NOTRE DAME vs. HOWARD
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball continues the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational against Howard in Purcell Pavilion on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra).
- Tuesday marks the first meeting between Notre Dame and Howard in men’s basketball.
- The Irish continue a six-game home stand on Saturday, as the MABC Invitational continues with Marshall (Nov. 15) and Toledo (Nov. 21) at Purcell Pavilion, along with non-invitational games with Presbyterian (Nov. 18) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Nov. 26).
- Notre Dame is coming off its 20th first home game victory in 20 years of the Mike Brey era, defeating Robert Morris 92-57 on Saturday, November 9. Sophomore Dane Goodwin led the Irish with 18 points, while Robby Carmody added in a career-best 13 points.
Notre Dame Game Notes in PDF Format
| NOTRE DAME | GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, November 12, 2019 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN • Capacity 9,149 |
| TV: | ACC Network Extra • Dave Korzeniowski (play-by-play) • Mike Lightfoot (analysis) • Holden Perrelli (sideline) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network • Jack Nolan (play-by-play) • Zach Hillesland (analyst) |
| Tickets: | Notre Dame Ticket Exchange, powered by Vivid Seats |
BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH vs. BISON
|
1 |
Notre Dame and Howard will be meeting for the first time in men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon. The matchup is the second game of the Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational, an exempt round-robin event held across the country over the next two weeks. |
|
2 |
The 2019-20 season marks the second consecutive – and the second in program history – that the Irish will have hosted an in-season exempt tournament on campus. Notre Dame finished 3-1 in last season’s Gotham Classic and will welcome four teams to Purcell Pavilion over the next two weeks as part of the Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational. |
|
5 |
Notre Dame is fifth all-time in NCAA history in number of career 1,000 point scorers as 63 players have achieved that miletsone during their time in an Irish uniform. T.J. Gibbs joined that group last season, while John Mooney looks to become the 64th player to score 1,000 points later this season. |
|
12 |
Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 13 in-season tournament games dating back to the 2016-17 season. That run of games includes the 2016 Legends Classic title and the 2017 Maui Invitational championship. See page 5 and 6 for a complete history of Notre Dame for in-game tournaments. |
|
18 |
Sophomore Dane Goodwin led Notre Dame with 18 points off the bench against Robert Morris, which is the most points scored off the bench by an Irish player since… Goodwin scored 19 against Jacksonville on December 20, 2018. |
|
22 |
With 10 points and 10 rebounds in the home opener against Robert Morris, John Mooney recorded the 22nd double-double of his career and first of the season. He is now tied with Keith Robinson for 21st all-time on the Notre Dame double-double career list. |
|
24 |
Sophomore Robby Carmody (a freshman eligibility-wise after missing most of last season recovering from a torn labrum) has scored 24 points in the two Notre Dame home openers in which he has participated and set career scoring highs in both games. Carmody scored 11 points starting the home opener last season against UIC, then followed up with 13 points in the win over Robert Morris on Saturday. |
|
47 |
Howard is one of four first-time opponents Notre Dame will face this season (Robert Morris, Presbyterian and Alabama A&M are the other three). Notre Dame is 47-5 against first-time opponents in the Mike Brey era including a 3-1 mark last season and 1-0 this year (92-57 over Robert Morris). |
|
72 |
Take away the three-point shooting against Robert Morris (which was still an effective 8-22 at .364), Notre Dame shot .719 from two-point range in the win over the Colonials. That is the best for the team since a .722 clip vs. Chicago State Nov. 16, 2017 and tied for the 11th-best since the 1996-97 season. |
|
200 |
Rex Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs have joined an exclusive Notre Dame men’s basketball club. They are the 12th and 13th players since 1996-97 to post 200 assists and 100 steals in a career. Pflueger has 244 assists and 106 steals, while Gibbs has posted 287 assists and 101 steals. |
|
359 |
Combined wins for Mike Brey and Howard head coach Kenny Blakeney and assistant coach Eric Atkins as student-athletes, assistant coaches and staff members. See page 3 for more details. |
MEN AGAINST BREAST CANCER INVITATIONAL
The “Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational Presented by FieldTurf” is a non-conference collegiate basketball tournament featuring games at select campus venues throughout the country. The event is held in honor of “Men Against Breast Cancer” (MABC), a non-profit that provides knowledge, tools, and support services for men that are helping brave wives and mothers battling breast cancer. Breast cancer is an affliction that no woman should face alone, and men need to be informed of ways they can provide comfort and care for the women they love. For the 2019 season, FieldTurf is proud to present the MABC Invitational, featuring a ten game round-robin tournament played at Notre Dame, Marshall, and Toledo, with Robert Morris and Howard. Come out and watch some great hoops action in support of wives, mothers, and MABC this November 7th through November 21st.
