NOTRE DAME vs. ROBERT MORRIS
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball begins the 2019-20 home schedule – and the first game of the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational – against Robert Morris in Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at 12 p.m. ET.
- Saturday afternoon marks the first meeting between Notre Dame and Robert Morris in men’s basketball.
- The Irish begin a six-game home stand on Saturday, as the MABC Invitational brings Howard (Nov. 12), Marshall (Nov. 15) and Toledo (Nov. 21) to Purcell Pavilion, along with non-invitational games with Presbyterian (Nov. 18) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Nov. 26).
- Notre Dame is coming off a hard-fought battle at No. 9/11 North Carolina to open the season on Wednesday evening, led by a career-high 22 points from sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb and 19 points from senior guard T.J. Gibbs.
Notre Dame Game Notes vs. Robert Morris (PDF)
| NOTRE DAME | GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, November 9, 2019 |
| Time | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN • Capacity 9,149 |
| TV: | ACC Network Extra • Austin Rooney (play-by-play) • Mike Lightfoot (analysis) • Holden Perrelli (sideline) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network • Jack Nolan (play-by-play) • Zach Hillesland (analyst) |
| Tickets: | Notre Dame Ticket Exchange, powered by Vivid Seats |
BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH VS. COLONIALS
|
1 |
Notre Dame and Robert Morris will be meeting for the first time in men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon. The matchup also is the first game of the Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational, an exempt round-robin event held across the country over the next two weeks. The Colonials participated in their first game of the event on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Marshall, falling 67-60 to the Thundering Herd. |
|
2 |
The 2019-20 season marks the second consecutive – and the second all-time – in-season exempt tournament the Irish have hosted on campus. Notre Dame finished 3-1 in last season’s Gotham Classic and will welcome four teams to Purcell Pavilion over the next two weeks as part of the Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational. |
|
5 |
Notre Dame is fifth all-time in NCAA history in number of career 1,000 point scorers as 63 players have achieved that miletsone during their time in an Irish uniform. T.J. Gibbs joined that group last season, while John Mooney looks to become the 64th player to score 1,000 points later this season. |
|
6 |
Notre Dame continued its penchant for posting a great assist-to-turnover ratio in the season opener at North Carolina on Wednesday. The Irish committed just six turnovers against 16 assists (ratio of 2.7). |
|
9 |
T.J. Gibbs finished ninth in the country in minutes played per game from major conference players with a 36.1 average in 2018-19. Gibbs logged 35 minutes of playing time in the season opener at North Carolina. |
|
11 |
Notre Dame has won 11 of its last 12 in-season tournament games dating back to the 2016-17 season. That run of games includes the 2016 Legends Classic title and the 2017 Maui Invitational championship. See page 5 and 6 for a complete history of Notre Dame for in-game tournaments. |
|
19 |
The Irish are 19-0 in home openers under Mike Brey and 103-11 all-time in home openers. Notre Dame has not lost a home opener since the 1998-99 season when Miami (OH) defeated John MacLeod’s final Irish team 76-65 on Nov. 13. |
|
22 |
Sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb scored a career-high 22 points at North Carolina on Wednesday, while connecting on a career-best five 3FGs. Adding in six assists, Hubb is the first player to score 20-plus points with six or more assists since Matt Farrell at Boston College on Feb. 17, 2018 (37 pts, 7 assists). |
|
46 |
Robert Morris is one of four first-time opponents Notre Dame will face this season (Howard, Presbyterian and Alabama A&M are the other three). Notre Dame is 46-5 against first-time opponents in the Mike Brey era including a 3-1 mark last season. |
|
58 |
Graduate student Rex Pflueger, who missed the final 23 games of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL in his left knee, took a big step in his comeback on Wednesday at North Carolina by returning to the Notre Dame starting lineup for his 58th career start. |
|
200 |
Rex Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs have joined an exclusive Notre Dame men’s basketball club. They are the 12th and 13th players since 1996-97 to post 200 assists and 100 steals in a career. Pflueger has 241 assists and 105 steals, while Gibbs has posted 282 assists and 101 steals. |
HOME OPENERS
- Under Mike Brey, the Irish are 19-0 in home openers.
- Historically, the Irish are 103-11 (.904) in home openers.
- Notre Dame once won 26 consecutive home openers from 1922-23 through 1947-48.
- Most common home opener opponents in Notre Dame history – Lewis Institute/Armour Institute (which combined to be the Illinois Institute of Technology, 15), Kalamazoo (12), St. Joseph’s (IN) (six) and Valparaiso (five).
FOUR MORE FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS IN 2019-20
- The 2019-20 schedule welcomes four first-time opponents to Notre Dame’s men’s basketball schedule (Robert Morris, Howard, Presbyterian, Alabama A&M) matching the same number from last season (UIC, Radford, Oklahoma and Jacksonville).
- Under Mike Brey, the Irish are 46-5 (.902) in games featuring first-time program meetings.
MOONEY NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM
Senior forward John Mooney was named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-ACC First Team, by a vote of the attendees of ACC Media Day on October 8, 2019.
Mooney posted a remarkable junior year campaign for the Irish in 2018-19, his superlatives included:
- One of just seven major conference players to average a double-double (14.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg)
- Leading all major conference players in rebounds per game (12.6) in conference play
- Becoming the third Notre Dame player in the past four seasons to lead the ACC in rebounding
- Leading the ACC in double-doubles, both overall (20) and in conference play (13)
- Posting the second-most double-doubles in ACC conference play ever, behind Tim Duncan’s 15 in 1996-97
- His 12.6 rebounds-per-game average in ACC play is the second-highest total since Tim Duncan posted a 14.9 number in 1996-97
- He is the leading rebounder, second-leading field-goal percentage and sixth-leading scorer returning to the ACC this season.
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 and Pflueger.
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 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 |
Conference Rank |
|
2014-15 |
9.4 |
5 |
2 |
|
2015-16 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
|
2016-17 |
9.5 |
2 |
1 |
|
2017-18 |
9.9 |
7 |
2 |
|
2018-19 |
9.3 |
7 |
2 |
HUBB ENDS UP SIXTH ON THE ROOKIE ASSIST BOARD
Freshman Prentiss Hubb was the main ball handler for the Irish throughout his rookie season and paced the team with 131 assists. He is the ninth true freshman since the class became eligible to play to post 90-or-more assists during their rookie season.
Hubb is the fourth Mike Brey-era guard to reach 100 assists in his rookie season.
TRUE FRESHMAN SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS (since 1972-73)
|
Player |
Season |
Assists |
|
Chris Thomas* |
2001-02 |
252 |
|
Doug Gottlieb |
1995-96 |
154 |
|
Martin Ingelsby |
1997-98 |
150 |
|
Tory Jackson* |
2006-07 |
139 |
|
Rich Branning |
1976-77 |
138 |
|
PRENTISS HUBB* |
2018-19 |
131 |
|
David Rivers |
1984-85 |
127 |
|
Eric Atkins* |
2010-11 |
110 |
|
Admore White |
1993-94 |
96 |
* – Mike Brey era players