Irish Battle Hurricanes Thursday

March 9, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team, which won its first-ever BIG EAST tournament on Wednesday with a 74-62 decision over No. 10 seed Rutgers in the first round game, plays No. 2 seed and BIG EAST co-champion Miami in the quarterfinals of the 2000 BIG EAST Championship. The Irish enter this evening’s contest with an overall record of 18-13 after posting an 8-8 league mark. The Hurricanes, who received a first round bye, are 20-9 overall and and were 13-3 in the league.

With last night’s win over the Scarlet Knights, the Irish have now won two straight games. Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.), the 2000 BIG EAST player-of-the-year, led all scorers and rebounders against the Scarlet Knights with 25 points and 14 boards as he registered his 19th double-double of the season. Three other Irish players were in double figures in the game as David Graves (Lexington, Ky.), Harold Swanagan (Hopkinsville, Ky.) and Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) each finished with 10 points.

Notre Dame concluded its regular season with a 77-54 win over Georgetown on Saturday. The 23-point margin of victory was the most ever for the Irish in a BIG EAST road game and tied their highest in history.

In Notre Dame’s win over Seton Hall on Feb. 19, Graves hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left to play to give the Irish the winning margin. The shot was the second buzzer-beater of the season for Graves as he hit a jumper on Nov. 16 against ’99 Final Four participant Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament in Columbus to give the Irish a 59-57 win. Notre Dame went on to finish fourth in that event.

Notre Dame has played a total of 10 games against ranked teams this season and have posted a 5-5 record in those contests with wins over Connecticut (No. 2 and No. 13), Ohio State (No. 5), St. John’s (No. 23) and Seton Hall (No. 23).

The Irish also have lost a pair of overtime games – an 81-64 loss at Indiana on Nov. 30 (the Hoosiers went out to a 22-4 lead in that contest) and at home against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 (87-85).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-13)
vs. Miami Hurricanes (20-9)

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2000
Place: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), 19,876
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Television: espn2 (Mike Tirico, Len Elmore)
Radio: Host Communications Inc. (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV-1490 AM and WNDV-92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM-95.9 FM in Michigan City and selected games on WMAQ-670 AM or WAUR-930 AM in Chicago)

NOTRE DAME/MIAMI SERIES

THE NOTRE DAME-MIAMI SERIES: Tonight’s contest marks the third meeting between the two teams this season and the 13th overall. The series between the schools is tied at 6-6. Since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96, Miami leads the series by a 6-2 count. This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the BIG EAST Championship.

Miami won both regular-season meetings as the Hurricanes earned in 63-49 victory at Notre Dame on January 25 and then posted a 55-52 decision at Miami on February 26. Johnny Helmsley led the Hurricanes with 18 points the first time the two teams played , while Mario bland was the leading scorer for Miami in the second matchup as he tossed in 14.

Troy Murphy scored 15 points in both games, while David Graves had a game-high 16 in the second meeting.

IRISH IN THE GARDEN: Tonight’s game marks the third appearance by Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden this season as the Irish lost to a pair of nationally-ranked teams in Arizona and Maryland in the finals of the Preseason NIT over Thanksgiving weekend. Notre Dame has a long tradition of playing in Madison Square Garden as the Irish were part of the first doubleheader in MSG history when the faced New York University on Dec. 29, 1934. Notre Dame has an overall mark of 46-27 in Madison Square Garden and has an 19-13 record since 1974.

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: Notre Dame has an 1-4 record in the BIG EAST Championship since joining the league in 1995-96. The 74-62 win over No. 10 seed Rutgers was the first-ever for the Irish. Notre Dame lost as the No. 13 seed to No. 4 seed Syracuse in 1996 (72-55), lost as the No. 9 seed to No. 8 seed Syracuse in 1997 (84-66), lost as the No. 9 seed to No. 8 seed Providence in 1998 (72-55) and lost as the No. 8 seed to No. 9 seed Seton Hall last year by a 79-69 count. Notre Dame’s No. 7 seed in this year’s tournament is the highest in school history.

QUICK HITS: Some quick notes about the Notre Dame basketball team –

Earlier this season (Dec. 18 through Jan. 12), the Irish strung together a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 1986-87 season. Notre Dame won 11 games in a row that year – the final nine of the regular season and two in the NCAA tournament before losing to North Carolina in the regional semifinals.

The Irish reached the 13-victory plateau on Jan. 29, the quickest that has happened according to the calendar since the 1985-86 team also reached 13 wins on Jan. 29. The Irish team reached the 11-win point on Jan. 12 and the only other time in school history that happened quicker was when the 1908-09 Notre Dame team reached 11 wins on Dec. 31.

