turnovers in 131 minutes of play.
– The rookie has dished out five-plus assists in a game nine times this season, including a career-high tying seven assists on Saturday at USF.
– Atkins has led the Irish in assists eight times this season.
– He scored a career-high o and team-best 15 points versus Marquette on Jan. 10.

PERFORMING IN THE POST
– Notre Dame is 12-0 this season when senior forward Tyrone Nash scores at least 10 points.
– Nash has led the Irish in assists six times this season. He has registered five or more assists in a game four times this season, including a career-high seven versus Chicago State (Nov. 17).
– Nash’s 62 assists (2.6 apg) rank third among all Notre Dame players. He is third in rebound average (5.8) and boasts a team-high 58 offensive rebounds. – Nash has produced three double-doubles this season.

SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE
– Notre Dame’s 78-55 win at USF on Saturday moved its record to 4o0 this season in the state of Florida. The Irish won the old Spice Classic (orlando) in November with wins over Georgia (89-83 in ot), California (57-44) and Wisconsin (58-51) en route to claiming the tournament title.

CRACKING THE CARDINALS – Notre Dame out scored Louisville 15o5 in overtime, including a 14o0 run to open the extra session, in the 89-79 victory on Feb. 9. – The Irish went 5-7 from the field in the overtime period, while the Cardinals were 2o8. Notre Dame also went 4-5 from the free throw line. Senior forward Carleton Scott scored nine of his 16 points in the extra stanza. – Notre Dame and Louisville have gone to overtime five times in the last nine encounters between the two schools. The Irish are 1-4 in those overtime contests versus the Cardinals.

COMING BACKv – The Irish have had to use comebacks in recent wins over Pittsburgh (Jan. 24), Marquette (Jan. 22) and Louisville (Feb. 9). The Fighting Irish were down by nine points (45-36) at halftime to Marquette and came back to win 80o75. Against Pittsburgh, the Irish trailed by five points (28-23) at the intermission and prevailed 56-51. Notre Dame overcame a four-point (44-40) halftime deficit to defeat Louisville 89-79 in overtime.
– Notre Dame is 4o3 this season when trailing at halftime. The Fighting Irish rebounded from a 12-point halftime deficit (37-25) to defeat Georgia in double-overtime, 89-83, at the old Spice Classic (Nov. 25).
– Arguably Notre Dame’s top comeback of the season occurred during the title game of the old Spice Classic. Notre Dame trailed Wisconsin 43-32 with 9:21 left in regulation, yet the Fighting Irish finished the game on a 26-8 run to claim the 58-51 victory. Included in that stretch was a 15-0 run for the Irish.

FIRST HALF FLURRY
– Notre Dame opponents are averaging just 28.9 points in the first half of play this season, while the Irish are averaging 37.1 points during the first stanza. – Notre Dame held USF to just 17 first-half points on Saturday. That marked the fourth time this season Notre Dame has held an opponent to under 20 points in the first half. The other times were against California (5 points), Wisconsin (19) and Cincinnati (19).
– The Fighting Irish have scored 40-plus points in the first half of play 11 times this season (three times in BIG EAST play).
– Notre Dame is 17-0 this season when leading at the intermission.
– In the first half of their four losses, the Irish have been outscored by just 13 points combined (133-120). Notre Dame has been outscored by 53 points (160-107) in the second half of its four setbacks.

CLAMPING DOWN – Notre Dame has held 12 of its opponents to 40% or below shooting from the field. The Irish held California under 30% on Nov. 26.
– The Fighting Irish held USF to just 30.4% (21-69) shooting from the floor on Saturday. That is the lowest shooting percentage for an Irish opponent in a BIG EAST game this season.

ICING THE GAME
– Clutch free throw shooting has been key in three recent Notre Dame victories.
– Rutgers (Feb. 6) trimmed the Irish lead to three (70-67) with 59 seconds left to play, yet Ben Hansbrough went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to help the Irish produce the 76-69 victory. Hansbrough is 46-53 (.868) from the free throw line in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime this season (see box on page 9).
– After Marquette trimmed Notre Dame’s lead to four (69-65) with 3:21 left in the game on Jan. 22, the Irish went 9-10 from the charity stripe en route to the 80-75 victory. Tyrone Nash went 4-4 during that stretch, while Hansbrough was 2-2 and Scott Martin connected on three of his four attempts.
– Versus Cincinnati (Jan. 19), the Irish led by five (57-52) with 1:18 remaining. Notre Dame went 9-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the 66-58 victory. Hansbrough went 5-6, while Tim Abromaitis and Eric Atkins both were 2o2.

