Irish Face Demon Deacons In NIT Championship Game

March 29, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team plays Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference tonight in the championship game of the 2000 National Invitation Tournament. The Irish advanced to the finals after defeating Penn State 73-52 in semifinal action on Tuesday night. Notre Dame earned a trip to Madison Square Garden after posting wins over Michigan (75-65 on March 15), Xavier (76-64 on March 20) and BYU (64-52 on March 22). The Irish head into tonight’s championship matchup versus the Demon Deacons with an overall record of 22-14 and have won six of their last seven games.

Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) led a balanced Notre Dame scoring attack on Tuesday night against Penn State as he was one of three Irish players in double figures. Murphy had game-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds, freshman Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) finished with 13 points, while another Irish rookie, Jere Macura (Split, Croatia), had 12 points and seven boards.

Notre Dame jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the contest. The Irish limited the Nittany Lions to just 33.3 percent shooting accuracy, while they connected on 53.2 percent of their shots from the field. Notre Dame also owned a decisive 38-25 rebounding advantage.

Notre Dame defeated BYU in quarterfinal action on March 22 at the Joyce Center as sophomore forward Troy Murphy scored a game-high 19 points and sophomore forward David Graves (Lexington, Ky.) added 13.

The Irish led by a 38-32 count at halftime and the game remained close for much of the second half as Notre Dame led by just five, 52-47, with 6:48 left to go. Notre Dame then went on a 8-0 run, paced by three-pointers from Graves and freshman guard Mike Monserez (Cincinnati, Ohio) to take a 60-47 lead with 3:32 left to seal the win.

Notre Dame advanced to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Conference championship with a 74-62 win over Rutgers in the first round on March 8. The win over the Scarlet Knights was Notre Dame’s first BIG EAST tournament win in five years at the event. Notre Dame was eliminated from the championship with a 61-58 loss to Miami (Fla.) in the quarterfinals.

Notre Dame concluded its regular season with a 77-54 win over Georgetown on March 4. 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.

The Irish are led by Murphy, who paces the team in scoring at 22.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds. Murphy was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year and is a first-team consensus All-America selection. He was a first team All-America pick by the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association and a second team All-America pick from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and The Sporting News.

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 11 games against ranked teams this season and have posted a 5-6 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).

Wake Forest enters tonight’s championship tilt with an overall record of 21-14 and defeated ACC foe North Carolina State 62-59 in overtime to earn a berth in the championship final.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22-14) vs.
WAKE FOREST Demon Deacons (21-14)

Date: Thursday, March 30, 2000
Game: National Invitation Tournament – Championship
Place: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), 19,876
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Television: ESPN (Ron Franklin, Bill Raftery)
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), also national broadcast on selected stations by Westwood One (Tony Roberts, Glenn Consor).

THE NOTRE DAME-WAKE FOREST SERIES: Tonight’s contest marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

NOTRE DAME VS. ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE: Tonight’s game is the second meeting of the season between Notre Dame and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Irish lost to Maryland 72-67 in the consolation game of the Preseason NIT. Notre Dame has an overall record of 22-51 against the ACC. Notre Dame’s last victory over an ACC opponent was against North Carolina on January 11, 1992 (88-76) in Madison Square Garden. That same season, the Irish lost 81-76 to Virginia in overtime in the championship game of the NIT.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Here’s a look at the common opponent between Notre Dame and Wake Forest this year:

IRISH IN THE NIT: The 2000 NIT marks the seventh time that the Irish have appeared in the event as Notre Dame holds an overall record of 20-6 in the tournament, including its four wins this season. Notre Dame last advanced to the title game of the NIT in 1992 when it lost to Virginia 81-76 in overtime. Prior to the 2000 event, the Irish last played in the NIT in 1997 and advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Oral Roberts and TCU before losing to Michigan in the quarterfinals.

The Irish advanced to the championship game of the NIT on three other occasions – in 1973, ’84 and ’92. Notre Dame lost in the first round of the event in 1983 and advanced to the third-place game in 1968.

QUICK HITS: Notes about the Notre Dame team and tonight’s game –

Notre Dame’s 22 wins mark the most for the Irish since the 1986-87 campaign when they went 24-8 and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. The 1999-2000 season marks the 19th time in school history that the Irish have won 20 or more games.

