Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Hokies Enter Purcell To Challenge Irish On Senior Day

NOTRE DAME VS VIRGINIA TECH

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team completes the 2019-20 regular season on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m., ACC Network) against Virginia Tech (16-14, 7-12) as the Irish honor the senior class of T.J. Gibbs, John Mooney and Rex Pflueger.

  • Notre Dame and Virginia Tech are meeting for the 13th time on Saturday afternoon with the Irish leading the all-time series 8-4. The Hokies won the last two meetings between the two teams last season, including a victory in Purcell Pavilion.
  • The Irish are 3-2 in Purcell Pavilion against Virginia Tech and 5-3 against the Hokies in ACC play.
  • The Notre Dame – Virginia Tech series has two noteworthy Irish victories as part of its history. On Feb. 24, 2001, an 85-61 victory for the Irish earned the program’s first-ever conference regular-season title, as No. 18/18 Notre Dame claimed the BIG EAST West Division title. In the 2018 ACC Championship,  Notre Dame recorded its greatest second-half comeback ever (down 21 points) to defeat Virginia Tech 71-65 behind 22 points from Matt Farrell.
  • The first meeting between Notre Dame and Virginia Tech occurred in the 1973 NIT Championship game in Madison Square Garden. In a time when the NCAA tournament only featured 25 teams, the NIT Championship was earned by the Hokies over Digger Phelps’ second Notre Dame team on a last-second shot in overtime by VT’s Bobby Stevens.
NOTRE DAMEGAME DAY INFORMATION
DateSaturday, March 7, 2020
Time2:00 p.m. ET
Site: Purcell Pavilion
• Notre Dame, IN
• Capacity 9,149
TV:ACC Network
• Dave O'Brien (play-by-play)
• Jordan Cornette (Notre Dame '05) (analyst)
• Katie George (sideline)
Radio:Notre Dame Radio Network
• Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
• Zach Hillesland (Notre Dame '09) (analyst)
Available locally on WSBT AM/FM and worldwide on und.com.
Tickets:Tickets are still available at und.com/buytickets

Notre Dame MBB Notes vs. Virginia Tech (PDF)

BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH VS HOKIES

1

Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of fouls committed per game (12.5).

1

Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.70. The Irish are ahead of BYU (1.60) and Belmont (1.55). Notre Dame has 495 assists this season compared to just 291 turnovers.

1

Senior John Mooney leads the nation with 25 double-doubles this season (in 29 games) ahead of William & Mary’s Nathan Knight (22 in 31 games) as of Friday, March 6.

2

Notre Dame is second in the country in least amount of turnovers committed per game (9.7), behind Liberty (9.5) and ahead of St. Mary’s (CA) (9.8).

2

John Mooney is second in the nation and leads all major conference players in rebounds-per-game with a 12.8 average. Mooney has recorded double-doubles in 25 of 29 games played this season. He is the only player in Division I averaging 16-plus points and 12-plus rebounds per game this season. 

10

A victory on Senior Day against Virginia Tech on Saturday would push the Irish to .500 in the ACC and provide the 10th conference victory of the season. Finishing 10-10 would mark the fourth time in seven ACC seasons the Irish will finish the conference slate with 10 or more wins, joining Duke, UNC, Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Miami and Virginia Tech as the only ACC teams with four seasons of 10 or more wins since 2013-14. 

13

Notre Dame and Virginia Tech will be meeting for the 13th time, with the Irish holding an 8-4 advantage in the series. Notre Dame is 3-2 against Virginia Tech in Purcell Pavilion and 4-3 against the Hokies as ACC regular-season opponents. 

16

Since 1997-98 John Mooney is the only ACC player with 13 or more double-doubles in league play in consecutive seasons (or over any two seasons). Mooney had 13 double-doubles in the ACC last season and has followed up with an ACC record 16 so far in 2019-20. 

16.5

Notre Dame is currently ninth in the country and first in the ACC for assists per game with a 16.5 average. The Irish have posted seven games this season with over 20 team assists (22 vs. Howard, 24 vs. FDU, school-record tying 33 vs. Detroit Mercy, 23 vs. Alabama A&M, 26 at Syracuse, 23 vs. Syracuse, 21 vs. Miami).