LIVING LARGE AT THE LINE
– The Fighting Irish have 99 more made free throws than their opponents have attempts from the charity stripe. The Fighting Irish are 466-637 (.732) from the free throw line this season, which ranks third among all BIG EAST teams. Irish opponents are 261-367 (.711) from the line.
– The Irish are 18-0 this season when making more free throws than their opponent.
– The Irish have made 20 or more free throws 12 times this season. Notre Dame made a season-high 30 free throws, on 43 attempts, versus Georgia, a double-overtime Irish victory.
– Against Maine, Notre Dame shot a season-best 92.6% from the free throw line (25o27). The Fighting Irish also shot above 90% from the charity stripe against Stony Brook as they connected on 11 of 12 shots (91.7%).

HITTING THE GLASS
– The Fighting Irish are 17-0 this season when outorebounding their opponent.
– Notre Dame boasts a +5.0 overall rebound margin this season, which ranks third in the BIG EAST. The Irish have a +7.3 margin in their 21 wins, while they are -7.2 in their four losses. The Fighting Irish have held the advantage on the glass in 17 of their 21 wins. Notre Dame has been outorebounded in all four of its losses. – Senior forward Carleton Scott is averaging a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. Tyrone Nash leads the team with 58 offensive rebounds.

DRAINING FROM DEEP
– The Fighting Irish are 187-492 (.380) from threeopoint range this season. That mark ranks second among all BIG EAST teams. Notre Dame has hit 10 or more three pointers in a game five times this season, all wins.
– The Irish are 168-417 (.403) from three-point range in their 21 wins and they are 19-75 (.253) in the four losses.
– Notre Dame’s season-high mark for made three-pointers was 12 versus both Chicago State (Nov. 17) and Maine (Nov. 22).
Ben Hansbrough is shooting at a team-best 41.4% clip (58o140) from beyond the arc this season.

399 AND COUNTING
– Heading into the West Virginia contest, Notre Dame has made at least one three-pointer in 399 straight contests dating back to the 1998-99 campaign. The Fighting Irish have made at least one three pointer during every game of the Mike Brey era. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a threeopointer in a game was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999. Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in that contest. In 2008-09, the Irish set a single-season threeopoint record with 319.

IRISH FUN FACT UNDER BREY
– Notre Dame teams under Mike Brey have always ranked among the best teams in the nation and BIG EAST in assists and threeopoint shooting. In 11 seasons with Brey on the sidelines, Notre Dame is 71-9 when Irish teams have 20 or more assists and are 71o28 when making 10 or more threeopointers.

A NEW ADDITION To THE SWANAGAN FAMILY
– Current Notre Dame coordinator of men’s basketball operations, Harold Swanagan, who played for the Irish from 1998-2002, and his wife Andrea (also a 2002 Notre Dame graduate), welcomed their first child, a daughter, on Super Sunday (Feb. 6). Elena Marie Swanagan was born at 10:30 p.m. and weighed seven pounds and 11 ounces. Swanagan was not present on the bench earlier that day when Notre Dame defeated Rutgers 76-69 at home.

VETERAN PRESENCE
– Seniors Tim Abromaitis (F), Ben Hansbrough (G), Scott Martin (G), Tyrone Nash (F) and Carleton Scott (F) have combined for 119 of a possible 125 starts this season. Notre Dame is 17-2 when that quintet starts. Nash, Abromaitis and Hansbrough have started all 25 games this season, while Martin has 24 starts. Scott started the first 14 contests of the season before suffering a hamstring injury versus Syracuse (Jan. 1). He returned to the starting lineup on Jan. 22 versus Marquette. Scott has 20 starts this season. Notre Dame’s gameobyogame starters are listed on page 12 of this notes packet.

