Senior point guard Tory Jackson deposited a career-high 25 points against Seton Hall on Thursday.

Irish And Red Storm To Square Off On Sunday

Feb. 13, 2010

Complete Game Notes icon-acrosmall.gif

Notre Dame (17-8, 6-6) vs. St. John’s (13-10, 3-8)
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 o 7:30 p.m.
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,154)
Notre Dame, Ind.

TV: BIG EAST Network
(WMYS Channel 69 in South Bend/Elkhart; ESPN360.com)
Eric Collins (play-by-play analyst)
LaPhonso Ellis (color analyst)
Radio: Jack Nolan (play-by-play analyst)

Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WSBT AM 960 (South Bend, Ind.); WLS AM 890 (Chicago, Ill.); WXNT-AM 1430 in Indianapolis, Ind.; WEFM FM 95.9 (Michigan City, Ind.); WLYV AM 1450 (Ft. Wayne, Ind.); ESPN AM 1480 – WRSW (Warsaw, Ind.); WLUV AM 1520 (Rockford, IIl.); WVIL FM 101.3 (Jacksonville, Ill.); KWOC AM 930 (Poplar Bluff, Mo.); WJLS AM 560 (Beckley, W. Va.); WKKX AM 1600 (Wheeling, W. Va.); SIRIUS Satellite (159) and XM Radio (117); and www.und.com.

Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics are available for all home games via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).

Notre Dame vs. St. John’s

  • Notre Dame (17-8, 6-6) looks for its third win in four games as the Irish play host to St. John’s (13-10, 3-8) in the first and only meeting of the regular season between the two teams.
  • The Irish will be without the services of senior All-American Luke Harangody. Harangody suffered a deep bone bruise on his right knee in Thursday’s 90-87 loss at Seton Hall. He suffered the injury with 8:42 remaining in the game and returned with 6:18 to play, but was unable to play for the final 4:40 of the contest. Harangody also is expected to miss Wednesday night’s game (Feb. 17) at Louisville.
  • Tonight’s matchup will be the 35th meeting between the two schools with Notre Dame leading the all-time series 19-15. The two teams played twice last year and earned a split; the Red Storm grabbed a 71-65 victory at Madison Square Garden, while the Irish defeated St. John’s 74-55 at Purcell Pavilion in the regular-season finale.
  • In BIG EAST regular-season play, the Irish have a 9-5 advantage and there have been two matchups (tied 1-1) in the conference tournament.
  • Mike Brey is 6-4 all-time against St. John’s.
  • A win tonight would allow the senior class of Tim Andree, Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples to match the most wins by an Irish class in BIG EAST regular-season play, which has been done on two occasions. This year’s senior class is 39-25 to date for a 60.9 winning percentage. From 2000-04, the Irish finished 40-24 (.625), while Notre Dame was 40-26 (.606) from 2004-08.
  • With its 65-62 win over USF on Feb. 7, Notre Dame is 3-2 versus its repeat opponents (USF, Cincinnati, Connecticut) this season. The victory over USF provided the Irish with a season sweep of the Bulls. Notre Dame finished 1-1 against Cincinnati and lost an 82-70 decision at Connecticut in Hartford on Jan. 2. The Irish and Huskies are scheduled to play each other again in Notre Dame’s final regular-season home game on March 3.
  • Also with the win over USF, Mike Brey collected his 98th BIG EAST win (includes conference regular-season and championship contests) and is now sixth for most career wins in the league. With two more conference wins, Brey would become just the sixth coach in BIG EAST history win 100 victories.
  • Notre Dame has won 67 of its last 72 (.931) home games and is 29-4 (.879) in its last 33 BIG EAST regular-season home contests.
  • Notre Dame is 1-3 versus ranked teams this season. The Irish produced a 70-68 win over then No. 8 West Virginia at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 8. The losses have come against No. 10 Connecticut (70-62) and No. 3 Villanova (90-72) on the road and to No. 5 Syracuse (84-71) at home.
  • In the loss on the road at Seton Hall, Tory Jackson scored a career-high 25 points as he connected on 9-12 shots from the field, was 4-6 from the three-point range and 3-5 from the free throw line, in addition to dishing off six assists and playing all 40 minutes of the contest. All five starters scored in double figures as Tim Abromaitis finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Tyrone Nash and Luke Harangody each had 13 points and six rebounds, while Ben Hansbrough netted 10 points. Carleton Scott came off the bench to chip in five points and four rebounds.
  • Notre Dame is 3-12 in its last 15 BIG EAST regular-season road games.

