TJ Gibbs vs. Louisville

Irish Back On The Road At Georgia Tech

NOTRE DAME AT GEORGIA TECH

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (10-6, 1-4) will be looking for its second victory on the road in Atlantic Coast Conference play and third consecutive win over Georgia Tech (8-8, 3-3) when the two teams meet at McCamish Pavilion late Wednesday night (8:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network).

  • The Irish and Yellow Jackets will be meeting for the 22nd time, with Georgia Tech holding an 11-10 advantage in the series. Notre Dame is 7-5 against Georgia Tech in ACC competition.
  • The series has been dominated by the home team. Georgia Tech is 10-1 against Notre Dame in McCamish Pavilion (the lone victory by Irish 2015 ACC Championship team by three points), while Purcell Pavilion and The Fieldhouse have been just as effective for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is 8-2 all-time at home against Georgia Tech.
  • Notre Dame and Georgia Tech met three times last season, with each team earning a home court victory and the Irish eliminating the Yellow Jackets in the first round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Mike Brey is 8-6 against Georgia Tech. Those six losses have come by a combined 18 points (3.0 ppg).
  • Notre Dame Associate Head Coach Rod Balanis is a 1994 graduate of Georgia Tech and played for legendary Yellow Jacket head coach Bobby Cremins. Balanis was a part of teams that made four trips to the NCAA Championship tournament while earning two Sweet 16 berths and a trip to the 1990 Final Four in Denver, Colorado.
NOTRE DAMEGAME DAY INFORMATION
DateWednesday, January 15, 2020
Time8:30 p.m. ET
Site: McCamish Pavilion
• Atlanta, GA
• Capacity 8,600
TV:ACC Network
• Jay Alter (play-by-play)
• Paul Biancardi (analyst)
Available online through network carrier authentication.

Radio:Notre Dame Radio Network
• Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
Available locally on WSBT AM/FM and worldwide on und.com.
Tickets:Tickets available via the Notre Dame Vivid Ticket Exhange

Notre Dame MBB Notes at Georgia Tech (PDF)

BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH AT YELLOW JACKETS

1

Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of fouls committed per game (11.7).

1

Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.83. The Irish are ahead of Gonzaga (1.65) and Virginia Tech (1.61). Notre Dame has 291 assists this season compared to just 159 turnovers.

1

Senior John Mooney is leads the nation in rebounds-per-game with a 13.9 average. Mooney has recorded double-doubles in 13 of 15 games played this season – and in 10 consecutive games. He is the only player in Division I averaging 15-plus points and 13-plus rebounds per game this season. 

2

Notre Dame is second in the country in least amount of turnovers committed per game (9.9).

3

Notre Dame is the only ACC team with three players in the top six of the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (all games). Senior T.J. Gibbs is second (3.11), graduate student Rex Pflueger is third (2.33) and sophomore Prentiss Hubb is sixth (2.10). In addition, all three players rank in the top 25 among major conference players this season (Gibbs third, Pflueger t-14th, Hubb 24th).

3

Key shooting percentage categories in which T.J. Gibbs ranks among the best in the ACC (conference games). Gibbs is second in FG% (29-50, .580), second in FT% (19-21, .905) and second in 3FG% (14-25, .560).

10

With 15 points and and a season-high 19 rebounds against No. 13/11 Louisville on Saturday, John Mooney posted his 10th consecutive dobule-double of the season. He has surpassed his personal-best of eight consecutive double-doubles from last season and is one away from matching the school record of 11, set by Luke Harangody in the 2008-09 season. Mooney is the only Notre Dame player to boast two runs of eight or more consecutive double-doubles in a career. See pages 4 and 5 for more details.

10.5

John Mooney’s stats continue to pace the nation and place the Orlando, Florida, native as the best rebounder in the country. Rated first in overall rebounding in Division I, Mooney leads all Division I players with a 10.5 defensive rebounds per game average and is the only Division I player averaging over 10 defensive rebounds per game.

13

John Mooney is second in the NCAA lead in double-doubles behind Paul Reed of DePaul (14), as of Monday, January 13. (Mooney also has logged 10 consecutive double-doubles entering the Georgia Tech game). 

18

Glenn and Stacey Murphy head men’s basketball coach Mike Brey is 8-6 at Notre Dame against Georgia Tech with those six losses occurring by a total of 18 points (3.0 ppg).

18.2

Notre Dame is currently ranked fifth in the country and first in the ACC in assists per game with an 18.2 average. The Irish have five 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).

