March 3, 2016
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (19-10, 10-7 ACC) will finish up the 2015-16 regular season and honor its senior class on Saturday afternoon when it takes on NC State (15-15, 5-12 ACC) at 12 noon ET. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION:
DATE Saturday, March 5
TIME 12 p.m. ET
PLACE Notre Dame, IN
Purcell Pavilion
Capacity: 9,149
TV / INTERNET CBS
Andrew Catalon (play-by-play)
Steve Lappas (analyst)
RADIO Broadcast on WatchND (free)
Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
Torrian Jones (analyst)
Also available on Sirius (81) or XM (81)
NOTRE DAME VS. NC STATE – BY THE NUMBERS:
1 – Notre Dame leads the nation in turnovers per game, averaging 9.1 per game.
10 – Wins over teams from North Carolina for the Irish since the start of the 2014-15. Notre Dame is 10-1 against teams from the Tar Heel state during that timeframe.
11 – Wins on Senior Day (last home game of the regular season) during the Mike Brey Era, including nine of the last 10.
15.4 – Points per game average over the last nine games for Zach Auguste. Auguste is on a nine-game run of double-digit scoring (second-longest streak of his career, after 10 straight last season) and averaging 15.4 points and 11.1 rebounds during that run.
17 – Double-Doubles compiled by Zach Auguste this season, his most recent a 18-point, 11-rebound effort vs. Miami on Wednesday.
24 – Conference wins by Notre Dame over the past two seasons. The Irish have posted double-digit conference wins in six of the past seven seasons.
51 – Wins over a two-year span for the Irish currently, the best two-year total in school history. The Irish finished 32-6 in 2014-15 and are 19-9 this season.
68 – School record run of games in a row without consecutive losses, ended by the two most recent setbacks at Florida State and vs. Miami. 199.7 – Notre Dame’s Adjusted Offense Efficiency Index as compiled by KenPom.com – fifth-best in the nation..
737 – Career rebounds for Zach Auguste. Auguste is also shooting .560 from the field in his career and is in the running to become just the fifth Notre Dame player to shoot over .560 from the field and grab 700 rebounds in a career. (see page 2 for more details)
1,814 – Wins in Notre Dame men’s basketball history, ranked eighth all-time. Since Mike Brey took over the Irish program in 2000-01, the Irish have moved from 12th to 8th on the all-time wins list.
NOTRE DAME — NC STATE SERIES HISTORY:
All-time series: Notre Dame leads 5-4
Notre Dame vs. NC State at Purcell Pavilion: 1-3
First meeting: Feb. 21, 1978, a 70-59 Notre Dame victory at home.
Most recent meeting: Jan. 25, 2015, a 81-78 Notre Dame victory at Raleigh in overtime.
Mike Brey vs. NC State at Notre Dame: 1-2
THE LAST TIME… VS. NC STATE: Jerian Grant scored 25 points and blocked a last-second shot in overtime that helped the Fighting Irish beat North Carolina State 81-78 on Jan. 25, 2015 in Raleigh, NC. Pat Connaughton and V.J. Beachem added 11 points apiece for the Irish, who erased an 18-point first-half deficit, scrambled in the final minute of regulation to force OT, then made the decisive stop in the extra session. Beachem’s tip-in with 1.8 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. Trevor Lacy led the Wolf Pack with 13 points.
700 REBOUNDS, .560 SHOOTING: Zach Auguste is averaging a double-double in 2015-16 (14.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg) and has moved up the all-time Notre Dame rebound list along the way. Auguste passed the 700-rebound barrier against Wake Forest on Feb. 24, becoming the 19th Irish player to reach that plateau.
Auguste is also shooting .561 in his career. Should he finish above .560 shooting for his time at Notre Dame, he would become just the fifth Irish player to shoot over .560 and grab 700-plus rebounds:
NOTRE DAME REACHES 1800-WIN MILESTONE: Notre Dame’s 84-79 victory at Illinois on Dec. 2 marked the 1800th win in program history.
The Fighting Irish are 1814-981 (.649) all-time in 111-plus seasons.
Notre Dame ranks eighth in Division I in all-time program wins behind Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse and UCLA. The Irish have improved four spots in the all-time wins list since Mike Brey took over the program for the 2000-01 season, surpassing Indiana, Oregon State, Pennsylvania and St. John’s.
As of March 1, Notre Dame is the only NCAA program to rank in the top 10 for men’s basketball victories (1813) and football victories (892, 2nd).
ACADEMIC HONORS: The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball team on March 1. Two members of Notre Dame’s freshman class – Rex Pflueger and Matt Ryan – were named to the 26-member team. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.
FANTASTIC FOUR: On Jan. 4, Irish head coach Mike Brey named Steve Vasturia a captain for the remainder of the 2015-16 season, joining Demetrius Jackson, Zach Auguste and A.J. Burgett as Irish players with a `C’ on their uniforms
BEST CENTER IN THE COUNTRY: Zach Auguste has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Kareem Abul-Jabaar award, given to the top center in the nation by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Auguste is averaging a career-best 14.2 ppg and 10.4 rpg.
Auguste is also one of 11 semifinalists for the Eddie Sutton Tustenugee Award, presented by the Tulsa Sports Charities. The award singles out a player who exhibits the traits of tenacity and unselfishness that Sutton advocated during his 36-year coaching career that included more than 800 victories.
IRISH INK THREE ON SIGNING DAY: Guards Nikola Djogo (Stoney Creek, Canada) and Temple (T.J.) Gibbs (Scotch Pines, New Jersey) and power forward John Mooney (Longwood, Florida) signed their National Letters of intent on the first day of the 2015 November early signing period. The trio is set to enroll at Notre Dame in the fall of 2016.
Gibbs and Mooney recently were named nominees for the 2016 McDonald’s All-American Game.
GRANT, CONNAUGHTON HEAR NAMES CALLED IN 2015 NBA DRAFT: Jerian Grant became the 17th player in Notre Dame history, and third under head coach Mike Brey, to be selected in the first round as the 19th overall pick by the Washington Wizards at the 2015 National Basketball Association Draft. Less than an hour after hearing his name, he was traded to the New York Knicks.
The Brooklyn Nets chose Pat Connaughton in the second round as the 41st pick overall, but Connaughton ultimately traded to the Portland Trailblazers.
Grant has seen action in 56 games this season, averaging 4.7 points per game (as of March 3). Connaughton has appeared in 24 games for the Trailblazers and recently scored a career-high 7 points against his hometown NBA team – the Boston Celtics on March 2.
EVENING WITH NOTRE DAME BASKETBALL: The traditional end-of-the-year celebration of Irish Hoops – `An Evening With Notre Dame Basketball’ is set for Monday, April 11, starting at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at www.und.com/tickets, or by calling the Notre Dame Ticket Office at 574-631-7356.
The evening will feature a tour of Notre Dame’s basketball facilities, a chance to meet each Irish player and coach for pictures and autographs, a buffet-style dinner and a video-centric awards ceremony when Notre Dame will announce its team awards,. A new feature this year will be a photo booth where Irish fans can take pictures with Notre Dame props and receive a keepsake photo strip.
For the full notes package, please download the PDF at the top of the page.