20

With 25 double-doubles so far this season – and finishing 2018-19 with 20 total – John Mooney joins Tim Duncan and Sheldon Williams as the only ACC players to post consecutive seasons with 20 or more double-doubles in the past 25 years. Since 1996-97, Mooney joins Angel Delgado, Jordan Murphy, Emeka Okafor, Josh Hawkinson and Williams as the only major conference players with multiple seasons of 20 or more double-doubles.

56%

Shooting percentage in ACC competition this season for Juwan Durham (.568), which would place him second on the Notre Dame single-season list (minimum of 50 attempts). Currently he is behind of Zach Auguste (.570 in 2014-15) and tied with Martinas Geben (.568 in 2017-18).

86%

Percentage of double-doubles in games played this season for John Mooney (25 of 29, .862). That percentage is the best in the country and threatens Blake Griffin from Oklahoma (30 of 35, .857) and Kenny Adeleke (Hartford, 24 of 28, .857) for the highest percentage in Division I over the past 20 years.

139

Career games played by graduate student Rex Pflueger, matching the school-record held by Pat Connaughton (2011-15) Pflueger is tied for seventh in the country for active players in games played. The Dana Point, California, will set a new mark for games played at Notre Dame on Senior Day Saturday afternoon against Virginia Tech.

1898

Total victories in the history of Notre Dame men’s basketball, as the Irish close in on becoming the eighth program to reach 1,900 victories (Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse and UCLA have all reached that plateau). The Irish were 12th all-time in college basketball victories when Mike Brey took over the program in 2000-01 –  they have since passed Oregon State, Pennsylvania, St. John’s and Indiana on the all-time wins list into eighth place.

4084

Career minutes played by T.J. Gibbs, becoming the seventh player in Notre Dame men’s basketball history to reach 4,000 minutes played.

SENIOR SUPERLATIVES

The 2019-20 Senior Class will be honored before Saturday’s game with Virginia Tech. Rex Pflueger, T.J. Gibbs and John Mooney will be playing their final regular-season home game in Purcell Pavilion.

Here is a breakdown of where each student-athlete ranks on Notre Dame’s all-time statistical lists, among the Mike Brey era (2000-01 to present) and in ACC regular-season play.

Rex Pflueger

Statistic

Number

ND All-Time

ND Brey Era

ND in ACC

Assists

342

18th

9th

2nd (176)

Steals

143

11th

6th

2nd (64)

Assist/Turnover

2.34

5th (since 96-97)

5th

1st (2.23)

GP

139

t-1st

t-1st

2nd (70)

T.J. Gibbs

Assists

375

17th

8th

1st (195)

Steals

131

t-14th

7th

1st (72)

Assist/Turnover

2.44

3rd (since 96-97)

3rd

3rd (2.03)

Points

1538

16th

5th

1st (875)

3FGM

235

9th

7th

1st (130)

FTM

323

19th

8th

1st (189)

GP

134

4th

4th

1st (72)

GS

99

11th

11th

2nd (55)

MP

4084

7th

7th

1st (2329)

John Mooney

Points

1166

43rd

18th

2nd (740)

Rebounds

900

5th

t-3rd

1st (543)

Double-Doubles

46

4th

2nd

1st (30)

GP

110

30th

t-25th

3rd (59)

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTED BY 1,000 POINT SCORERS

Notre Dame has produced 64 1,000 point scorers throughout the history of the program with 23 of those players reaching that statistical milestone during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – current). Of the 85 players who have suited up for Notre Dame under Mike Brey, 36 of them were recruited by the staff and exhausted their eligibility with the Irish – 20 of those players have scored more than 1,000 points in a career.

Since 2000-01, Notre Dame leads all ACC teams in 1,000 point scorers (23) and is second in the country over that time frame to Villanova.

School

All-Time 1,000 Point Scorers

1,000 Point Scorers since 2000-01

North Carolina

77

20

Louisville

69

18

Duke

67

20

NOTRE DAME

64

23

Villanova

64

24

Syracuse

62

19

Kansas

61

19

MOONEY, PFLUEGER EARN ALL-ACC ACADEMIC HONORS

Senior John Mooney and graduate student Rex Pflueger were named to the 2020 All-ACC Academic Team, as announced by the conference earlier this week.

Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

Pflueger earns the honor for the third time in his career. The 2019 Notre Dame graduate is earning an accelerated MBA from the Mendoza College of Business this season with a focus in business leadership strategy. Mooney has been named to the team for the first time in his Notre Dame career and will graduate in May with a management consulting degree from the Mendoza College of Business.

BY THE NUMBERS: JOHN MOONEY

1

Mooney leads the nation in double-doubles (25 in 29 games). 

1

Mooney is the only ACC player averaging a double-double (16.8 ppg, 12.8 rpg) and is one of just eight major conference Division I players to average a double-double.

2

With 30 double-doubles in ACC play in his career, Mooney needs just one more to match Travis Watson (UVA) for the most in a career since Tim Duncan’s 39 from 1993-97.

4

Only four Notre Dame players have pulled down 700 rebounds in their final two seasons with the Irish – Tom Hawkins (1957-59, 834), Collis Jones (1969-71, 741), Mooney (208-20, 729) and Walt Sahm (1963-65, 708).

5

With 543 rebounds in ACC action, Mooney ranks fifth among all ACC players since 1996-97 in total rebounds. See page 6 for more details.

10

With 900 career rebounds, Mooney is 10th on the Notre Dame career list and is the ninth Irish player to reach the 900-rebound statistical plateau.

12

From Nov. 26, 2019 through Jan. 22, 2020, Mooney posted 12 consecutive double-doubles to set the school mark. With his fifth consecutive double-double against FSU on Wednesday, he matches Walt Sahm as the only Notre Dame player to won four double-double streaks running five or more games. 

12.3

Mooney’s rebound average in ACC games this season, which would rank as the third-best since 1988. Tim Duncan averaged 14.9 rebounds per ACC game in 1996-97, while Mooney’s average in 2018-19 was 12.6.

12.8

Mooney is second in the nation in rebounds-per-game with a 12.8 average. The closest major conference player to Mooney’s average is Minnesota’s Daniel Orturu (11.6).

14.2

Mooney’s rebounds-per-40-minute career average is the best for a Notre Dame player since 1996-97. He is ahead of Jack Cooley (13.0), Luke Harangody (13.0), current Irish assistant coach Ryan Humphrey (12.1) and Zach Auguste (12.1).

16

Mooney’s single-season ACC record for double-double in league play, besting the 15 by Tim Duncan in 1995-96. He joins Duncan, Shelden Williams (Duke) and Travis Watson (UVA) as the only ACC players to have multiple seasons with 10 or more double-doubles in conference play since 1995-96.

20

With 20 double-doubles last season and 25 this season, Mooney is the first Notre Dame player to boast two seasons with 20 or more doubles-doubles in a career.

25

With 25 double-doubles so far this season – and finishing 2018-19 with 20 total – Mooney joins Tim Duncan and Sheldon Williams as the only ACC players to post consecutive seasons with 20 or more double-doubles in the past 25 years. Since 1996-97, Mooney joins Angel Delgado, Jordan Murphy, Emeka Okafor, Josh Hawkinson and Williams as the only major conference players with multiple seasons of 20 or more double-doubles.

29

Mooney is the first ACC player to post consecutive seasons with 13 or more double-doubles in league play. His 29 double-doubles in two seasons are the most for an ACC player over a two-year stretch since Tim Duncan had 26 combined in 1995-96 and 1996-97.   

45

Double-doubles in the past two years – the most in Division I over that stretch. Bethune Cookman’s Cletrell Pope is the closest player with 39, while Xavier’s Tyrique Jones is the closest major conference player with 30.

46

Double-doubles in his career, fourth on the Notre Dame career list (see sidebar, page 4). 

67%

Mooney has posted a double-double in 46 of his 69 career starts – a .667 average that is the best in the history of Notre Dame basketball. Of active Divison I players, only Cletrell Pope (39 double-doubles in 49 career games, .796 average) boasts a higher average of double-doubles/starts. Since 1996-97, Mooney is second only to Drew Gooden (Kansas, 1999-2002, .688) of major conference players double-double/starts percentage (see more on page 5).