Checking The National Statistics

  • Luke Harangody currently is third nationally with a 24.1 scoring average and is 21st in rebounding (10.0). o Tory Jackson is fifth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.11), while Ben Hansbrough is third at 3.21. Jackson is 19th in assists (5.7). o Tim Abromaitis is second nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.483) and 19th in free-throw percentage (.889). o As a team in the national statistics, Notre Dame ranks first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76), third in assists (18.2), 28th in field goal percentage (.477), 19th in scoring offense (79.7) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.406).

Notre Dame Basketball Raises $250,000 For Haiti

  • Fundraising efforts held in conjunction with the Notre Dame men’s basketball game against DePaul (Jan. 23) and women’s basketball contest versus West Virginia (Jan. 24) raised more than $250,000 in donations for the relief efforts in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Notre Dame donated full gate receipts and net concession revenue from both games. In addition, a collection organized by the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Council raised more than $25,000 from fans and alumni who contributed during the games. The Notre Dame Monogram Club also added a $10,000 matching gift to the student total.

Brey Gets Wins No. 200, No. 300

  • Notre Dame’s win over Providence on Dec. 30 gave head coach Mike Brey his 200th win with the Irish. In his 10th season along the Irish sidelines, he owns a 205-109 (.653) record. He is one of only three coaches in school history with 200 career wins. George Keogan (1923-43) won 327 games during his tenure, while Digger Phelps (1971-91) earned 393 victories during his 20-year tenure. Brey’s 100th win with the Irish came on Feb. 16, 2005 in a 70-64 victory at home against Georgetown.
  • Brey picked up his 300th career win against USF on Jan. 5. He owns a 304-161 (.654) ledger in 15 seasons as head coach.

Another Honor For Harangody

  • Luke Harangody has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community service and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as teachers in their communities.
  • Joining Harangody as one of the 10 finalists are Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga), Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia), Marquis Hall (Lehigh), Damion James (Texas), Adam Koch (Northern Iowa), Chris Kramer (Purdue), Raymar Morgan (Michigan State), Jon Scheyer (Duke) and Josh Young (Drake).
  • The winner will be announced at the 2010 Men’s Final Four in April.

Abromaitis Earns Academic All-District Honors

  • Tim Abromaitis was selected to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District V First Team and is now among 40 individuals whose names will appear on the national ballot. He is a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business and owns a 3.72 grade points average. A three-time Dean’s List honoree, he will graduate in May 2010 (one full year ahead of his class) and will enroll in Notre Dame’s one-year intensified MBA program during the 2010-11 school year.
  • Also named to the District V team were Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard of Butler, E’Twaun Moore of Purdue and David Nurse of Western Illinois.

Harangody Cops Sixth Career BIG EAST Weekly Honor

  • Luke Harangody collected his sixth career BIG EAST Player of the Week Honor and second of the season on Feb. 8 after leading the Irish to a 2-0 week with wins over Cincinnati (83-65) and USF (65-62). He averaged 28.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in the two contests as he scored a season-high 37 points against the Bearcats and netted 19 points and matched a season-high with 15 rebounds versus the Bulls. Harangody registered the 62nd and 63rd double-doubles of his career in the two games.

Check Out This Stat Line

  • In Notre Dame’s win against DePaul on Jan. 23, the Irish dished off 22 assists and turned the ball over just twice. The two turnovers were the fewest ever for Notre Dame during Mike Brey’s tenure and the fewest for an Irish team in a BIG EAST game. The Irish did not commit a turnover until the 10:31 mark of the second half.
  • Notre Dame did not turn the ball over in the first half. It was the first time that an Irish team under Brey did not commit a turnover in the first half and it was the second non-turnover half for the Irish in the Brey era.
  • The Irish have had nine games this season with 20-plus assists and committed 10 or fewer turnovers in nine games.