IRONMEN
Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough and Tyrone Nash all have played in the past 60 contests. Nash and Hansbrough both have started all 60 of those contests. overall, Nash has played in a team-best 74 straight contests. The last game he did not play in was at Cincinnati on Feb. 4, 2009.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
– The Fighting Irish are 15-0 at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center this season. The Irish have won 17 straight games at home. Notre Dame has won 84 of its last 90 (.933) home games and is 38-5 (.884) in its last 43 BIG EAST home contests.
– Notre Dame is averaging 82.9 points per game in its 15 home games this season, while the Irish average 64.3 points in their six true road games, all BIG EAST contests. Notre Dame is averaging 75.6 points per game in its seven BIG EAST home games.

PITT-STOPPED
Notre Dame’s win over then second-ranked Pittsburgh on Jan. 24, produced several noteworthy items as the Irish recorded their third win over a top-10 foe this season:
– The win was the highest-ranked opponent a Notre Dame team under Mike Brey had beaten on the road in a true road game. – The victory was the first in a true road game over a topofive team for a Notre Dame team since a 75-70 win over No. 2 Connecticut on Jan. 2, 2000.
– The win matched the highestoranked opponent an Irish squad had beaten during the Brey era. on Dec. 8, 2002, Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Texas in the championship game of the BB&T Classic in Washington, D.C., 98-92.
Notre Dame had been winless (0-5) at the Petersen Events Center prior to victory and it marked just the 12th loss ever for a Pittsburgh team in 157 games at the PEC. The victory also snapped the Panthers’ 20-game home win streak as Pittsburgh suffered just its 11th loss ever at the PEC in BIG EAST play.
– It was the first win for an Irish team at Pittsburgh since a 56-53 victory on Jan. 12, 2002. It was Notre Dame’s third straight victory over the Panthers, its longest win streak since the Irish joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96.
– The Irish held the Panthers to their lowest scoring output of the season (51 points) in their first BIG EAST loss of the 2010o11 campaign.
Ben Hansbrough outscored the Pittsburgh 13o12 in the final 9:22 of the contest as he netted 15 of his gameohigh 19 points in the second half.

ECLIPSING 80
– Notre Dame has scored 80oplus points in a game 11 times this season (three times in BIG EAST play). The Irish have eclipsed 80 points at home nine times this season.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
– Notre Dame has scored less than 60 points in its four losses this season. The Irish are 3-4 this season when scoring fewer than 60 points. The Irish are averaging 56.8 points per game in the four setbacks and 79.2 points in their 21 victories.
– The Irish are surrendering 62.9 points per game in their wins and they are allowing 73.2 points per game in their losses.

WINNING WAYS
– Notre Dame is 27-6 (.818) in its last 33 games dating back to last season. Following a double-overtime loss to Louisville (91-89) in Freedom Hall on Feb. 17, 2010, the Irish won their final four regularoseason games in 2009-10 (Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut and Marquette) and won two games in the BIG EAST Tournament (Seton Hall and Pittsburgh) before losing to West Virginia in the conference championship semifinals and to old Dominion in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

BREY REACHES BIG EAST MILESTONE
– Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey notched his 100th BIG EAST regularoseason victory with the 73-70 win over Connecticut on Jan. 4. Brey is the sixth coach in BIG EAST Conference history with 100 regular-season league wins. Brey’s Irish teams are 108-71 (.603) allotime in regular-season BIG EAST play.

ELDER STATESMAN
– Mike Brey is in his 11th season along the Irish sidelines. He is the third-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Brey stands sixth allotime in career BIG EAST victories (both regular-season and tournament) with his 114-81 (.585) mark. He is one of eight coaches in BIG EAST history to record 100 conference wins.