86%

Percentage of double-doubles in games played this season for John Mooney (25 of 29, .862). That percentage is the best in the country and threatens Blake Griffin from Oklahoma (30 of 35, .857) and Kenny Adeleke (Hartford, 24 of 28, .857) for the highest percentage in Division I over the past 20 years.

200

Mooney reached the 200-rebound plateau this season in just 15 games, the quickest major conference player to reach 200 rebounds in a season since Tim Duncan in 1996-97 (14 games) and Blake Griffin in 2008-09 (15 games)

237

With 237 rebounds in ACC play this season, Mooney needs two more rebounds to move past Tim Duncan’s ACC record for total rebounds in a season from the 1996-97 season.

740

Mooney has pulled down 740 rebounds over the past two seasons, the most of any major conference player and over 100 rebounds more than the second-ranked player (Colorado’s Tyler Bey with 618).

MOONEY SECOND IN THE COUNTRY IN REBOUNDING

Senior forward John Mooney is second in the nation in rebounds per game with a 12.8 average. Mooney is the only Division I player in the country averaging 16-plus points and 12-plus rebounds per game (as of March 2, 2020).

NATIONAL REBOUNDING LEADERS:

Player

School

Reb/Game

Kevin Marfo

Quinnipiac

13.3

JOHN MOONEY

NOTRE DAME

12.8

Cletrell Pope

Bethune Cookman

11.9

Willie Jackson

Toledo

11.7

E.J. Anosike

Sacred Heart

11.7

James Butler

Drexel

11.6

Daniel Orturu

Minnesota

11.6

MOONEY CLIMBING THE BREY-ERA CAREER REBOUND CHART

Reaching 900 career rebounds against Florida State, John Mooney became the fourth Mike Brey-era (2000-01- current) player to collect 900 or more rebounds. The see sidebar on page 4 for the all-time rebounding chart (Mooney currently ranks eighth).

BREY ERA REBOUNDING TOTALS

Player

Seasons

Rebounds

Luke Harangody

2006-10

1,222

Torin Francis

2002-06

969

JOHN MOONEY

2015-20

900

Bonzie Colson

2014-18

900

Pat Connaughton

2011-15

823

Zach Auguste

2012-16

822

Jack Cooley

2009-13

792

Rob Kurz

2004-08

650

MOONEY DOUBLE-DOUBLE PERCENTAGE AMONG THE BEST IN DIVISION I SINCE 1996-97

Up to 46 career double-doubles (fourth all-time at Notre Dame), John Mooney has posted nearly all of his career double-doubles in the past two seasons. Among all Division I player since 1996-97, that percentage ranks Mooney tied for fifth overall and second among major conference players (minimum 40 career double-doubles).

Player

Double-Doubles

Starts

Double-Double Percentage

Seasons

School

Paul Millsap

68

91

.747

2003-06

Louisiana Tech

Kenneth Faried

86

122

.705

2007-11

Morehead State

Drew Gooden

44

64

.688

1999-2002

Kansas

Artsiom Parakhouski

43

64

.671

2008-10

Radford

JOHN MOONEY

46

69

.667

2016-current

NOTRE DAME

Ousmane Drame

44

66

.667

2011-15

Quinnipiac

Mike Harris

55

85

.647

2001-05

Rice

Josh Hawkinson

56

88

.636

2013-17

Washington State

Blake Griffin

40

63

.635

2007-09

Oklahoma

IRISH TRADITIONALLY AMONG BEST IN THE COUNTRY AT TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

Notre Dame finished third in the NCAA last season in turnovers per game – posting the fifth consecutive season of ranking in the nation’s top-10 for least amount of turnovers in a game. The Irish are also perennially one of the top teams in the country in assist to turnover ratio.

The Irish have not averaged over 10.0 turnovers per game since a 10.3 mark in 2013-14 (which was still good enough for 26th nationally).