Tonight’s game is the 37th of the season for the Irish – the second-highest in school history. The only team to play more games than the 1999-2000 team is the 1908-09 Irish, who played 40 games.

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 March 4 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 VS. THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD: Notre Dame played a total of 14 games against teams in the 2000 NCAA tournament and posted an overall record of 6-8 against those schools. The Irish posted two wins against Connecticut and victories against Ohio State, Valparaiso, St. John’s and Seton Hall. The Irish lost three times to Miami (Fla.), twice to Syracuse and to Indiana, Arizona and Maryland.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE NIT FIELD: Notre Dame played a total of six games against five different teams in this year’s NIT for an overall record of 3-3. Notre Dame split a pair of games with Rutgers, beat Georgetown and Siena and lost to Villanova and Vanderbilt.

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. 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.

WHAT A SCHEDULE: Matt Doherty started his collegiate head coaching career with a very rugged schedule as 16 of his first 35 games have been against teams that played in the ’99 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 22):

TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 101-47

IRISH SET RECORD FOR THREES: Notre Dame has connected for 282 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 718, 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. Jere Macura 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 averaged 8,770 fans per home game at the Joyce Center for the 1999-2000 season, which placed the Irish fourth among BIG EAST teams behind Syracuse (20,807), Connecticut (13,543) and St. John’s (10,732).

Notre Dame was also a draw on the road as it 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.

DOHERTY HITS HIGH WIN MARK FOR FIRST-YEAR COACHES: With Notre Dame’s 19th win on March 15 against Michigan, Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty has set a school record for most wins by a first-year head coach. The previous mark was 18 by John MacLeod in 1991-92.

DOHERTY AND FIRST YEAR HEAD COACHES: Here’s where Matt Doherty stands in terms of total wins this season among the 27 first-year college head coaches this year:

MURPHY AN ALL-AMERICAN: Murphy was named a consensus first-team All-American by the NCAA on March 23 and became Notre Dame’s first pick to that team since Adrian Dantley in 1974-75 and and 1975-76.

The other members of the consensus first team were Chris Carrawell of Duke, Marcus Fizer of Iowa State, A.J. Guyton of Indiana (unanimous), Kenyon Martin of Cincinnati (unanimous) and Chris Mihm of Texas.

Murphy was been named first-team All-American by the Associated Press, the United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Times. Murphy became Notre Dame’s first player to earn first-team AP honors since Dantley in 1975-76 and 1974-75. Murphy has been named second-team All-America by The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Here’s a complete look at Murphy’s postseason honors and awards from during the season:

• First-Team Consensus All-American, NCAA
• First-Team All-American, Associated Press
• First-Team All-American, United States Basketball Writers Association
• First-Team All-American, Basketball Times
• Second-Team All-American, The Sporting News
• Second-Team All-American, National Association of Basketball Coaches
• BIG EAST Conference Player-of-the-Year
• All-BIG EAST Conference first team (unanimous)
• First-team, all-district (District 10), NABC
• One of top 22 candidates for 2000 John R. Wooden Award
• Finalist for United States Basketball Writers Association national player-of-the-year
• Finalist for Naismith Trophy
• Finalist for Chip Hilton Award, given by the Basketball Hall of Fame
• 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 HONORED BY BIG EAST: Murphy was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year on March 7 before the BIG EAST Championship in New York. Murphy became the second Notre Dame player to earn that award as Pat Garrity was also honored in 1997. Murphy was also a unanimous pick to the all-BIG EAST Conference first team.

MURPHY 17TH 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 1,338 points, which places him 17th in school history. Ken Barlow (1982-86) is in 16th with 1,342 and John Paxson (1979-83) is 15th with 1,366.

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 20TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Murphy had his 20th double-double of the season in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship with 15 points and 16 rebounds against Miami. His 20 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 30 of 36 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 30 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 63 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 31 games and has scored 20 or more points in 35 games and 30 or more points in 12 games.

This season, Murphy has scored in double figures in every game, scored 20 or more points in 24 games and 30 or more points in nine games.

MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Murphy is among the national leaders in scoring and rebounding. As of March 23, Murphy was tied for sixth in the country in scoring at 21.3 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 24.8 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 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 March 23, 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 is fifth in scoring offense at 71.7 points, second in free throw percentage at .736, second in field goal percentage at .465, second in three-point field goal percentage at .384 and first in assists per game at 17.82. 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 14 field goals made vs. St. Francis is tied as second in the conference this year. His 15 free throws made vs. Siena tops the league as his 18 attempts vs. the Saints is second. Murphy leads the league in overall double-doubles with 20.