Double Duty

  • It’s been a busy last few weeks for first-year assistant men’s basketball coach Martin Ingelsby as he and his wife Colleen became first-time parents. The couple welcomed twins (William Thomas and Kate Elizabeth) on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m. Ingelsby, who played point guard for the Irish from 1997-2001 and served as Notre Dame’s coordinator of basketball operations for six years, was promoted to his current position in July 2009.
  • During the week the twins were born, Ingelsby was the assistant responsible for the UCLA scout on Dec. 19.

Hot Shots

  • Notre Dame shot a season-best 60.7 percent against Bucknell on Dec. 22.
  • Notre Dame shot 53.8 percent from the field against West Virginia on Jan. 9 after going 18-24 (.750) in the first half against the Mountaineers. It marked the best-ever shooting percentage by a Notre Dame team in a half under head coach Mike Brey. In that contest, the Irish also finished the game by hitting 53.8 percent (7-13) from beyond the three-point arc.
  • Notre Dame has shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in 11 games and from three-point range in seven contests.

Streaking Along

  • Luke Harangody, who has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season, has a 30-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to last season. That is the second-longest streak of his career. The longest double-figure scoring streak of his career is 50 games.
  • Harangody has scored in double figures in all but 13 of the 124 games he has played in during his college career.

Moving Up The Charts

  • Luke Harangody reached the 2,000-point plateau against Idaho State (Dec. 1) with the game’s first basket to become the program’s seventh 2,000-point scorer and joined Austin Carr – 2,560 points (1968-71); Adrian Dantley – 2,223 (1973-76); Chris Thomas – 2,195 points (2001-05); Pat Garrity – 2,085 (1994-98) and Troy Murphy – 2,058 (1998-01) in that illustrious group. He currently is second in program history with 2,425 career points. Harangody also is the first player in school history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Harangody reached the 1,000-rebound mark against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 and now has 1,198 career rebounds, which ranks second in school history. He is just the fifth player in Notre Dame basketball history to grab 1,000 rebounds.

Ironmen

  • Irish seniors Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples have logged heavy playing time in their Irish careers. The trio has played in a combined 370 contests and been in the starting lineup on 230 occasions.
  • Harangody has made 108 consecutive starts in the 124 contests he has played as he earned a spot in the starting lineup in the 16th game of his freshman season. He has averaged 29.5 minutes per game throughout his playing career. He missed the only two games of his career last season when he was diagnosed with pneumonia. His 107 starts ties him for seventh all-time.
  • Jackson has never missed a game during his collegiate career (126 contests) and has started 112 games (tied for fifth all-time) while averaging 32.4 minutes per game.
  • Harangody and Jackson are two of eight players in Notre Dame history with 100 or more career starts.
  • Peoples has played in 120 career games. He started the first eight games of this season and has earned 10 starts overall during his career.

Thirty Something Guys

  • Luke Harangody’s season-high 37-point outing against Cincinnati on Feb. 4 marked the fifth time this season that he scored 30-plus points in a game.
  • Harangody’s 36-point outing against USF on Jan. 5 marked his second straight 30-point performance after finishing with 31 in Notre Dame’s loss at Connecticut on Jan. 2. It marked the second time in his career that he has produced back-to-back 30-point outings. Last year against Georgetown, he scored 31 points and followed that up with 30-point outing against Seton Hall.
  • The last Notre Dame player to score 30-plus points in three consecutive games was Adrian Dantley as he scored 30-plus points in six straight games in 1976 – 34 vs. Pittsburgh (1-13-76), 33 vs. Ball State (1-14-76), 35 vs. Xavier (1-17-76), 30 vs. St. Joseph’s (1-21-76), 30 vs. UCLA (1-24-76) and 31 vs. DePaul (1-28-76).
  • Harangody’s other two 30-point outings have come against Liberty (32 points) and Syracuse (31 points).
  • Tim Abromaitis has two 30-point outings of his own this season. He scored 31 points against Central Florida on Dec. 6 and netted 30 points against DePaul on Jan. 23 which marked a career-high in BIG EAST play for the Irish junior.