NOTRE DAME TURNOVERS PER GAME, LAST FIVE SEASONS

Season

Turnovers/Game

National Rank

Conf. Rank

Ast/Turnover

National Rank

Conf. Rank

2014-15

9.4

5

2

1.61

4

2

2015-16

10

10

3

1.34

43

5

2016-17

9.5

2

1

1.66

2

1

2017-18

9.9

7

2

1.46

14

3

2018-19

9.3

3

2

1.38

18

3

2019-20

9.7

2

1

1.70

1

1

PFLUEGER APPROACHING NOTEWORTHY CAREER MILESTONE COMBINATION

Graduate student Rex Pflueger is approaching a combination of career statistical totals that would make him one of just four Irish players to ever reach a unique combination of statistical marks.

Pflueger is approaching 700 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in his Notre Dame career – only Chris Thomas (2002-05), David Graves (1999-02) and Tory Jackson (2007-10) have reached that combination of statistical milestones.

Player

Years

Points (700+)

Rebounds (400+)

Assists (300+)

Steals (150+)

Chris Thomas

2002-05

2,195

528

833

244

David Graves

1999-02

1,746

620

340

202

Tory Jackson

2007-10

1,231

526

694

211

REX PFLUEGER

2015-current

744

434

342

143

GIBBS SETS NOTRE DAME CAREER ACC SCORING MARK

Senior T.J. Gibbs set the ACC career scoring mark on February 2, 2020, with a game-high 23 points against Wake Forest, surpassing the mark held by Steve Vasturia (72 games, 739 points).

Player

Seasons

ACC Games

Points

PPG

T.J. GIBBS

2016-current

72

875

12.2

Steve Vasturia

2016-20

72

739

10.3

Bonzie Colson

2014-18

54

696

12.9

V.J. Beachem

2013-17

71

619

8.7

Zach Auguste

2013-16

53

575

10.8

Demetrius Jackson

2013-16

51

549

10.8

Matt Farrell

2014-18

47

491

10.4

John Mooney

2016-current

46

499

10.8

Pat Connaughton

2013-15

36

455

12.6

Jerian Grant

2014-15

18

295

16.4

In terms of all conference action for the Irish, Gibbs ranks 5th on the scoring list with 875 points. Luke Harangody (1,329) and Chris Thomas (1,099) pace the Irish record books, followed by Troy Murphy (999) and Matt Carroll (920) in terms of all-time point totals in conference play.

HUBB POSTS EIGHT 20-POINT GAMES IN 2019-20

Sophomore Prentiss Hubb has logged a team-high eight 20-point games this season for the Irish. His eight 20-point performances are the tied for the fourth-most for a sophomore during the Mike Brey era behind Luke Harangody (18), Chris Thomas (15), T.J. Gibbs (9) and Tim Abromaitis (8).

Seven of Hubb’s eight 20-point games have come against ACC opponents. Of the 14 players with multiple 20-point games against the ACC, Hubb ranks fifth behind T.J. Gibbs (11), Bonzie Colson (10), V.J. Beachem (8) and John Mooney (8).

Hubb’s 20-point games this season:

Date

Opponent

FG

3FG

FT

TR

AST

TO

STL

PTS

11/6

at North Carolina

8-17

5-9

1-2

2

6

1

1

22

12/14

UCLA

6-12

5-10

3-5

0

6

1

0

20

1/4

at Syracuse

7-16

6-12

2-2

2

9

4

1

22

1/8

at NC State

9-14

4-7

2-2

3

2

3

2

24

1/15

at Georgia Tech

8-16

3-8

6-8

4

3

2

2

25

1/25

at Florida State

7-16

5-11

5-5

4

1

3

2

24

2/17

North Carolina

7-17

2-9

4-5

1

8

3

0

20

3/4

Florida State

8-13

5-9

3-3

1

6

4

1

24

HUBB REACHES 200 CAREER ASSISTS… QUICKLY

Sophomore Prentiss Hubb led the Irish with nine assists in the victory at Syracuse on January 4, 2020, reaching 203 career assists in his 47th game in an Irish uniform. Since 1996-97, that is the fifth-quickest for any player at Notre Dame.