Notre Dame’s 8-8 mark in BIG EAST play marks the first time since the Irish joined the conference in 1995-96 that the team did not having a losing mark in league play. Notre Dame was 4-14 in 1995-96, 8-10 in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and 7-11 in 1997-98. Notre Dame had never been two games above the .500 level in BIG EAST play until this year’s team began with a 2-0 record.

Notre Dame’s 23-point margin of victory over Georgetown on Saturday marked its biggest margin of victory in a conference road game since joining the BIG EAST and tied the overall highest. The other 23-point win came last season at the Joyce Center against Pittsburgh (87-65).

Notre Dame’s 18 wins mark the most for the Irish since the 1988-89 campaign when they went 21-9 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

WHAT A SCHEDULE: Matt Doherty is starting his collegiate head coaching career with a very rugged schedule as 15 of his first 31 games have been against teams that played in last year’s NCAA tournament.

The Irish have posted wins over:

Ohio State, 59-57 on Nov. 16 in the first round of the Preseason NIT in Columbus. The Buckeyes finished last season with a 27-9 record and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Siena, 107-96 on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Preseason NIT at Notre Dame. The Saints had a 25-6 record last year and played in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Valparaiso, 65-42 on Dec. 8 at Notre Dame. The Crusaders had a 23-9 record last year and played in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Connecticut, 75-70 on Jan. 5 at Hartford and 68-66 on Feb. 12 at Notre Dame. The Huskies went 34-2 last season and won the national championship.

St. John’s, 73-60 on Jan. 29 at Notre Dame. The Red Storm went 28-9 and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinal last year.

Notre Dame’s losses include: Arizona (22-7 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament), Maryland (28-6 last year and advanced to NCAA regional semifinal), Indiana (23-11 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament second round last year), Miami of Ohio (24-8 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament regional semifinals), Syracuse (21-12 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament), Miami of Florida (23-7 last year and advanced to NCAA second round) and Villanova (21-11 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament).

Here’s a look at the records of the Irish non-conference opponents this season (as of March 5):

TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 97-44

THE RANKED WINS: Notre Dame’s wins over Ohio State (ranked fourth at the time in Associated Press poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today poll) in the first round of the Preseason NIT, Connecticut in the BIG EAST opener on Jan. 5 (ranked second in both polls) and Feb. 12 (ranked 13th at the time in Associated Press poll and 12th in ESPN/USA Today poll), St. John’s on Jan. 29 (ranked 23rd at the time in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) and Seton Hall on Feb. 19 (ranked 23rd at the time in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) marked a number of milestones for the Irish:

The wins gave Notre Dame five victories over ranked teams in the same season for the first time in regular season play since 1991-92 when the Irish beat No. No. 23/22 USC, No. 8/7 North Carolina, No. 10/10 Syracuse, No. 2/2 UCLA and No. 17/14 St. John’s. The school record for ranked wins is six in 1973-74 (includes NCAA) and the Irish have never won six games against ranked teams in the regular season.

The Ohio State win and the first Connecticut victory gave Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams in the same season since 1980-81 when the Irish beat No. 1/2 Virginia and No. 2/1 Kentucky.

The Ohio State win and the first Connecticut win gave Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams on the opposing floor for the first time in school history.

The first Connecticut victory was the first win over a team ranked that high since defeating No. 2/2 UCLA on Feb. 22, 1992, at the Joyce Center by an 84-71 score.

The first Connecticut win was the first victory over a team ranked that high at an opposing site since defeating No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 9, 1978, by an 81-78 score. The Irish posted wins over No. 2 Kentucky and No. 1 Virginia during the 1980-81 season at neutral sites.

The Connecticut wins marked the eighth and ninth time in school history that Notre Dame had defeated the defending national champion. Those wins were Kentucky in 1949-50, North Carolina in 1957-58, UCLA in 1970-71, 1973-74 and 1975-76, Indiana in 1976-77 and Marquette in 1977-78. The wins marked the first time in school history, and the fifth time overall since 1992-93, that a school beat the defending national champion twice in the same season.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 15/15 Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, by an 83-63 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team on the road since defeating No. 20/21 West Virginia on Jan. 15, 1998, by a 74-72 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 4/T2 UCLA on Feb. 5, 1994, 79-63 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team on the road since defeating No. 4/3 Syracuse on Feb. 17, 1990, by a 66-65 score.