Terrific Tory

  • Tory Jackson dished off a career-high 15 assists against Syracuse on Jan. 18, including 10 in the first half. It marked the seventh time in his career that he dished off 10 or more assists.
  • The 15 assists were the most for an Irish player in a BIG EAST game and the most since Tim Singleton dished off 14 against Dayton on Feb. 21, 1989.
  • Jackson has turned the ball over just 40 times this season and has had six games this season in which he hasn’t turned the ball over.
  • Jackson keyed Notre Dame’s win at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday against USF as he scored a then season-high 18 points (14 in the second half) and ended the game by scoring 10 of the Irish’s final 20 points.
  • In Thursday night’s loss to Seton Hall, Jackson netted a career-high 25 points, the fourth time in his career with 20-plus points.

Block Party

  • Notre Dame’s 10 blocked shots against IUPUI on Dec. 9 were the most for the Irish since they blocked 10 against Mt. St. Mary’s on Nov. 29, 2003.
  • Luke Harangody and Carleton Scott both registered career-high block totals with five and three, respectively, against the Jaguars. Jonathan Peoples and Tim Abromaitis also added blocks in the contest.
  • Harangody currently ranks eighth in Notre Dame history with 94 career blocks.

Double Trouble

  • Luke Harangody has posted 12 double-doubles this season. He has 63 in his career and eclipsed the program mark of 56 set by LaPhonso Ellis from 1988-92. Harangody notched 25 double-doubles one season ago after registering 19 as a sophomore. He had seven double-doubles during his freshman campaign.

Double The Pleasure Three Times

  • Notre Dame got double-doubles from three players in its win over DePaul on Jan. 23. Luke Harangody netted 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ben Hansbrough scored 15 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds. Tyrone Nash was the third Irish player to produce a double-double as he matched his career with 13 points along with collecting 10 boards. It marked the first double-double of his career.
  • The last time Notre Dame had three players register double-doubles was on Feb. 9, 2002 when the Irish had four players record double-doubles in a 116-111 victory at Georgetown that was decided in four overtimes.

A New Era In Notre Dame Basketball – Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

  • Notre Dame basketball received a facelift in 2009-10 as the largest renovation in Joyce Center history signaled the opening of Purcell Pavilion. The $26.3-million project, which began with groundbreaking ceremonies in September 2008, was made possible by lead gifts from Philip J. Purcell III, Vincent J. Naimoli and Mike Leep, Sr. The renovation encompassed construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena that includes a new three-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area. Replacement of the existing Joyce Center arena seating, including the installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, took place during the summer of 2009 following Commencement Exercises in May.
  • The arena is Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – and the new club/hospitality area (and two outdoor patios) is named the Naimoli Family Sports Club Room. The new varsity shop is named the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop, while the three-story atrium is named after former Notre Dame athletic director Dick Rosenthal.

Class of 2010 Aims For History

  • The Irish senior class of Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson, Jonathan Peoples and Tim Andree is looking to become the all-time winningest class in career and BIG EAST Conference regular-season victories at Notre Dame. The quartet has an 87-39 record for a .690 winning percentage and is 39-25 (.609) overall in BIG EAST play. They need six wins to surpass the 92 wins from the 1975-79 and 1977-81 classes. The most BIG EAST wins are 40 set by Irish teams from 2000-04 and 2004-08.

Andrean Honors Harangody

  • Luke Harangody was honored by his alma mater, Andrean High School, in a special ceremony on Dec. 5 as the school designated the evening Luke Harangody Night. Harangody’s No. 40 jersey that he wore in high school was honored by the school in a pre-game ceremony and was the first-ever to be recognized in this special ceremony.
  • Harangody led Andrean to a 67-29 record, won two Athletic Conference crowns (2005 and 2006) and three sectional titles. A two-time all-state and all-conference honoree, he finished his career with 1,527 points (18.8 ppg.) and 850 rebounds (10.5 rpg.).

Harangody Tabbed As National Player of the Week

  • Luke Harangody was honored by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Jan. 12 after averaging 30.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 57.9 percent (22-38) in Notre Dame’s wins over USF and West Virginia. He topped the 30-point mark for the third time this season when he scored 36 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 74-73 victory against USF. He followed that up with 24 points and five rebounds in the win over the Mountaineers. Harangody also was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career.

