Nov. 22, 1999
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0)vs.ARIZONA Wildcats (2-0)
Date: Wednesday, November 24, 1999
Place: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), 19,876
Event: Preseason NIT Semifinals
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Television: ESPN
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).
Wednesday’s Game:
The University of Notre Dame basketball team plays tonight against Arizona in the semifinals of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. Notre Dame advanced to the round of four in New York with wins at Ohio State (59-57) in the first round and home against Siena (107-96) in the second round.
The Irish opened play in the NIT with the win over the Buckeyes last Tuesday in Columbus. Sophomore forward David Graves (Lexington, Kent.) hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer and ended the game with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) was the leading scorer for the Irish with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Notre Dame then topped Siena behind 31 points from Murphy and 16 from Graves and freshman Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.).
The Irish then played a regularly-scheduled game against St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday and posted a 73-60 win. Murphy connected for a career-high 35 points with 13 rebounds while Graves scored 12 points.
After today’s game, Notre Dame next plays on Friday in either the consolation game or the final of the NIT against Kentucky or Maryland. The regular schedule resumes on Tue., November 30, at 8:00 p.m. EST at Indiana.
Notre Dame begins its fifth season of BIG EAST play at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wed., January 5, against defending national champion Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center. The BIG EAST home opener is at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wed., January 12, against Boston College.
THE NOTRE DAME-ARIZONA SERIES:
Tonight’s game is the fourth meeting between Notre Dame and Arizona and the Wildcats lead the series by a 2-1 count. The last meeting between the two teams came in the first round of the 1993 Maui Classic – a 98-79 Wildcat win.
The two teams met once before in the Preseason NIT semifinals – a 91-61 Wildcat win in ’91.
NOTRE DAME/ARIZONA SERIES
Series: AZ leads, 2-1
Current Streak: AZ, 2
At Notre Dame: ND, 1-0
At MSG: AZ, 1-0
Last Meeting: 1993-94, at Maui, 98-79 AZ
AGAINST THE PAC-10:
Notre Dame has an overall record of 31-36 against the current members of the Pac-10, with 44 of those 67 contests coming against UCLA. The last time Notre Dame beat a Pac-10 team was Dec. 27, 1994, a 72-69 win over Oregon State in the first round of the Far West Classic.
3-0 START:
Notre Dame has started the season with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 1988-89 season when the Irish won their first four games of the season (wins over St. Bonaventure, Kentucky, Indiana and Creighton). That team wound up with a 21-9 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES:
Notre Dame received 18 points in the latest ESPN/USA Today college basketball poll, which was released on Sunday night, to fall sixth in the also receiving votes category. 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.
PRESEASON NIT:
Notre Dame’s trip in ’99 marks the third appearance for the Irish in the Preseason NIT. 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.
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.
THE OHIO STATE WIN:
Notre Dame’s win 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 marked a number of milestones for the Irish
? The first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 15/15 Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, by an 83-63 score
? 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 first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 4/T2 UCLA on Feb. 5, 1994, by a 79-63 score
? 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 first Notre Dame road win over a Big Ten team since defeating Northwestern on Dec. 5, 1979, by a 73-56 score
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK:
Notre Dame’s win over Siena last Thursday 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.
GRAVES HAS HOT GAME:
Not only did Graves score the winning basket against Ohio State, but overall had one of the top games of his Irish career as he scored 18 points (tied for career third-best) on a seven of 12 effort from the field along with eight rebounds, to tie a career high.
Graves added 16 points in the win over Siena last Thursday night and had 12 against St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.
Graves has started 31 of the 33 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 23 of those contests.
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).
MURPHY GETS CAREER HIGH:
Murphy scored 35 points against St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday along with 13 rebounds. The 35 points was a career-high topping his previous mark of 32 set against West Virginia last year.
Murphy has now played in 30 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 14 games and has scored 20 or more points in 12 games and 30 or more points in four games.
MURPHY NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Murphy was named the BIG EAST player of the week for his games in the first two rounds of the Preseason NIT and the Irish win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday. The announcement was the first weekly BIG EAST award of the season.
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. The award marks the first time Murphy has won player of the week honors.
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 Conference 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
? Second Team All-America, Basketball News
? Honorable Mention All-America, Athlon
? Ranked second in country among centers, Dick Vitale’s College Bas-ketball
? Ranked fourth in country among power forwards, Lindy’s
? Ranked 11th in country among power forwards, The Sporting News
? First Team All-BIG EAST, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball
? First Team All-BIG EAST, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball
? First Team All-BIG EAST, The Sporting News
? First Team All-BIG EAST, Lindy’s
? Best NBA Prospect in BIG EAST, Lindy’s
? Best Rebounder in BIG EAST, The Sporting News
? All-Windex Team (The kids can really clean the glass), Dick Vitale’s College Basketball
CARROLL SPENDS SUMMER WITH USA TEAM:
Notre Dame freshman guard Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) 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 in 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.
IRISH PLAY EXHIBITIONS:
Notre Dame prepared for the upcoming season with a pair of exhibition games.
Notre Dame opened its exhibition season on Fri., November 5, with a 94-74 win over the International Select All-Stars.
Murphy was the leading scorer in that game with 28 points and 11 rebounds while Carroll had 20 points, including a three-for-three performance from three-point field goal range. Freshman forward Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) came off the bench to score 13 points while junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Pa.) had 10 points.