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)

MURPHY AND SINGLE-SEASON MARKS: Murphy leads the Irish with 819 points this season, which is the fifth-highest in school history. Adrian Dantley had 829 in 1975-76 for fourth place while Austin Carr is the leader with 1,106 in 1969-70.

Murphy’s 257 free throws are the most in school history and his 318 attempts also rank first all-time.

Murphy’s 374 rebounds are 10th in school single-season history as Tom Hawkins is the leader with 499 in 1957-58. His 266 field goals made are 10th (Austin Carr leads with 444 in 1969-70), and his 541 attempts are eighth (Carr leads with 832 in 1970-71).

Murphy has 38 blocked shots this season, which is tied as the fourth-highest single-season mark in school history. The leader is LaPhonso Ellis with 86 in 1991-92.

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 11 games Notre Dame has played against ranked teams, Murphy has five double-doubles with a 22.9 scoring average and 12.1 rebounds per game.

GRAVES SETS THREES RECORDS: Sophomore forward David Graves has started 63 of the 66 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 45 of those contests. He has scored in double figures in all but 11 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 802 career points.

Graves led the Irish in scoring in the second round win in the NIT over Xavier with 24 points – 21 of them coming in the second half. Graves was five-for-seven from three-point field goal distance. The game marked the fifth 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 81-of-177 (45.8%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc. The 81 threes are a Notre Dame single-season mark. The previous mark of 80 was set byRyan Hoover in 1993-94. Graves’ 177 attempts is the fourth-highest, as Hoover holds the record with 198 in ’95-’96.

In terms of career records, Graves has 116 three-point field goals, which ties teammate Martin Ingelsby for second in Irish history. Hoover is the leader with 248.

Graves enjoyed an outstanding game against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 with career highs for points (33), rebounds (12), field goals made (11) and minutes played (44). The game was the first double-double of Graves’ collegiate career.

Graves had the second double-double of his career 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 18 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, 16 vs. Georgetown, 11 vs. Miami (Fla.), 11 vs. Michigan, 13 vs. Xavier and 13 vs. Penn State.

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 again had a hot second half vs. Michigan on Wednesday as he scored 11 points – all in the second stanza – including three three-point field goals.

Carroll is 62-of-178 from three-point field goal range this season. His 62 threes are fourth in Notre Dame single-season history while his 174 attempts are third.

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.

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 21 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), 10 vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12) and 10 vs. Rutgers in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship. 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.

FORMER IRISH NOW COACHING RIVALS
Former Irish guards Keith Kurowski (Matawan, N.J.) and Pete Miller (South Bend, Ind.) — both ’96 graduates of Notre Dame and teammates for three years from 1994-96 — were back on the court together on Fri., Jan. 14, but not on the same team. Kurowski is in his first year as coach of the varsity boys’ basketball team at Marian High School in Mishawaka, Ind. Miller also is the first-year coach of the varsity boys’ basketball team at his alma mater, St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend. Kurowski led Marian to a 61-53 over St. Joseph’s in that game.

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 22. 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 39-of-92 from that range. He ranked second with David Graves in Irish career history with 116 threes. 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.

In the first round NIT win over Michigan, Ingelsby came off the bench and hit two three-point field goals in the first half and hit one against Xavier in the second round.

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.

DILLON DISHES AND STEALS
Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon (Philadelphia, Pa.) has started all 36 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 209 assists to go with 108 turnovers. His 209 assists are the second-highest in school single-season history while Jack Meehan is the leader with 214 in 1970-71. Against Penn State, he had three assists to move ahead of Tim Singleton who had 208 in 1988-89.

Dillon also leads the Irish with 65 steals this season, which is a Notre Dame single-season record. The former record was 61, set by David Rivers in 1984-85.

Entering the season, Dillon had started just two games in his career and had averaged 11.6 minutes per game – as opposed to 29.6 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 120.

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.

MACURA GETS 12 AGAIN
Macura scored 12 points against Penn State on Tuesday night to register his second-highest point total for the third time this season. Prior to that performance, his most recent 12-point outing was against Syracuse (March 1). In that game, he had three three-point field goals, to tie the 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 Championship first round win over Rutgers with 10 points. 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.