The Ohio State win was the first Notre Dame road win over a Big Ten team since defeating Northwestern on Dec. 5, 1979, by a 73-56 score.

NATIONAL RANKED WINS: Notre Dame’s five ranked wins this season places them tied for third place nationally in victories over opponents ranked in the Associated Press poll at the time of the games (as of March 2).

The national leaders are:

IRISH SET RECORD FOR THREES: Notre Dame has connected for 246 three-point field goals this season, breaking the school record for most threes in a single season. The former record was 178 set by the 1993-94 Irish. This year’s team has also set the single-season record for most threes attempted with 619, while the former record was 472 in 1993-94.

Notre Dame hit on 14-of-23 three-point field goal attempts in its win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. The 14 three-pointers set a school single-game record topping the old mark of 13 set against Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, and Dayton on Jan. 9, 1993. Freshman Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) accounted for four of those threes along with junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Penn.) (three), Murphy (two) and Graves (two).

On Feb. 23 against Providence, the Irish tied the school record with 14 three-pointers as Carroll and Graves each had five.

IRISH AND BIG EAST ATTENDANCE: Notre Dame is currently averaging 8,872 fans per home game at the Joyce Center for the 1999-2000 season, which places the Irish fourth among BIG EAST teams behind Syracuse (20,807), Connecticut (13,543) and St. John’s (10,732).

Notre Dame is also a draw on the road as it has accounted for the largest crowds of the year at Connecticut (16,294 along with six other games), Pittsburgh (6,798 along with one other game), Villanova (17,902) and Seton Hall (12,907).

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Notre Dame was in the also receiving votes category of the Associated Press college basketball poll on Feb. 21 with three points. The Irish were in the also receiving votes category of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today college basketball polls on Jan. 31 as it received two points in each poll.

Notre Dame received 18 points in the ESPN/USA Today poll on Nov. 21, to place sixth in the also receiving votes category, and received one point in the polls released on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5.

The Irish were second in the Associated Press ranking of Nov. 22 in the also receiving votes category with 160 points. Notre Dame also received four points in the AP voting of Dec. 6.

The last time Notre Dame appeared in the national poll rankings was a No. 19 spot in the first Associated Press poll of the 1989 season.

ONLY 42 POINTS: The 42 points that the Irish gave up in their 65-42 win over Valparaiso on Dec. 8 marked the least amount of points that Notre Dame has given up since Jan. 30, 1985, when Notre Dame also gave up 42 points in a 48-42 win over St. Louis at the Joyce Center. The last time Notre Dame gave up less than 42 points was Jan. 16, 1984, a 65-39 win over Rice at the Joyce Center.

PRESEASON NIT: Notre Dame’s trip to the Preseason NIT in ’99 marked the third appearance for the Irish in the event. In 1986, Notre Dame lost at home in the first round to Western Kentucky by an 80-63 score. In 1990, Notre Dame defeated Fordham (56-46) and Iowa (77-68) at home to advance to the finals in New York and lost to Arizona (91-61) in the semifinals and Duke (85-77) in the consolation game.

As an assistant at Kansas, Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty participated in the event twice. The Jayhawks won both the 1993 and 1997 events.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: Notre Dame’s win over Siena on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Preseason NIT marked the first time Notre Dame scored over 100 points in a game since a 101-98 win at Syracuse on Feb. 15, 1992. The 107 points scored by the Irish were the most since they also scored 107 vs. Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 27, 1990. The 48-point differential for Notre Dame from Ohio State (59 points) to Siena was the most in back-to-back games since a 50-point differential in the ’74 NCAA tournament with a 77-68 loss to Michigan and a 118-88 win over Vanderbilt in a regional consolation game.

HEAD COACH MATT DOHERTY: Notre Dame head basketball coach Matt Doherty is in his first year in charge of the Fighting Irish program and his first season as a collegiate head coach.

Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Kansas for seven seasons from 1992-99 as the Jayhawks advanced to the NCAA tournament in each year, including a trip to the 1993 Final Four.

Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Davidson for three seasons from 1989-92.

Doherty is a 1984 graduate of North Carolina and helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1982 NCAA title. Doherty became just the second player in Atlantic Coast Conference history, joining North Carolina’s Walter Davis, to accumulate 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.

MURPHY 23RD IN CAREER SCORING: Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 29 when the Irish defeated St. John’s. Murphy now has a career total of 1,233 points, which places him 23rd in school history. John Smyth (1954-57) is 22nd with 1,236 while Larry Sheffield (1962-65) is 21st with 1,255.

Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joins Dantley as the only Irish sophomores with 1,000 points. Murphy scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game – the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame’s 39 previous 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 points.

MURPHY GETS 19TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Murphy had his 19th double-double of the season last night vs. Rutgers with 25 points and 14 rebounds. His 19 double-doubles lead all players in the BIG EAST Conference. His 17 double-doubles were tied for fourth nationally (as of Feb. 27) in statistics researched by STATS, Inc.

The sophomore forward has led the Irish in scoring in 26 of 31 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 26 occasions. He scored 35 points against St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 20 and vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 19 for his career high, topping his previous mark of 32 set vs.West Virginia last year.

Murphy has now played in 58 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 30 games and has scored 20 or more points in 32 games and 30 or more points in 11 games.

This season, Murphy has scored in double figures in every game, scored 20 or more points in 21 games and 30 or more points in eight games.

MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Murphy is among the national leaders in scoring and rebounding. As of March 5, Murphy was sixth in the country in scoring at 23.0 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 25.6 points per game. In rebounding, Murphy was tied for seventh at 10.5 per game while Darren Phillip of Fairfield is first at 14.0. Murphy is the only player in the country currently to be ranked among the top 10 scorers and rebounders.

MURPHY NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK- TIES RECORD: Murphy was named the BIG EAST co-player of the week on Feb. 21 for his performance in the Seton Hall game. Murphy has won the award a total of six times this season, which ties the conference record for most player-of-the-week awards with Syracuse’s John Wallace in 1995-96.

Murphy won the award in four consecutive weeks earlier in the season (Dec. 20 through Jan. 10), which was one short of the conference record of four – also set by Wallace in 1995-96.

As of Feb. 16, Murphy is the leading scorer and leading rebounder in the BIG EAST in overall games and conference games.

Murphy was named the BIG EAST rookie of the year in 1999 and won the BIG EAST rookie of the week award eight times – the second-highest in league history.

MURPHY ON THE WEB: The Notre Dame athletic department official website (www.und.com) now has a special page profiling Murphy and the accomplishments of his career and season. The website is updated daily and can be found at www.und.com/troymurphy.

BIG EAST LEADERS: Here’s where Irish players and the team stand in the current BIG EAST statistics.

In overall games, the Notre Dame team entered the tournament fifth in scoring offense at 71.8 points, second in free throw percentage at .727, third in field goal percentage at .464, second in three-point field goal percentage at .381 and second in assists per game at 18.07. In conference games, the team was fourth in free throw percentage at .730, fourth in field-goal percentage at .444, third in three-point field goal percentage at .380, second in assists per game at 17.00 and fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.02.

Murphy’s 35 points vs. St. Francis (Pa.) earlier this season and Seton Hall on Feb. 19 is tied as the second-highest points by a BIG EAST player in a single game this season. Murphy’s 14 field goals made vs. St. Francis is tied as second. His 15 free throws made vs. Siena tops the league as does his 18 attempts vs. the Saints. Murphy leads the league in overall double-doubles with 18.

In league play, Murphy’s 35 points vs. Seton Hall is the second-highest. Murphy’s 13 field goals vs. Seton Hall is also a high and his 18-rebound performance vs. St. John’s is tied as the second-highest.

PRESEASON BIG EAST HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy was picked first team preseason all-BIG EAST for the 1999-2000 season by the league coaches. The honor was announced at BIG EAST Media Day on Wed., October 25, 1999, and was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

Also named to the first team was: Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut, Johnny Hemsley of Miami, Erick Barkley of St. John’s and Etan Thomas of Syracuse.

The second team was Kevin Freeman of Connecticut, Isaac Hawkins of Pittsburgh, Bootsy Thornton of St. John’s, Jason Hart of Syracuse and Marcus Goree of West Virginia.

The preseason player of the year was El-Amin and the preseason rookie of the year was Ajou Deng of Connecticut.