BIG EAST All-Time Winningest Coaches By Victories
(Includes conference regularoseason and championship games)

1. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 379-210 (.643)
2. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 297o168 (.639)
3. John Thompson, Georgetown 232-123 (.654)
4. Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s 139-80 (.635)
5. Rollie Massimino, Villanova 123-92 (.572)
6. Mike Brey, Notre Dame 114-81 (.585)
7. Jay Wright, Villanova 106-74 (.589)
Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh 106-42 (.716)

PASSING THE TEST
– Notre Dame has recorded a perfect score of 100 percent in each of the last three Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and is one of just 12 schools to earn a perfect 100 percent score in each of the last three years. The 11 other schools include Binghamton, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Colgate, Holy Cross, Davidson, Loyola of Maryland, North Carolina-Wilmington, Utah State, Wake Forest and Western Kentucky.
– In the recent set of GSR scores released in the fall, Notre Dame had the highest percentage of sports with 100 percent scores (for the fifth time in six years) among the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, with a .863 figure (19 of 22).

STARTING STRONG
– This season and the 2006-07 campaign are the only two seasons during Notre Dame’s BIG EAST era that the Irish suffered just one regular-season nonoconference loss. – Notre Dame’s loss to Kentucky on Dec. 8 was the latest calendar date the Irish had suffered their first setback of the season since the 1979-80 campaign. Notre Dame started that season 7-0 before suffering its first loss to Kentucky (86o80) on Dec. 29, 1979.
– Notre Dame’s 8-0 start this season was the fifth in program history and the best ever for the Irish under head coach Mike Brey.

OLD SPICE CHAMPIoNS
– Notre Dame won the old Spice Classic in orlando, Fla. (Nov. 25-28) by capturing wins over Georgia (89-83 in 2-t), California (57-44) and Wisconsin (58-51). It marked the first three-game in-season tournament victory for the Fighting Irish since winning the 2001 Hawaii-Pacific Thanksgiving Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii as the Irish defeated HawaiioPacific (98-58), TennesseeoChattanooga (97-84) and Monmouth (85-48). Notre Dame also won the 2002 BB&T Classic in Washington, DC with wins over Maryland (79-67) and Texas (98-92).
– Notre Dame has played in an in-season tournament in each of the past five seasons and eight times during the Mike Brey era. Notre Dame is 18-6 allotime under Brey in inoseason tournaments.
– In the old Spice Classic, the Irish held California and Wisconsin to five and 19 points, respectively, in the first half of play.
– Notre Dame held California (16-61) and Wisconsin (20-57) to a combined 36-118 (.305) from the field during the final two games of the old Spice Classic.
– Notre Dame outorebounded Wisconsin 43-28 in the title game of the tournament.
– Notre Dame held a decisive free throw advantage in all three games of the tournament. The Irish made 20 more free throws than both Georgia (30-10) and California (26-6). Notre Dame made 16 more free throws (20-4) than Wisconsin in the title game.
– Senior forward Tim Abromaitis was named the MVP of the old Spice Classic as he averaged 14.0 ppg. and 8.7 rpg. during the threeogame run. Fellow senior forward Carleton Scott also was named to the all-tournament team. Scott was the only Irish player to reach double figures in points during every game of the event.

BIG EAST TEAMS FIND SUCCESS IN PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS
– Notre Dame won the old Spice Classic and was one of six BIG EAST teams to come away with an inoseason tournament title during the month of November.

Champions

Notre Dame – Old Spice Classic
Connecticut – EA Sports Maui Invitational
Pittsburgh – 2 K Sports Classic
Syracuse – Legends Classic
Georgetown – Charleston Classic
St. John’s – Great Alaska Shootout
Runner-Up
Villanova – Preseason NIT Tip-off
West Virginia – Puerto Rico Tip-off

HANSBROUGH HITS 1,000 CAREER POINTS
– Senior guard Ben Hansbrough posted 20 points in the season opener against Georgia Southern (Nov. 12). With his 12th point of the contest, Hansbrough reached the 1,000th point mark for his career that spans two playing seasons at Mississippi State (2006-08) and one at Notre Dame (2009-10).

POSTSEASoN STRETCH
– Notre Dame has earned appearances in the postseason in each of the last 11 years, which marks the longest stretch in school history. The Irish have been to the NCAA Tournament on six occasions and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times during this current stretch. Under head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame has played in the NCAAs six times and NIT four times.