Harangody Tops Associated Press Preseason All-America Team

  • Luke Harangody was the leading vote-getter on the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team that was announced Nov. 2. Harangody received 57 votes from the 65-member media panel. Joining him on the preseason AP All-America team was junior Cole Aldrich of Kansas (49 votes), senior Sherron Collins of Kansas (39 votes), junior Patrick Patterson of Kentucky (35 votes) and junior Kyle Singler of Duke (30 votes).
  • Harangody also was one of nine BIG EAST players named to the 50-person 2009-10 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List that was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
  • He was recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason 30 List.

Same Game, New Number

  • Irish fans and opponents will not see the familiar No. 2 worn by Tory Jackson in his first three seasons as he has switched jersey numbers and is wearing No. 3 in 2009-10.

Points a Plenty

  • Notre Dame has scored 80-plus points in 15 of 25 contests this season and scored 90-plus points on seven occasions.
  • The Irish topped the 90-point mark for the second time in as many outings in the 93-78 win over Providence on Dec. 30.
  • In a 101-69 victory over Bucknell on Dec. 22, the Irish topped the 100-point mark for the first time this season and the 12th time during Mike Brey’s tenure.
  • Currently, Notre Dame is averaging 79.7 ppg.
  • Through its first five games, Notre Dame was averaging 86.8 points per game and yielding just 66.6 to its opponents. The Irish opened up the season scoring 80 or more points in all five games. The last time Notre Dame topped the 80-point mark in the first five games of a season was in 1978-79.
  • The Irish averaged just 61.0 ppg. in the final two games of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the UIC Pavilion. The 58 points in a 72-58 loss to Northwestern were the fewest scored by Notre Dame since a 66-48 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 6, 2007.

Irish Aim For Fourth Straight 20-Win Season

  • Notre Dame will be looking for its fourth straight 20-win season in 2009-10. The Irish recorded a 24-8 record in 2006-07, finished 25-8 in 2008-09 and posted a 21-15 mark in 2008-09. Notre Dame last had three consecutive 20-win campaigns in head coach Mike Brey’s first three seasons from 2000-03. The last time Irish teams reached the 20-win mark in four straight campaigns was from 1983-89 when those Notre Dame squads under former head coach Digger Phelps had six consecutive 20-win seasons.

Postseason Stretch

  • Notre Dame has earned appearances in the postseason in each of the last 10 years – it’s the longest stretch in school history. The Irish have been in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions and in the National Invitation Tournament five times during this current stretch.
  • Under 10th-year head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame has played in the NCAA five times and NIT four times. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003.

Non-Conference Home Win Streak Snapped

  • Notre Dame had its 41-game non-conference home win streak snapped on Dec. 12 in its 87-85 loss to Loyola Marymount. The Irish last lost to a non-conference opponent at home when they suffered a 71-57 setback to Michigan on Dec. 3, 2005.

The Captains

The One And Only

  • Luke Harangody reached a milestone never before achieved by an Irish basketball player – 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds – on Dec. 1 against Idaho State. He scored his 2,000th career point against the Bengals and reached the 1,000-rebound mark with his 15 boards against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 to become only the fifth player in the 105-year history of the program to accomplish that feat.
  • Harangody currently ranks second all-time in Notre Dame history with 2,425 points along with standing second with 1,198 rebounds.
  • While he is the only player in Notre Dame basketball history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, he is one of only five players to have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds, The others are:
    Tom Hawkins (1956-59): 1,746 points, 1,318 rebounds
    Bob Whitmore (1966-69): 1,580 points, 1,043 rebounds
    LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92): 1,505 points, 1,075 rebounds
    Walter Sahm (1962-65): 1,077 points, 1,146 rebounds

Jackson Tops 600 Career Assists

  • Tory Jackson became the second player in school history to reach 600 career assists with his three assists against Cincinnati on Jan. 16. He has 652 in 126 career outings to rank second all-time in that category. Chris Thomas (2001-05) is Notre Dame’s career assists leader with 833.

Elder Statesman

  • Mike Brey is in his 10th season along the Irish sidelines and is the third-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Brey stands sixth all-time in the BIG EAST with 98 victories (98-74 overall that includes regular-season and tournament contests). He is two wins shy of becoming just the sixth coach in BIG EAST history to record 100 conference wins.