22

Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will be meeting for the 22nd time on Wednesday night. The series has been controlled by the team playing on its home court. The Yellow Jackets are 10-1 at McCamish Pavilion while Notre Dame is 8-2 at home against Georgia Tech.

33

The Irish compiled 33 team assists in the victory over Detroit Mercy on December 10, matching the school record set at Manhattan in 1986. It was the most of the Mike Brey era and just the fourth time a Notre Dame team has reached 30 or more assists in a game.

61

With 34 double-doubles in 55 career starts, John Mooney has posted the best double-double per start percentage (.611) since game starts became an official game stat in the 1978-79 season. See page 4 for more details.

68

Percentage of assists per field goal for the Irish this season, second in the nation (.675) behind Michigan State (.684).

200

John Mooney reached 200 rebounds (currently he has 209) in 15 games this season, matching Blake Griffin (2008-09) as the fastest major conference player to reach that mark since Tim Duncan did it in 14 games during the 1996-97 season.

1,360

Career points scored by T.J. Gibbs as he closes in on becoming the 24th Notre Dame player to score 1,400 or more points in a career.

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

9.9

2

2

1.83

1

1

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. So far, in 2019-20, the Irish are ahead of Virginia Tech (12.3) for the NCAA lead in least amount of fouls per game (11.9).

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

11.9

1

1

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

Notre Dame faced its traditional ACC rivals – Boston College and Georgia Tech – five times last season. The Irish swept the Eagles, split a home-and-home with Tech and then defeated the Yellow Jackets in the ACC tournament. Notre Dame lost its first game in this four-game series to Boston College in December, but still boasts a 19-6 record against these two opponents in league play since joining the ACC in 2013-14. That mark is the best in the conference against a team’s dedicated home-and-home opponents.

RECORD VS. ACC ANNUAL HOME-AND-HOME OPPONENTS

Team

Opponent

Opponent

Record

NOTRE DAME

Boston College

Georgia Tech

19-6

Duke

North Carolina

Wake Forest

18-7

North Carolina

Duke

NC State

16-8

Syracuse

Boston College

Pittsburgh

16-8

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Louisville

16-8*

* – 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.

MOONEY LEADS THE COUNTRY IN REBOUNDING

Senior forward John Mooney leads the nation in rebounds per game with a 13.9 average. Mooney is the only Division I player in the country averaging 15-plus points and 13-plus rebounds per game (as of January 9, 2020).

NATIONAL REBOUNDING LEADERS:

Player

School

Reb/Game

JOHN MOONEY

NOTRE DAME

13.93

Kevin Marfo

Quinnipiac

13.85

Willie Jackson

Toledo

12.5

Daniel Oturu

Minnesota

11.9

Cletrell Pope

Bethune Cookman

11.8

James Butler

Drexel

11.8

Manny Camper

Siena

11.5

Paul Reed

DePaul

11.1

MOONEY CLIMBING THE CAREER REBOUND CHART

Passing 700 career rebounds against Syracuse, John Mooney became the seventh Mike Brey-era (2000-01- current) player to collect 700 or more rebounds. The Notre Dame career rebounding chart is on the sidebar (Mooney is currently the 17th overall career rebounder in Notre Dame history).

BREY ERA REBOUNDING TOTALS

Player

Seasons

Rebounds

Luke Harangody

2006-10

1,222

Torin Francis

2002-06

969

Bonzie Colson

2014-18

900

Pat Connaughton

2011-15

823

Zach Auguste

2012-16

822

Jack Cooley

2009-13

792

JOHN MOONEY

2015-20

739

Rob Kurz

2004-08

650

MOONEY GRABS 200 REBOUNDS IN JUST 15 GAMES

John Mooney reached the 200 rebound plateau in just his 15th game played against Louisville on Jan. 11. That matches Blake Griffin (2008-09) for the fastest to 200 rebounds in a season since Tim Duncan did it in 14 games during the 1996-97 season.

FEWEST GAMES TO 200 REBOUNDS, SINCE 1996-97, MAJOR CONFERENCES

Tim Duncan

Wake Forest

1996-97

14

JOHN MOONEY

Notre Dame

2019-20

15

Blake Griffin

Oklahoma

2008-09

15

Luke Harangody

Notre Dame

2008-09

16

Seven Others

16

FEWEST GAMES TO 200 REBOUNDS, SINCE 1996-97, ALL DIVISION I

Tim Duncan

Wake Forest

1996-97

14

Adonal Foyle

Colgate

1996-97

14

JOHN MOONEY

Notre Dame

2019-20

15

Five Others

15

MOONEY CLOSING IN ON CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE-DOUBLES MARK

Now with 10 consecutive double-doubles and 13 in 15 games played this season, senior John Mooney is threatening the school record for consecutive games with a double-double. Luke Harangody set the mark with 11 straight in 2008-09.