Notre Dame lost to Marathon by a 105-81 on Thur., November 11. Murphy again was the leading scorer for the Irish with 28 points as Graves had 16 points, Carroll scored 12 and sophomore Harold Swanagan (Hopkinsville, Kent.) had 11.
TICKETS ON SALE:
Tickets are currently on sale for the 1999-2000 basketball season.
Season tickets for all 18 home games are priced at $154 (plus $15 for handling per order) and available in the bleacher seats.
A special four-game Saturday package is available and includes the Vanderbilt (Dec. 4), Pittsburgh (Jan. 22), St. John’s (Jan. 29) and Connecticut (Feb. 12) games. That package is priced at $30 (plus $15 for handling per order).
Single game tickets are now on sale at $15 for the lower arena (when available) and $8 for bleachers.
IRISH ON ESPN:
Notre Dame will make a minimum of three appearances on ESPN this season and one on espn2. The Irish game against Ohio State in the first round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament was televised on espn2. With Notre Dame advancement to the semifinals of the tournament, tonight’s game will be televised on ESPN.
Notre Dame games scheduled for ESPN are: Sat., February 19, at Seton Hall, 9:00 p.m. EST, Sat., February 26, at Miami (Fla.), 7:00 p.m. EST, Wed., March 1, vs. Syracuse, 9:00 p.m. EST.
IRISH SIGN THREE
University of Notre Dame basketball coach Matt Doherty announced on Nov. 12 that three players have signed national letters of intent and plan on enrolling at Notre Dame in the fall and playing for Doherty’s squad. The three are: Torrian Jones, a 6-4, 185-pound guard from Fairless Hills, Pa., and Pennsbury High School, Tom Timmermans, a 6-11, 235-pound center from Driehuis, Netherlands and the Blue Ridge School in Dyke, Va., and Chris Markwood, a 6-5, 185-pound guard from South Portland, Maine and South Portland High School.
Jones averaged 17 points per game last year at Pennsbury for head coach Frank Sciolla as the team won 26 games – the most in school history. The team played in the District One championship game and lost in the second round of the state tournament. Jones earned first team all-conference and all-area honors and averaged 22 points per game in seven post season contests. In his junior year, Jones shot 50.2% from the field and 43.8% from three-point field goal distance.
Markwood earned first-team all-state honors last season at South Portland, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and four assists for head coach Tony DiBiase. Markwood earned first team all-conference honors last year and was named conference MVP. His AAU team in Maine has been the state champions for the past three years.
Timmermans averaged 12.5 points per game last year at Blue Ridge for head coach Bill Ramsey along with 10 rebounds. The team finished 19-6 on the season – third in the state among independent schools.
IRISH ON THE RADIO
Host/USA originates the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network for the 12th consecutive year in 1999-2000.
Jack Lorri will handle the play-by-play of all Notre Dame basketball games and this season marks his 31st year announcing Irish games. Lorri spent his first 14 years with Notre Dame as sports director of WTRC-AM in Elkhart, Ind., and then five years doing games on WGN-AM in Chicago before teaming up with Host/USA. He served as sports director for WSJV-TV in Elkhart for 13 years beginning in 1967 and did play-by-play for Kentucky football and basketball on WLAP in Lexington in 1961-63. Lorri also served as sports director of the Tribune Radio Network in Chicago.
Jack Nolan handles the color commentary on the network. He has been a sports anchor at WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, for more than a decade. He has done play-by-play of Irish basketball on both television and radio as well as on live telecasts of Notre Dame football. He is also the host of WNDU’s highly successful Saturday and Sunday morning news broadcasts.
Stations scheduled to be on the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network this season are: WMAQ 670 AM in Chicago, WAUR 930 AM in Chicago, WNDV 1490 AM and 92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM 95.9 FM in Michigan City, Ind., WLUV 96.7 FM and 1520 AM in Rockford, Ill., KHEP 1280 AM in Phoenix, Ariz., KATD 990 AM in San Francisco, Calif., KSAR 92.7 FM in Conway, Ark., and KIND 1010 AM in Independence, Kan.
All radio broadcasts of Notre Dame basketball games can also be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com.
CHICAGO RADIO
WMAQ-AM radio will carry Notre Dame basketball games in the Chicago market again this season as part of the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network originated by Host/USA. In addition, Chicago’s WAUR-AM will also broadcast selected Irish games.
WMAQ-AM (670), with its 50,000-watt clear channel signal, covers a larger geographic area than any other radio station in Chicago. The station’s other sports properties include the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks and the station is also affiliated with CNN Radio.
Notre Dame basketball games on WMAQ this season include: Dec. 4 against Vanderbilt, Dec. 11 at Miami (Ohio), Dec. 18 vs. VMI, Jan. 16 at Syracuse, Jan. 22 vs. Pittsburgh, Jan. 25 vs. Miami (Fla.), Jan. 29 vs. St. John’s, Feb. 6 at Pittsburgh, Feb. 8 at Villanova, Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Feb. 19 at Seton Hall, Feb. 26 at Miami (Fla.) and March 4 at Georgetown.
Six more Irish games will be carried in the Chicago area on WAUR-AM (930). They include: Nov. 16 at Ohio State, Nov. 30 at Indiana, Dec. 8 vs. Valparaiso, Jan. 5 at Connecticut, Feb. 23 vs. Providence and March 1 vs. Syracuse.