BIG EAST FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
– Since his arrival at Notre Dame, head coach Mike Brey has led the Irish to a 108o71 (.603) record in BIG EAST regularoseason games and a 6-10 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 114-81 (.584) against league foes. Brey’s Irish teams have won 10 or more conference regularoseason games in six of his 10 seasons. Prior to his arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had just a 35-53 (.398) regularoseason record from 1995-2000.

BIG EAST TURNAROUND
– During head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Irish teams have only had two losing seasons in BIG EAST play o 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-10 in 2008-09. Since the 2005-06 campaign when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST regularoseason with a 1-8 record, Notre Dame has gone 58-32 (.644) over the last 90 regularoseason contests. In addition to Notre Dame, only four other BIG EAST teams have had records of .500 or better eight or more times o Pittsburgh and Syracuse (nine times) and Notre Dame, Connecticut and Villanova (eight times).

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
– More than half of the 144 regular-season BIG EAST Conference men’s basketball games will be seen on national television during the 2010-11 season, once again giving BIG EAST teams unprecedented exposure on the nation’s leading television outlets. In total, 73 of the regular-season contests will be on national television – either on CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. This will mark the fourth straight season in which all 144 regular-season league games will be televised.

106 YEARS AND STRONG
– The 2010-11 campaign marks the 106th season of basketball at Notre Dame and the 16th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame teams have posted a 1695-924 record for a .647 winning percentage. In 15 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, the Irish own a 143-124 (.536) record allotime in conference regular-season play.

THE CAPTAINS
– Seniors Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough, Tyrone Nash and Carleton Scott will serve as captains during the 2010-11 season. All four are captains for the first time in their careers.

BASKETBALL BLOODLINES
– This year’s Notre Dame roster features several players with some strong basketball bloodlines: – Tim Abromaitis o His father, Jim, played basketball at the University of Connecticut (1975-80) and was drafted by the New Jersey Nets. His brother, Jason, played basketball at Yale (2003-07).
Mike Broghammer o His uncle, Christian Laettner, played professional basketball for 13 seasons and was a member of the 1992 gold medal Dream Team. He played for Duke University (1988-92) and led the Blue Devils to national championships in 1991 and 1992.
Joey Brooks o His father, Lott J. Brooks, III, played college basketball at Eckerd College (1974o78).
Jerian Grant o His father, Harvey, played basketball at the University of oklahoma (1986o88), and was the 12th pick overall in the 1988 NBA Draft and played from 1988-99 in the NBA. His uncle, Horace Grant, played at Clemson, and was the 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He is the owner of four NBA championship rings. His older brother, Jerai, is a senior on the Clemson basketball team, while a younger brother, Jerami is a junior on the DeMatha basketball team.
Ben Hansbrough o His brother, Tyler, played basketball at the University of North Carolina (2005-09). A three-time All-American, he was the 2008 National Player of the Year and led the Tar Heels to the 2009 national championship. Currently, he is in his second season with the Indiana Pacers, and was the 13th pick overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Tom Knight o His father, Karl, played basketball at Bowdoin (1976-80).

DEMATHA CoNNECTION
Jerian Grant is the first Irish basketball player from DeMatha High School to attend Notre Dame during the Mike Brey era. Brey played and coached at DeMatha and also is the alma mater of assistant coach Rod Balanis. Former Irish players who also played at DeMatha include Bob Whitmore (1967o69), Sid Catlett (1969o71) and Adrian Dantley (1974-76).

IRISH INK ONE FoR 2011
– Pat Connaughton, a 6-5, 195-pound swingman from Arlington, Mass., was the lone earlyoNovember 2011 signee for head coach Mike Brey. He is ranked 73rd nationally by Scout.com and 100th by ESPNU.
– A fouroyear starter at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Mass., Connaughton averaged 24.0 points and 17.9 rebounds in 2009-10 as he led St. John’s to one of the best seasons in program history as the squad finished with a 21-3 mark. In addition, his squad won the Catholic Conference championship. His team was ranked seventh in the final Massachusetts state poll after making the school’s first appearance since 1974 in the Division 1 state finals.

BREY SERVING AS CHAIRMAN OF THE NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL RULES COMMITTEE
– Mike Brey was elected chair of the 2010-11 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee in May 2010 and is serving his fourth year on the rules committee.