Player

Consecutive Double-Doubles

Year

Luke Harangody

11

2008-09

JOHN MOONEY

10

2019-20

Armand Reo

10

1961-62

LaPhonso Ellis

9

1991-92

John Mooney

8

2018-19

Walt Sam

8

1964-65

MOONEY POSTING DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 60 PERCENT OF HIS CAREER STARTS

Up to 34 career double-doubles (ninth all-time at Notre Dame), John Mooney has posted nearly all of his career double-doubles in the past two seasons. He has earned a double-double in 34 of 55 starts – a .618 percentage that has not been seen since game starts became an official stat in the 1978-79 season. Expand to just games played against some of the top double-double performers in school history and the .611 percentage remains among the best.

Player

Double-Doubles

Starts

Double-Double Percentage

Seasons

Walt Sahm

43

68*

.632

1962-65

JOHN MOONEY

34

55

.618

2016-current

Luke Harangody

64

108

.592

2006-10

Bob Whitmore

47

84*

.559

1966-69

Ron Reed

33

61*

.540

1962-65

Bob Arnzen

44

82*

.536

1966-69

Ryan Humphrey

32

60

.533

2000-02

* – career game starts unavailable, total games played statistic used

MOONEY ONE OF JUST SIX  MAJOR CONFERENCE PLAYERS TO AVERAGE A DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Senior forward John Mooney is the only player in the country averaging over 15 points and 13 rebounds per game and one of only six major conference players to average a double-double this season.

MAJOR CONFERENCE PLAYERS TO AVERAGE A DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN 2019-20

Player

Team

Points

Rebounds

JOHN MOONEY

NOTRE DAME

15.7

13.9

Luka Garza

Iowa

22.0

10.8

Daniel Oturu

Minnesota

19.9

11.9

Paul Reed

DePaul

15.4

11.1

Xavier Tillman

Michigan State

13.9

10.0

Reggie Perry

Mississippi State

15.5

10.0

MOONEY EYES ACC REBOUNDING MARK

John Mooney finished the 2018-19 ACC schedule averaging 12.6 rebounds per game in ACC play, which was the second-highest since Tim Duncan led the league with a 14.9 average in 1996-97.

So far in 2019-20, Mooney has pulled down 73 rebounds in five conference games for a 14.6 average.

REBOUND PER GAME AVERAGE, ACC PLAY (since 1988)

Avg

Player

Team

Year

14. 9

Tim Duncan

Wake Forest

1997

14.6

JOHN MOONEY

Notre Dame

2020

12.6

John Mooney

Notre Dame

2019

12.3

Sean May

North Carolina

2005

12.2

Tim Duncan

Wake Forest

1995

11.9

Marvin Bagley III

Duke

2018

11.9

Dale Davis

Clemson

1992

11.7

Dale Davis

Clemson

1990

STATISTICAL MILESTONES

Notre Dame’s veteran players are approaching, or have reached, some noteworthy statistical milestones:

Player

Milestone

Current Stat

All-Time ND Rank

Brey-Era Rank

Milestones Reached

John Mooney

700 rebounds

706

21

7

T.J. Gibbs

200 3FGM

203

10

10

Juwan Durham

100 blocks

104

9

8

Milestones Ahead

Rex Pflueger

300 assists

296

21

11

Rex Pflueger

130 games

125

8

8

T.J. Gibbs

4000 minutes

3586

9

9

John Mooney

1000 points

915

64

24

John Mooney

800 rebounds

739

15

6

T.J. Gibbs

350 assists

337

16

10

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

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 those statistical marks in combination.

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 those statistical marks.

Entering the Georgia Tech game, Pflueger is at 670 points, 382 rebounds, 296 assists and 128 steals.

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

670

382

296

128

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 2.5 (2.46) 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

2.5

LaPhonso Ellis

1988-92

2.1

Durham’s 106 total blocks at Notre Dame currently rank him ninth all-time (see sidebar). Jordan Cornette is the Notre Dame blocked shots record holder with 201 from 2001-05.