MORE PRESEASON HONORS FOR MURPHY: In addition to the BIG EAST honors, Murphy garnered a number of preseason accolades heading into the 1999-2000 campaign, including:

• Second Team All-America, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)
• Second Team All-America, Basketball News (preseason)
• Honorable Mention All-America, Athlon (preseason)
• Ranked second in country among centers, Dick Vitale’s College Bas- ketball (preseason)
• Ranked fourth in country among power forwards, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Ranked 11th in country among power forwards, The Sporting News
• First Team All-BIG EAST, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)
• First Team All-BIG EAST, The Sporting News (preseason)
• First Team All-BIG EAST, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Best NBA Prospect in BIG EAST, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Best Rebounder in BIG EAST, The Sporting News (preseason)
• All-Windex Team (The kids can really clean the glass), Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)

POSTSEASON HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy earned a number of additional honors during the season and as postseason awards start to be named, including:

• First team, all-district (District 10), National Association of Basketball Coaches
• One of top 30 candidates for 2000 John R. Wooden Award
• Finalist for United States Basketball Writers Association national player-of-the-year
• Finalist for Naismith Trophy
• Named to USA Today’s midseason All-America team
• Named to The Sporting News midseason All-America team
• Named by ESPN’s Dick Vitale to his midseason All-America team

MURPHY AND SINGLE-SEASON MARKS: Murphy leads the Irish with 714 points this season, which is the sixth-highest in school history. Tom Hawkins had 730 in 1957-58 for fifth place while Austin Carr is the leader with 1,106 in 1969-70.

Murphy has 34 blocked shots this season, which is the sixth-highest single-season mark in school history. The leader is LaPhonso Ellis with 86 in 1991-92.

Murphy’s 217 free throws are the fifth-highest in school history (Adrian Dantley is the leader with 253 in 1974-75) and his 271 attempts are fifth (Dantley is the leader again with 314 in ’74-’75).

MURPHY BIG AGAINST THE BEST: Murphy has played some of his best games this season against the best competition. In Notre Dame’s win over five ranked teams, Murphy has posted a double-double in four of those contests and is averaging 27.4 points per contest (23.0 is his season average) and 12.8 rebounds (10.5 is the season average). In the 10 games Notre Dame has played against ranked teams, Murphy has four double-doubles with a 24.8 scoring average and 11.7 rebounds per game.

GRAVES IS SUPER SOPH: Sophomore forward David Graves has started 58 of the 61 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 42 of those contests. He has scored in double figures in all but nine games this season.

Graves scored 370 points as a freshman last year – the fourth-highest in school history behind Murphy (519 last year), Adrian Dantley (511 in 1973-74) and David Rivers (474 in 1984-85). He now has 772 career points.

Graves led Notre Dame with 16 points against Miami (Feb. 26), marking the fourth time this season he either led or tied the Irish in scoring.

Graves has added the three-point field goal shot to his repertoire this year as he is 68-of-149 (45.6%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc.

Graves’ 68 three-pointers made is the second-highest in school single-season history as Ryan Hoover made 80 in 1993-94 for the record. Graves’ 149 attempts is the fourth-highest, as Hoover holds the record with 198 in ’95-’96.

Graves enjoyed an outstanding game against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 with career highs for points (33), rebounds (12), field goals made (11), three-point field goals (five) and minutes played (44). The game was the first double-double of Graves’ collegiate career. Against Elon on Dec. 28, Graves also led the Irish in scoring as he registered 24 points and also added six rebounds.

Graves has the second double-double of his career on Saturday at Georgetown with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Graves connected for his second game-winning buzzer-beating basket of the season on Feb. 19 as he hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left in the game to lift Notre Dame to a 76-74 win over Seton Hall. Graves scored his first winning basket of the season against Ohio State.

CARROLL IS PRODUCTIVE FROSH: Freshman Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) has scored in double figures in 14 games – 16 points vs. Siena, 11 vs. Maryland, 18 vs. Vanderbilt, 22 vs. VMI, 13 vs. Valparaiso, 10 vs. Elon, 10 vs. Connecticut, 15 vs. Boston College, 13 vs. Rutgers, 10 vs. St. John’s, 17 vs. West Virginia, 17 vs. Villanova, 17 vs. Providence and 16 vs. Georgetown.

In his BIG EAST debut against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Carroll went scoreless in the first half – missing his first six field goal attempts – but scored 10 points in the second half to help the Irish to the victory.

Carroll also enjoyed a hot second half against the Mountaineers as he scored just two points in the first half, but came back to score 15 points in the second half for 17 points. Carroll was five-for-seven from the field and four-for-five from three-point distance in the second half.

Carroll is 53-of-153 from three-point field goal range this season. His 53 threes is tied for fourth in Notre Dame single-season history while his 153 attempts are fourth.

Carroll registered a career-high 22 points against VMI on Dec. 18. Carroll was three-for-six from three-point field goal range and was seven-for-11 from the field. He also added five assists.

Carroll had come off the bench in the first six games of the season before being moved into the starting lineup against Vanderbilt on Dec. 11. In his first start, he had 18 points – then a career-high.

