Nov. 6, 2016
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team is set to complete its 2016-17 exhibition season on Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:00 p.m. ET against Catholic University at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish have one exhibition victory this season, a 119-58 win over Mercy College on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Notre Dame will officially begin the 2016-17 season against Bryant as part of the 2016 Legends Classic Notre Dame Regional on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Noon ET.
Here are the Five Things To Know about the matchup between the Fighting Irish and Cardinals –
1. Catholic University Facts –
Catholic University is located in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church that has been visited by three different sitting popes (Pope John Paul II in 1979, Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 and Pope Francis in 2015). Catholic won the 2001 Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship and reached the NCAA Division III postseason in 2015 and 2016. Notre Dame and Catholic are meeting for the second time in exhibition play.
The Irish defeated the Cardinals 72-47 on Nov. 6, 2010, led by Ben Hansbrough’s game-high 30 points.
2. ACC Network Extra –
All of Notre Dame’s games this season that are not broadcast on a linear television network will appear on ACC Network Extra, including Monday’s contest with Catholic University.
ACC Network Extra is available to those that have access to the WatchESPN app or online at WatchESPN.com.
Live streams of WatchESPN networks are available at no additional cost to fans with access to each network (dependent on subscriber’s TV subscription). Access to live programming on the ESPN3 channel of WatchESPN.com is available at no additional cost to fans with subscriptions to participating high speed internet service providers. Visit WatchESPN.com to see a full list of the participating service providers.
ESPN3 is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel on computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.
Notre Dame men’s basketball games are also available via free audio-only stream at WatchND.tv.
3. Captains –
Head coach Mike Brey has announced the 2016-17 team captains. Seniors V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, along with junior Bonzie Colson, will lead the Irish through the 16-17 college basketball campaign.
“Our program has the most predictable captains from year to year,” head coach Mike Brey said.
“(Those three guys) are going to set the tone for our team. They have won big games under bright lights. They will have a lot of responsibility, but they have seen great examples come before them.”
Vasturia has started 86 consecutive games for the Fighting Irish and is on pace to become just the fourth Notre Dame player to start over 100 consecutive games. Beachem is coming off a great postseason performance in March of 2016, averaging 17.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament to earn a spot on the east all-regional team. Colson, who is on the Karl Malone Award watch list (top power forward in the nation), averaged over 11 points and six rebounds per game in 2015-16.
4. Ryan returns to the court –
Sophomore Matt Ryan, whose 46 three pointers during his rookie season ended up as the fourth-most all-time for an Irish player in a freshman season, is set to return to the court on Monday night. Ryan missed the first exhibition game of the season against Mercy College to complete his rest and rehabilitation from a stress reaction suffered in preseason camp.
Ryan has been back on the court at practice recently, including full participation over the past week. The Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., native will most likely see limited minutes against Catholic and could be back to full strength for the season opener with Bryant on Nov. 12.
5. Catholic University visit follows Brey’s exhibition trend –
Since the NCAA changed the rules regulating exhibition games in 2003, a change that eliminated the all-star team exhibitions most college teams played, Irish head coach Mike Brey has focused on playing exhibition games against different Catholic schools from across the nation.
The Irish have faced St. Joseph’s College (Ind.), Quincy University, Lewis University, Rockhurst University, Bellarmine University, St. Ambrose (Iowa), St. Edward’s (Texas), Briar Cliff, Stonehill College, Marian College, St. Xavier, Cardinal Stritch University, St. Francis (Ill.) and Caldwell College since the start of the 2004-05 season.
Of the 26 exhibition opponents Notre Dame has faced since the start of 2004, 20 of them were Catholic Universities or Colleges. The trip not only provides Notre Dame an opportunity to compete against different competition from Division II and Division III schools while preparing for the regular season, but also allows members of the visiting team’s travel party to visit the University of Notre Dame campus and receive a portion of the ticket proceeds to support their respective athletic departments.