GIBBS CLOSING IN ON NOTRE DAME CAREER ACC SCORING MARK

Senior T.J. Gibbs has appeared in 58 ACC regular-season games and is closing in on the career scoring mark, held by Steve Vasturia (72 games, 739 points).

Player

Seasons

ACC Games

Points

PPG

Steve Vasturia

2016-20

72

739

10.3

T.J. GIBBS

2016-current

58

697

12.0

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

45

489

10.9

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 13th on the scoirng list with 697 points. Luke Harangody (1,329) and Chris Thomas (1,099) pace the Irish record books in terms of all-time point totals in conference play.

GIBBS JOINS 1,000-300-200-100 CLUB

Senior T.J. Gibbs, who reached the 1,000-point career mark last season, has joined another exclusive club. With 325 assists, Gibbs has now recorded 1,000 points, 300 assists, 200 rebounds and 100 steals in his time at Notre Dame.

Only Chris Thomas, Jerian Grant, Chris Quinn, Eric Atkins, Steve Vasturia, Tory Jackson and Demetrius Jackson all reached those milestones under Mike Brey at Notre Dame.

PFLUEGER JOINS 300-200-100 CLUB

Graduate student Rex Pflueger is one of just 10 players since 1996-97 (the year Notre Dame joined a conference) to compile 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career.

The list of players who have reached the 300-200-100 plateau: Chris Thomas, Tory Jackson, David Graves, Jerian Grant, Chris Quinn, Eric Atkins, Steve Vasturia, Matt Carroll, Demetrius Jackson, T.J. Gibbs and Pflueger.

A NOTEWORTHY VICTORY

Notre Dame’s 110-71 victory over Detroit Mercy on Tuesday, December 10, saw the Irish post several program-bests and individual career highs. Here is a glimpse at some of the superlatives Notre Dame logged against the Titans:

TEAM SUPERLATIVES

Assists – 33 – tied school record set at Manhattan in 1986, best of Brey era

Three Point Field Goals – 20 – tied school record set vs. Villanova in 2008

Field Goals Made – 41 – tied for second-most of Brey era

Points In Regulation – 110 – most in Brey era (Irish scored 116 points in 4OT vs. Georgetown in 2002)

INDIVIDUAL SUPERALTIVES

Points – 27 – Sophomore Dane Goodwin – also second-most off the bench in the Brey era (Bonzie Colson had 31 vs. Duke in 2016)

Points – 16 – (career-high matching) Senior Juwan Durham

Three-Point Field Goals – 6 – (career-high matching) Senior T.J. Gibbs

Three-Point Field Goals – 5 – Sophomore Dane Goodwin

Assists – 11 – Sophomore Prentiss Hubb

Assists – 8 – Senior T.J. Gibbs

Rebounds – 7 – (career-high matching) Sophomore Dane Goodwin

PFLUEGER MAKES WINNING PLAYS

Graduate student Rex Pflueger, who missed the final 23 games of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL in his left leg, returned to the lineup in the season opener this season and has quickly returned to form. Dating back to his freshman season when his last-second tip in in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Stephen F. Austin pushed Notre Dame to the Sweet 16, Pflueger has been making winning plays for the Irish – with the come-from-behind victory over Toledo the latest example.

A breakdown of Pflueger’s big plays over the final three minutes and overtime of the win over the Rockets:

Time Remaining

Play

Led To

Notes

2:51

Steal

Hubb Lay Up

Cut Toledo lead to three

0:29

Steal

Pflueger FT

Cut Toledo lead back to two

1.5 seconds

Assist

Laszewski 3FG

Executed baseline out of bounds play to send game to overtime

4:21 OT

Rebound

Goodwin FG

Rebound first miss in OT

0:25 OT

Lay Up

Pflueger FG

Back door cut to open lay up, give ND lead in overtime

0:01 OT

Free Throws

Pflueger 2 FT

Two free throws provide the winning points

IRISH CLAIM MABC HONORS

The University of Notre Dame capped off a clean run through the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational with a 64-62 overtime victory against Toledo on Thursday, November 21. Combined with a victory in the 2018 Gotham Classic Showcase Game, Notre Dame has won 15 of its last 16 in-season tournament contests – a run that includes the 2016 Legends Classic Championship and the 2017 Maui Invitational title.

John Mooney added to his personal trophy case by garnering MABC MVP honors (as voted on by media members attending each contest). Mooney follows up on his MVP honors in the Gotham Classic Showcase game from last season. Graduate student Rex Pflueger and sophomore Dane Goodwin were named to the MABC All-Tournament Team as well.