BIG EAST All-Time Winningest Coaches By Victories
(Includes conference regular-season and championship games)
1. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 367
2. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 286
3. John Thompson, Georgetown 231
4. Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s 139
5. Rollie Massimino, Villanova 123
6. Mike Brey, Notre Dame 98

Jackson Becomes 50th 1,000-Point Scorer in Notre Dame History

  • Tory Jackson became the 50th player in program history to score 1,000 career points when he reached that mark against Bucknell on Dec. 22. He owns a scoring average of 8.8 points and has played in all 126 games of his Irish career.
  • With 652 career assists, he is just the fourth player in school history with 1,000 career points and 500 assists.
  • The three other Irish players with 1,000 points and 500 assists are: Chris Thomas (2001-05): 2,195 points, 833 assists David Rivers (1984-88): 2,011 points, 586 assists Elmer Bennett (1956-59): 1,488 points, 516 assists

A BEN-e-ful Debut

  • Senior guard Ben Hansbrough had a successful debut in an Irish uniform against North Florida in the season opener as he scored 19 points and dished off four assists in 31 minutes. Hansbrough was 5-6 from the field in the contest.
  • He finished 5-5 from three-point range and in the process tied a Purcell Pavilion record for three-point field goal percentage.
  • Hansbrough followed that performance up with 18 points and seven assists against St. Francis.
  • Hansbrough has scored in double figures 16 times this season. He deposited a season-high 22 points against IUPUI on Dec. 9.
  • He had a career-best nine-game double-figure scoring streak snapped against USF when he scored just three points against the Bulls on Jan. 5.
  • Hansbrough has notched two double-doubles this season. He registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists against Providence in the BIG EAST opener on Dec. 30. Hansbrough was one of three Irish players to record a double-double against DePaul on Jan. 23. He had 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds versus the Blue Demons.

BIG EAST Debut

  • Ben Hansbrough didn’t display any jitters in his BIG EAST debut as he recorded his first career double-double against Providence on Dec. 30 with 10 points and career-high 10 assists. He also had a then career-high eight rebounds in the contest. Hansbrough followed that up with 14 points against Connecticut on Jan. 2.
  • In Notre Dame’s win over West Virginia, Hansbrough matched his career high with 10 assists while not committing a turnover in 39 minutes. He also grabbed a then personal best nine rebounds. He also did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes of action against Cincinnati.
  • In Notre Dame’s last 10 games, spanning 383 minutes, he as turned the ball over just 16 times.

Making It Count

  • Junior forward Tim Abromaitis, who played in just 12 games as a freshman in 2007-08 and did not play at all during the 2008-09 campaign, has had more than timely contributions in Notre Dame’s 25 games as he is averaging 16.6 points (second leading scorer) and 4.8 rebounds this season.
  • Abromaitis has scored in double figures in all but three games and topped the 20-point mark on six occasions.
  • Making his first career start in Notre Dame’s win over UCF on Dec. 6, he scored a career-high 31 points as he connected on 10-17 shots from the field, 3-7 from three-point range and was 8-9 from the charity stripe.
  • Abromaitis registered the second 30-plus outing of his career on Jan. 23 as he led the Irish with 30 points versus DePaul as he connected on 9-16 shots from the field and was 5-9 from three-point range. It marked the most points ever for Abromaitis in a BIG EAST game and came off a 26-point effort against Syracuse in which he connected on 10 field goals (five from three-point range).
  • He recorded his first career double-double against Rutgers when he scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
  • He is shooting 52.2 percent from the field (133-255) and 48.3 from three-point range (69-143) and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line (80-90). He leads the Irish in both three-point and free-throw percentage.
  • Abromaitis scored in double figures in Notre Dame’s first seven games and in 22 games overall.
  • Abromaitis stands second nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.483).

Nearly Perfect

  • Tim Abromaitis went 8-9 from the charity stripe against UCF on Dec. 6 and missed not only his first free throw of the season, but also the first one of his career.
  • Abromaitis was a perfect 12-12 from the line in the loss to Seton Hall on Thursday. That marked his most made shots and attempts from the line.
  • Overall in his career, he has converted on 87 of 97 attempts (.882). Prior to the miss against UCF, he had been good on all 21 of his free throw attempts.