He spent the summer as a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Team that played in the FIBA World Championships, which were held in Portugal last August. The United States won the silver medal in the event. Carroll played in seven of the eight games the United States played and scored a combined 16 points to go along with three rebounds and four steals. He scored eight points in the United States’ opening round win over China.

Carroll is the only player in the history of Pennsylvania high school basketball to win the Associated Press player of the year twice.

SWANAGAN AND DOUBLE FIGURES: Swanagan has scored in double figures in six of the past 16 games for the Irish with 11 points vs. Boston College (Jan. 12), 12 points at Syracuse (Jan. 16), 10 points vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 22), 12 points vs. West Virginia (Feb. 2) and 10 vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12). The 12-point performances stand as the fifth-best scoring games of his career. He scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds vs. Rider on Dec. 22 for his first double-double of the season and third of his career.

Swanagan scored in double figures for the first time this season when he had 10 points and added four rebounds against Valparaiso on Dec. 8. Swanagan has started 28 of 31 games for the Irish this year at the center position.

Swanagan played in 29 games last season, scoring in double figures in eight of them and starting two games.

DILLON DISHES OUT: Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon has started all 31 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 183 assists to go with 90 turnovers. His 183 assists are the fifth-highest in school single-season history. Dillon’s 183 assist total is also his personal career-high for a season as he had 80 last year.

Entering the season, Dillon had started just two games in his career and had averaged 11.6 minutes per game – as opposed to 29.3 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 116.

In the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami, Dillon had 10 points to register a career high. Against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Dillon scored nine points – to tie a career-high – and dished out seven assists. In the win over St. John’s, Dillon scored nine points and had a steal and a dunk for a three-point play late in the contest to seal the victory.

Dillon also had nine assists in the Feb. 19 win over Seton Hall for 19 assists in the past two games.

MACURA GETS 12 AGAIN: Macura scored 12 points against Syracuse eight days ago, including three three-point field goals, to tie his second-highest scoring game of his career. He played 21 minutes vs. the Orangmen and added two rebounds. Macura also scored 12 points vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and added four rebounds and two assists in the effort.

He was one of four players in double figures in Notre Dame’s BIG EAST tournament first round win over Rutgers. The Irish rookie was four-of-five from the field, including a two-of-three performance from three-point range as he played 22 minutes.

Macura started the first game of his collegiate career vs. VMI (Dec. 18) and had two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He also started the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami and scored three points with two rebounds.

Macura registered a career-high 13 points, including two three-point field goals, vs. Indiana (Nov. 30). Macura played a career-high 33 minutes off the bench and also added eight rebounds.

Macura scored five points in 10 minutes against Connecticut on Jan. 5. All five points – a field goal and a three-point field goal – were scored during a 13-2 Irish run during the second half that turned a 38-35 UConn lead into a 48-40 Notre Dame lead.

MONSEREZ AND CAREER HIGHS: Freshman guard Mike Monserez (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted his career high for points in three-straight games.

Monserez scored five points vs. Elon (Dec. 28), six points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31) and nine vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 2). Monserez registered three three-point field goals vs. LMU and is 9-of-27 from that range this season.

Monserez came off the bench vs. St. John’s (Jan .29) and scored eight points, including two three-point field goals.

KARTELO GETS REBOUND HIGH: Kartelo registered a career-high eight rebounds vs. Seton Hall in the Irish win on Feb. 19.

Kartelo also scored 11 points off the bench in 22 minutes of action against St. Peter’s (Dec. 31). Kartelo played a career-high 26 minutes vs. Connecticut on Jan. 5 and scored two points with five rebounds. He started his first career game on Jan. 25 vs. Miami.

INGELSBY CHIPS IN: Junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Pa.) started the first six games of the season at point guard and has come off the bench in the next 21. Although his minutes are down this year from previous seasons (he started 54 games in his first two seasons), his productivity remains high.

Ingelsby has hit key three-point field goals this year for the Irish and is 34-of-82 from that range. He was three-of-four against Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and was two-of-three in the win over Connecticut on Jan. 5. In the win over West Virginia, Ingelsby had eight points and was two-of-five from three point range.

On Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Ingelsby played just five minutes, but hit a key three-point field goal with 7:17 left to extend the Irish lead to six, 58-52.

When he was in the starting lineup, Ingelsby hit four-of-seven three pointers against Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT, including two key ones down the final stretch, in the Irish win and he hit three against Siena two days later in the second round of the NIT.