Player

Games to 200th Assist

Date of 200th Assist

Career Assists

Chris Thomas

27

2-23-02 at Miami (FL)

833

Martin Ingelsby

38

12-21-98 Stetson

526

Jerian Grant

41

11-26-12 Chicago State

690

Tory Jackson

43

12-29-07 Brown

694

PRENTISS HUBB

47

1-4-20 at Syracuse

203

DURHAM POSTS TWO NOTEWORTHY DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Senior Juwan Durham responded to the loss of John Mooney (illness) on the front line against Presbyterian with 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to record his second career double-double. He followed up with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four more blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson. It was just the seventh and eighth time a Mike Brey era player has recorded 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 4+ blocks – and the first time since John Mooney did it at North Carolina last season.

Others who have accomplished such a double-double include current Irish assistant coach Ryan Humphrey (2001), Torin Francis twice (2003, 2004), Luke Harangody (2008) and Bonzie Colson (2017).

DURHAM ALREADY AMONG TOP SHOT BLOCKERS IN NOTRE DAME HISTORY

Blocked shots are one of the youngest official NCAA official statistics, only becoming a part of the game boxscore for the 1985-86 season. With that in mind, it is still noteworthy that senior Juwan Durham (who still retains a year of eligibility after 2019-20) has already established himself as one of the top shot blockers in Notre Dame history.

In his first full season at Notre Dame in 2018-19, Durham swatted 63 shots which ranks fifth on the Notre Dame single-season blocked shots list.

This season, Durham pushed his career blocked-shot average to 2.2 and is one of just three Notre Dame players to average over 2.0 blocks per game in their career:

Player

Seasons

Blocks Per Game

Ryan Humphrey

2000-02

2.8

JUWAN DURHAM

2018-current

2.2

LaPhonso Ellis

1988-92

2.1

Durham’s 127 total blocks at Notre Dame currently rank him sixth all-time (see sidebar, page 8). Jordan Cornette is the Notre Dame blocked shots record holder with 201 from 2001-05.

A DECADE OF ‘NO FOUL’ CONTINUES

One of the mantras of Notre Dame basketball under Mike Brey has been to keep the amount of opponent foul shots down. Defend without fouling is a way of life for Irish basketball and the statistics bear out that trend.

In the last 10 years, Notre Dame has failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just twice. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls three times.

The NCAA has been tracking the least amount of fouls committed in a season since 1993. Notre Dame is the only team since 1993 to lead the country in least amount of fouls more than twice (four times) and are on pace to make it five times this season.

NOTRE DAME FOULS PER GAME NATIONAL/CONFERENCE FINAL RANKING

Year

Fouls Per Game

NCAA Raking

Conference Ranking

2009-10

15.1

10

2

2010-11

15.2

11

1

2011-12

13.8

1

1

2012-13

14.1

8

1

2013-14

16.2

15

5

2014-15

15.1

6

1

2015-16

15.1

1

1

2016-17

14.9

4

1

2017-18

13.1

1

1

2018-19

13.8

1

1

2019-20

12.4

1

1

IRISH BOAST SOLID RECORD FOR ANNUAL HOME-AND-HOME ACC SERIES

Since joining the ACC for the 2013-14 season, Boston College and Georgia Tech have been designated as the ‘traditional’ yearly rivals for Notre Dame in the league. Each season, the Irish have met the Eagles and Yellow Jackets for home-and-home series. Notre Dame boasts the best record in the league against its designated repeat opponents since 2013-14 (records below are regular-season meetings only):

RECORD VS. ACC ANNUAL HOME-AND-HOME OPPONENTS SINCE 2013-14

Team

Opponent

Opponent

Record

NOTRE DAME

Boston College

Georgia Tech

22-6

Duke

North Carolina

Wake Forest

19-8

Florida State

Miami

Clemson

18-9

Syracuse

Boston College

Pittsburgh

20-8

North Carolina

Duke

NC State

18-9

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Louisville

18-9*

* – Virginia repeated with Maryland in 2013-14

Each season since 2013-14, ACC teams have faced their designated home-and-home opponents each year, two other league opponents on a rotating home-and-home basis, five opponents on the road only and five opponents at home only.