Rock Solid

  • Notre Dame’s backcourt tandem of seniors Tory Jackson and Ben Hansbrough have combined for 265 assists and they have turned the ball over just 84 times.
  • Jackson owns a 3.11 assist-to-turnover ratio (143 assists, 46turnovers), while Hansbrough stands at 3.21 (122 assists, 38 turnovers). Jackson is fifth nationally in that category, while Hansbrough is third. Notre Dame is the only school in the country with two players in the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • Jackson is averaging a turnover every 19.5 minutes, while Hansbrough is averaging a turnover every 22.1 minutes.
  • Against Providence, they dished off 17 of the team’s 21 assists and accounted for 17 of the team’s 21 assists against West Virgnia.
  • In Notre Dame’s 10 conference games, they have combined for 136 of the team’s 211 assists (.645) and have turned the ball over just 48 times while playing a combined 889 minutes.

The Peoples’ Choice

  • Senior guard Jonathan Peoples scored a career-high 23 points and matched his personal best with six rebounds against Providence on Dec. 30. He was 6-7 from the field and 5-5 from three-point range. He connected on his first five shots (all from three-point range) and had already eclipsed his career high with 17 first-half points.
  • Peoples started the first eight games of the 2009-10 campaign and has made 10 starts during his career. In the season-opening win over North Florida, he played a career-high 30 minutes in the contest and notched his third career double-figure outing as he scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including a 3-5 performance from three-point range. Peoples also reached double figures against Long Beach State as he scored 10 points.
  • Overall in his career he has scored in double figures in five games.

A Coming Out Party

  • Junior forward Carleton Scott had his best outing in an Irish uniform against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 as he notched seven points and two assists along with grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds in 22 minutes.
  • He put together another solid effort against Northwestern as he played a career-high 26 minutes and had seven points and eight rebounds.
  • Scott scored a career-high eight points on 4-4 shooting in 21 minutes against Idaho State.
  • He had a career-high four blocks against Bucknell on Dec. 22.

Hitting The Boards

  • Tyrone Nash had one of the most complete outings of the season against DePaul on Jan. 23 as he recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
  • He matched his career best of 13 points for the fourth time this season in Thursday night’s loss to Seton Hall.
  • Nash has hauled in 10 or more rebounds two times this season and he has scored in double-figures on nine occasions, including five times in the past seven games.
  • A recent string of three straight games in double figures is the longest of his career. He matched his career-high with 13 points against West Virginia (Jan. 9) after scoring 11 points in both the Connecticut (Jan. 2) and USF (Jan. 5) contests.
  • He scored a career-high 13 points against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 12 and also finished with nine rebounds to post one of the best outings of his career. He followed that up with an 11-point performance against UCLA.
  • In Notre Dame’s win over Saint Louis on Nov. 28 as he finished with 10 boards.

Hammer Time

  • Freshman Mike Broghammer has become a crowd favorite and has been affectionately dubbed “The Hammer” by the Irish student body.
  • Broghammer played a career-high nine minutes against Idaho State on Dec. 1 and finished with three points and three rebounds. He tallied four points in seven minutes of play against IUPUI on Dec. 9.

Getting In The Act

  • Joey Brooks and Jack Cooley had “coming out parties” of their own on Dec. 22 against Bucknell. Both played career-high minutes with Brooks seeing action for 12 minutes off the bench and Cooley playing 11 minutes. Brooks scored 12 points and dished off two assists, while Cooley scored five points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Now That’s Something To Talk About

  • Notre Dame has won 67 of its last 72 home games that included a school-record 45-game win streak from 2006-09. The Irish also tied a BIG EAST mark by winning 20 straight conference home games during that time period. Notre Dame became the first BIG EAST team in conference history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons at home after finishing 17-0 in ’06-’07 and 18-0 in ’07-’08. Here’s a look at the dominance of the Irish over the course of the last 72 contests at home:
    Notre Dame Opponents
    FG Pct. 2032-4305 (.472) 1801-4423 (.407)
    3-FG Pct. 627-1542 (.407) 493-1488 (.331)
    Points/Avg. 5,936 (82.4 ppg.) 4,770 (66.3 ppg.)
    Margin of Victory +1,163 points (+16.2 per game)

    Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 29 of 71 games; opponents have shot .500 or better in 7 of 71 games. There have been 48 wins by 10-plus points; 24 wins by 20-plus points; 15 wins by 30-plus points; 5 wins by 40-plus points; and 1 win by 50-plus points.