A look at Mooney, Pflueger and Goodwin’s statistics during the four game MABC Invitational:

Player

MP

FG

FGA

FG%

3FG

3FGA

3FG%

FT

FTA

FT%

REB

REB/G

AST

BLK

STL

PTS

PTS/G

Mooney

118

25

60

.417

5

19

.263

8

17

.471

57

14.3

11

3

5

63

15.8

Pflueger

104

8

27

.296

3

14

.214

8

9

.889

18

4.5

12

1

8

27

6.8

Goodwin

96

20

37

.541

6

13

.462

10

11

.909

17

4.3

4

1

3

56

14.0

MOST ACTIVE FRESHMAN CLASS SINCE 1972-73 NOW SOPHOMORES

The five-person freshman class of Robby Carmody, Chris Doherty, Dane Goodwin, Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski combined to play 2,680 minutes in 2018-19 – the most of the Mike Brey era and since freshman became eligible at Notre Dame in 1972-73.

FRESHMAN PLAYING TIME – SINCE 1972-73

Season

Number of Players

Minutes Played

2018-19

5

2,680

1999-2000

4

2,332

1998-99

5*

2,211

1973-74

6

2,031

1982-83

5

2,060

1988-89

5

1,974

* – three scholarship players

KELLY TRIPUCKA TO ENTER THE PURCELL PAVILION RING OF HONOR

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball program has announced that Kelly Tripucka (1977-81) will be inducted into the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor on February 1, 2020. A three-time All-American and 12th-leading scorer in school history, Tripucka will be the ninth men’s basketball addition to the Ring of Honor, which is the highest honor the program can bestow on a former student-athlete or coach.

Tripucka was an energizing force during one of the most successful periods of men’s basketball at the University of Notre Dame. A Notre Dame legacy, Tripucka’s father, Frank, was a standout quarterback for the Fighting Irish football team and an NFL first-round draft pick in 1949. After a remarkable prep career at Bloomfield High School, Tripucka helped the Irish compile a 92-26 four-year record with each of Tripucka’s teams appearing in the NCAA tournament.

A versatile and athletic player who could drive by slower defenders, post up smaller defenders and shoot over any player, Tripucka saved his more noteworthy performances for Notre Dame’s top-ranked opponents. As a rookie he secured his spot in a talented starting lineup with a 15-point second half against defending national champion and top-ranked Marquette (Feb. 26, 1978) as the Irish erased a 14-point lead for a 65-59 victory.

Later that year Tripucka was named the Most Valuable Player of the Midwest Regional that propelled Notre Dame to the 1978 Final Four by scoring 20 points against Utah in the Sweet 16, then putting up 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Elite Eight victory over rival DePaul.

He also led Notre Dame by scoring 28 points in the legendary double overtime victory over top-ranked and undefeated DePaul (25-0) on February 27, 1980 – a contest considered to this day as one of the most thrilling in the history of Purcell Pavilion.

Upon the completion of his four years at Notre Dame, Tripucka was fourth on the all-time scoring list (1,719), fifth in field goal percentage (.548), third in free throw percentage (.798) and third in free throws made (461). He owns the Notre Dame single-game record for free throws attempted and made, connecting on 23 of 26 attempts against Dayton on February 3, 1979. Tripucka’s teams at Notre Dame claimed 11 wins over top-10 teams including three victories over a top-ranked team (Marquette, DePaul and Virginia).

Tripucka was selected 12th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1981 NBA Draft. He earned an all-star berth in his rookie season and spent five successful seasons in Detroit before being traded to the Utah Jazz for Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor inductee and former teammate Adrian Dantley. After two seasons with the Jazz, Tripucka helped launch the expansion Charlotte Hornets franchise, leading the team with 22.6 points per game during the franchise’s inaugural season.

Over his 10 seasons in the NBA, Tripucka scored 12,142 points (17.2 per game) with 2,703 rebounds and 2,090 assists while earning two All-Star game selections.

Inducted into the National Polish-American Hall of Fame in 2000, Tripucka also has been named the New Jersey Star-Ledger “New Jersey Boys’ Basketball Player of the Century’ and in 2008 was named to the “50 Greatest Pistons” team.

Tripucka will be honored at halftime of the Notre Dame – Georgia Tech game on February 1, 2020. The game is scheduled to tip off at 12 noon ET.