|
Date |
Time |
Game or Outcome |
|
Thursday, November 7, 2019 |
7 p.m. ET |
Marshall, W, 67-60, vs. Robert Morris |
|
Saturday, November 9, 2019 |
12 p.m. ET |
Notre Dame, W, 92-57, vs. Robert Morris |
|
Sunday, November 10, 2019 |
2 p.m. ET |
Toledo, W, 96-70, at Marshall |
|
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 |
7 p.m. ET |
Howard at Notre Dame |
|
Friday, November 15, 2019 |
7 p.m. ET |
Marshall at Notre Dame |
|
Friday, November 15, 2019 |
2 p.m. ET |
Robert Morris vs. Howard (game played at Toledo) |
|
Saturday, November 16, 2019 |
2 p.m. ET |
Robert Morris at Toledo |
|
Sunday, November 17, 2019 |
2 p.m. ET |
Howard at Toledo |
|
Thursday, November 21, 2019 |
8:30 p.m. ET |
Toledo at Notre Dame |
|
Thursday, November 21, 2019 |
8 p.m. ET |
Howard at Marshall |
NOTRE DAME – HOWARD COACHING STAFF CONNECTIONS
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball program will welcome back Eric Atkins (2010-14) on Tuesday evening, who is in his first season as an assistant coach on the Howard men’s basketball staff. Atkins served as Notre Dame’s Video Coordinator for the previous three seasons. Voted as one of the Top 20 players of the Mike Brey era (see page 7 for more details), Atkins was a three-time captain at Notre Dame and concluded his career as one of just five Notre Dame players to score 1,000 points (1,421) and post 500 assists (589). Atkins appeared in 133 career games (second-most all-time at Notre Dame) and started 97 consecutive games to end his career.
Atkins is not the only familiar face on the Bison sideline. Head coach Kenny Blakeney is in his first season at Howard and is a former student-athlete and assistant coach under Mike Brey.
A DeMatha (Washington D.C.) graduate, the same high school alma mater as Mike Brey and Irish associate head coach Rod Balanis, Blakeney was recruited by Brey while he was an assistant at Duke University. Blakeney was a part of Duke’s 1991 and 1992 National Championship teams and served as a Blue Devil team capatin his senior season (1994-95).
He started his coaching career as an assistant under Lefty Driesell at James Madison (1995-96), then moved to LaSalle before Brey tapped him for his staff at Delaware from 1997-2001.
Together, Brey, Blakeney and Atkins have combined to win 359 games as student-athletes, coaches and staff members. A breakdown:
|
Years |
School |
Blakeney Role |
Brey Role |
Final Record |
Notes |
|
1990-91 |
Duke |
Redshirt Season |
Assistant Coach |
32-7 |
National Champion |
|
1991-92 |
Duke |
Freshman |
Assistant Coach |
34-2 |
National Champion |
|
1992-93 |
Duke |
Sophomore |
Assistant Coach |
24-8 |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
|
1993-94 |
Duke |
Junior |
Assistant Coach |
28-6 |
NCAA Championship Game |
|
1994-95 |
Duke |
Senior |
Assistant Coach |
13-28 |
|
|
1997-98 |
Delaware |
Assistant Coach |
Head Coach |
29-10 |
America East Champions, NCAA Tournament |
|
1998-99 |
Delaware |
Assistant Coach |
Head Coach |
25-6 |
America East Champions, NCAA Tournament |
|
1999-2000 |
Delaware |
Assistant Coach |
Head Coach |
24-8 |
America East Runners Up |
|
209-75 (.736) |
|||||
|
Years |
School |
Atkins Role |
Brey Role |
Final Record |
Notes |
|
2010-11 |
Notre Dame |
Freshman |
Head Coach |
27-7 |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
|
2011-12 |
Notre Dame |
Sophomore |
Head Coach |
22-12 |
NCAA Tournament |
|
2012-13 |
Notre Dame |
Junior |
Head Coach |
25-10 |
NCAA Tournament |
|
2013-14 |
Notre Dame |
Senior |
Head Coach |
15-17 |
|
|
2016-17 |
Notre Dame |
Video Coord. |
Head Coach |
26-10 |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
|
2017-18 |
Notre Dame |
Video Coord. |
Head Coach |
21-15 |
|
|
2018-19 |
Notre Dame |
Video Coord. |
Head Coach |
14-19 |
|
|
150-90 (.625) |
|||||
|
Combined: |
359-165 (.685) |