Statistical Champions

  • Notre Dame finished first nationally in 2008-09 in two statistical categories – turnovers (9.5) and assist to turnovers (1.75).
  • In 2007-08, the Irish led the nation in assists with 18.4 per game.

105 Years Young

  • The 2009-10 campaign marks the 105th season of basketball at Notre Dame and the 15th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame teams have posted a 1668-916 record for a .646 winning percentage. In 15 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, the Irish own a 129-119 (.520) record all-time in conference regular-season play.

BIG EAST Turnaround

  • During head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Notre Dame has had only two losing seasons in BIG EAST play – 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-10 in 2008-09. Since the ’05-’06 campaign when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST campaign with a 1-8 record, Notre Dame has gone 44-27 (.620) over the last 71 regular-season league games.

BIG EAST Formula For Success

  • Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led the Irish to a 94-66 (.588) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 4-9 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 98-75 (.566) against league foes. In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the league’s West Division title with an 11-5 mark. Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record from 1995-2000.

364 And Counting

  • Entering tonight’s contest against St. John’s, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 364 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer in a game was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc. In 2008-09, the Irish set a single-season three-point record with 319.

Living Large At The Line

  • Notre Dame is shooting 72.5 percent from the free throw line, led by Tim Abromaitis’ 88.9 percent accuracy as he has connected on 80-90 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Irish have outscored their opponents 400-291 from the line, while attempting 152 more free throws (6.1 per game). Notre Dame is 400-552 from the free-throw line, while opponents have made 72.8 percent (291-400).

Irish Sign Three Guards In Early Signing Period

  • Irish head coach Mike Brey signed a trio of guards during the early signing period in November: Eric Atkins (Columbia, Md./Mount St. Joseph/6-1, 170); Alex Dragicevich (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North/6-6, 210) and Jerian Grant (Bowie, Md./DeMatha/6-5, 180). Atkins averaged 23.4 points, 6.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 steals en route to earning Baltimore Catholic League player-of-the-year honors and first team all-Baltimore Metro honors. Dragicevich led his Glenbrook North squad to a 23-5 record in 2008-09 while averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists and being selected as the Central Suburban League North Player of the Year. Grant will be one of three members from the current Notre Dame men’s basketball family who attended DeMatha, which also is the alma mater of Brey and assistant Rod Balanis. As a junior, he averaged 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists and led his team to a final 32-4 mark and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

It’s Academic

  • The Irish finished the 2009 fall semester with a 2.966 grade point average. The Irish starting five posted a GPA of 3.150 with four of five starters earning better than a 3.00. Tim Abromaitis led the way with 3.834, while Luke Harangody had a 3.133.
  • Notre Dame has achieved a GPA of 3.00 and above in nine of the last 12 semesters and its cumulative grade index has been above a 3.00 in 11 consecutive semesters spanning five-and-a-half years.
  • Members of the 2008-09 Irish squad earned a 3.151 following the 2008 fall semester, and, for the academic year, produced a 3.165 GPA.
  • Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Academic Sport Excellence Award for men’s basketball for the second time in as many years last season. The BIG EAST began recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport in 2008. The Irish men’s basketball team has won it each of the two years it has been presented and joined two other Notre Dame squads (men’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis) as recipients in 2009.
  • Seven players were named to the 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team, while 10 of the 14 members of the squad earned a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the spring semester.

Trends Under Brey

  • Under Irish head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame always has been a team that has had a high number of assists and very few turnovers. Here’s a look a the Irish under Brey:
FGs Assts TOs Asst/Bskt Asst/TO
2000-01 814 527 434 .647 1.21
2001-02 934 629 435 .673 1.45
2002-03 917 558 446 .609 1.25
2003-04 766 434 329 .567 1.32
2004-05 671 415 341 .618 1.22
2005-06 772 468 364 .606 1.29
2006-07 869 552 414 .635 1.33
2007-08 914 608 429 .665 1.42
2008-09 988 601 343 .608 1.75
2009-10 698 455 258 .652 1.76