March 11, 2010

New York, N.Y. –

Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Notes in PDF Format

Irish Advance To BIG EAST Quarterfinals: -Notre Dame advanced to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship with a 68-56 second-round victory on Wednesday night against Seton Hall. The win avenged a 90-87 loss the Irish suffered on the road to the Pirates on Feb. 11 during the regular season. -All-American Luke Harangody came off the bench, played 24 minutes and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Tory Jackson also scored in double figures and finished with 13 points and six assists as he played all 40 minutes of the contest. -The Irish shot 52.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pirates 40-30 in the contest. After allowing 49 first-half points in the first meeting between the two teams, Notre Dame’s defense limited Seton Hall to just 34.5 percent shooting (20-58) and 12.5 percent (2-16) from three-point range.

Notre Dame In The BIG EAST Championship: -With the win over the Pirates, Notre Dame improved to 6-14 all-time in the 20 games its had played in the tournament since 1996. The Irish are now 5-9 under head coach Mike Brey. -Notre Dame is 2-5 all-time in BIG EAST tournament quarterfinal contests. -This will be the second meeting between the Irish and Panthers in the BIG EAST Championship. In the only matchup between the two teams, Pittsburgh defeated Notre Dame 66-54 in the quarterfinals of the2001 championship. -Notre Dame has never won back-to-back game in the BIG EAST Championship. -A win against the Panthers would enable the Irish to advance to the semifinals of the tournament for the third time in school history. Notre Dame other semifinal appearances were in 2007 and 2002.

The Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Series: -Thursday night’s quarterfinal matchup between the Irish and Panthers will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 68-53 at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Feb. 24. -Thursday night’s quarterfinal matchup between the Irish and Panthers will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 68-53 at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Feb. 24. -The series between the two teams is tied at 27-27. The Panthers have won six of the last eight meetings. -Mike Brey is 7-8 all-time versus Pittsburgh.

Last Outing Versus Pittsburgh: -Playing without Luke Harangody, the Pittsburgh game on Feb. 24 got Notre Dame’s five-game win streak started as the Irish produced a 15-point victory. -The Irish were led by four players in double figures. Tim Abromaitis was the game’s leading scorer as he finished with 17 points. Ben Hansbrough added 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished off four assists, while Tory Jackson added 14 points and seven assists. Tyrone Nash finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. -Notre Dame shot 50.0 percent from the field (22-44) and 55.6 percent from three-point range (.556). -The Panthers connected on just 23-55 for the game (.418) and were just 4-18 (.222) from beyond the arc.

On A Roll: -The win over the Pirates was the fifth straight for the Irish and matched the team’s longest win streak of the season when it opened up the 2009-10 campaign 5-0. -Winners of four straight to conclude the regular season, Notre Dame’s five-game win streak against BIG EAST foes is the longest since the 2007-08 campaign when that Irish team rattled off five straight wins. -Notre Dame’s longest win streak in BIG EAST play is eight games. He Irish did that in 2000-01 en route to winning the BIG EAST Conference West Division crown in Mike Brey’s first season along the Irish sidelines.

Irish At MSG: -Notre Dame is 53-41 all-time playing at Madison Square Garden.

Notre Dame vs. Ranked Opponents: -Notre Dame is playing a ranked opponent for the seventh time this season and are 3-3 in those contests. -The Irish are 29-54 all-time against ranked opponents under head coach Mike Brey.

Ironman: -Tory Jackson has never missed a game during his Irish career and tonight against the Panthers will be playing in a Notre Dame record 134th career outing. He tied the mark last evening against Seton Hall of 133 games set by Matt Carroll from 1999-03. -Jackson has started 119 of the 133 games he has played.

History In The Making: -With the victory over Seton Hall, Notre Dame’s senior class of Tim Andree, Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples tied the record for most wins by a four-year class. The mark of 42 wins was done on two occasions from 1975-79 and 1977-81. -This year’s senior quartet is 92-41 all-time for a .692 winning percentage. -The group also became the all-time winningest Notre Dame class in BIG EAST regular-season play as they finished with a 43-27 (.614) record.

Worth Noting: -Luke Harangody recorded his 64th career double-double and first since scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. against USF on Feb. 7. He also scored 20-points for the 64th time in his career to rank second all-time in that category. -Since becoming a starter in the Irish lineup six games ago, Carleton Scott has averaged 11.0 points (66 points) and 53 rebounds (4.8). -Tim Abromaitis’ nine points against Seton Hall marked just the fourth time this season that the Irish failed to score in double figures. -Notre Dame has shot better than 50.0 percent in 14 games this season.