Nov. 28, 2006
Notre Dame (4-1, 0-0 BIG EAST)
vs.
Winston-Salem St. (1-8, 0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 * 7:30 p.m. (EST) Joyce Center (11,418) * Notre Dame, Ind.
Media Information
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | Jack Nolan (play-by-play analyst) |
| LaPhonso Ellis (color analyst) |
Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WLS 890 AM in Chicago, Ill. (Chicago land area and Midwest); WZOW 97.7 FM and 102.3 FM in South Bend, Ind.; ESPN 950 AM in Indianapolis, Ind.; WLYV 1450 AM in Fort Wayne, Ind. and Northeast, Ind.;WLUV 96.7 AM in Rockford and DeKalb, Ill. and Beloit and Janesville, Wis.; WEFM 95.9 FM in Michigan City and Gary, Ind.; ESPN (WRSW) 1480 AM in Warsaw, Ind.; WAMW 107.9 FM and 1580 AM in Washington, Ind., and www.und.com.
Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics are available for all home games via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).
Notre Dame vs. Winston-Salem St.:
Notre Dame is back in action just 48 hours after they beat Lehigh 93-87 on Monday. The game marked the return of Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, a former Irish basketball captain who played for the Irish from 1991-95. In the win, Notre Dame topped the 90-point mark for the third time in five games. Following tonight’s contest, the Irish travel to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., to face Maryland in the BB&T Classic.
Inching Closer:
Keep an eye on Colin Falls tonight. The Irish senior co-captain needs just 10 points tonight to become the 45th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points. Heading into tonight’s contest, he has 990 career points and owns a 10.3 career scoring average.
Irish 1-1 at NIT:
Notre Dame finished with a 1-1 record in the two games of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Midwest Region held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
vs. Butler: The Irish dropped a tough two-point decision
(71-69) against Butler. In that contest, Colin Falls and Luke Harangody led Notre Dame with 17 points each, while Russell Carter added 15. Harangody also registered the first double-double of his young career as he grabbed 10 boards. The Irish shot 48.1 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from three-point range, while Butler connected on 49.1 percent overall from the floor.
vs. Lafayette: Notre Dame shot a blistering 72.0 percent
(18-25) from the floor en route to the 32-point victory (92-60) and was 35-60 overall from the field (58.3%). Russell Carter notched his second 20-point outing of the season as he finished with 20 points to lead four Irish players in double figures. Luke Harangody tossed in a career-high points, while Rob Kurz added 16 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Tory Jackson tossed in 10 points. Kyle McAlarney dished off a career-high 12 asissts in the game as part of Notre Dame’s 28 assists overall in the contest.
The Captains:
Senior Colin Falls and junior Rob Kurz were selected captains by a vote of their teammates. Kurz’ selection marks the third time in four years that the Irish have had a junior serving as a team captain.
Early Start:
Notre Dame’s season opener against IPFW marked the earliest start date ever in the 102-year history of the program. The earliest start date prior to this had been in 1998 when that Irish squad opened up the 1998-99 campaign with a 76-65 loss to Miami of Ohio on Nov. 13.
Irish in Season Openers:
Notre Dame owns an all-time record of 84-18 (.824) in season openers and have won all seven of its openers under head coach Mike Brey. Since the opening of the Joyce Center in 1968-69, Irish teams are 33-6 (.846) in home openers. The last time Notre Dame lost a season opener at home was to Miami of Ohio on November 13, 1998.
Irish Roll Under Brey In November:
Under head coach Mike Brey, the Irish are 25-3 (.892) all-time in games played during the month of November. The three November losses have been to Creighton 80-75 in the championship game of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 26, 2002; to North Carolina State (61-48) at the John R. Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Nov. 26; and to Butler (71-69) last Monday night in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off
The Irish All-Time:
The 2006-07 men’s basketball campaign marks the 102nd season of basketball and 12th as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. In 101-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1585-878 record for a .643 winning percentage. In BIG EAST play, Notre Dame owns an 90-94 (.489) record all-time in conference regular-season play.
Always In It:
Since the 2005-06 campaign, Notre Dame’s 15 losses have been by a combined 61 points for an average of 4.1 points per game. The 14 setbacks a year ago were by a total of 59 points (4.2 points). The only double-digit loss was to North Carolina State (61-47). The Irish suffered 10 BIG EAST losses during the regular season and those were by a combined 35 points (3.5).
Harangody Nabs First BIG EAST Weekly Honor:
Freshman Luke Harangody was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 20 as the league handed out its inaugural weekly honors for the 2006-07 season. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in Notre Dame’s first four outings and became the first Irish rookies since Torin Francis in 2002-03 to earn the league’s rookie-of-the-week honor. Harangody has scored in double figures in all four games and is the first freshman since Troy Murphy in 1998-99 to net double figures in his first four collegiate outings.
Hard-NOSEd Player:
Junior Rob Kurz sustained a broken in practice on Sunday evening, Nov. 5 after being elbowed accidently by teammate Luke Harangody. He underwent surgery on Monday morning (Nov. 6) at 10:30 a.m. and was in street clothes that evening sitting on the bench in the exhibition game against Bellarmine. He returned to practice on Wednesday (Nov. 8) and has played and started all four contests.
Keeping It Close:
In the 71 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s six-plus seasons, only 16 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 460 for a average of 6.5 points per game. Notre Dame’s biggest losses have been on the road at Pittsburgh (72-55 on Jan. 5, 2003) and against Arizona (88-71 on March 27, 2003) in the NCAA West Regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif. Prior to those setbacks, the worst defeat was a 16-point decision at Connecticut during Brey’s first season.
Going Overtime:
Notre Dame played five overtime games last season, matching the school record set during the 1955-56 campaign when that Irish team finished 1-4 in overtime contests. Three of those contests a year ago were decided in double overtime. The Irish were 0-5 in overtime games a year ago.
Seven Straight Postseason Appearances:
Since 2000, Notre Dame has appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments each of the last seven years. The Irish played in the 2000 NIT and then earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths – 2001, ’02, ’03, followed by NIT appearances in ’04, ’05 and ’06. This is the longest stretch of postseason appearances for Irish teams since making eight straight from 1983-90 (NIT in 1983 and ’84 and NCAA from 1985-90).
Big Luke=Big Numbers:
After five games, freshman Luke Harangody is second on the team in both scoring (15.0 ppg.) and rebounding (5.2 rpg.). He has scored in double figures in all five of Notre Dame’s games this season and is the first to do so since Troy Murphy in 1998-99 as he began his rookie season with 12 straight double-figure outings.
Harangody recorded the first double-double of his career since Torin Francis in November of 2002 when he scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds the loss to Butler. In back-to-back games against Lafayette and The Citadel, he has produced consecutive 18-point outings. Against the Leopards on Nov. 14, he finished with a career-best 17 points as he connected on 7-12 shots from the field and against the Bulldogs, he was 7-9 from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Harangody is shooting 58.0 percent from the field (29-50) and 94.4 percent (17-18) from three-point range.
Outscoring the Opponent:
In the 74-50 win over The Citadel on Nov. 19, Notre Dame held a 40-12 advantage at the break as the Irish limited the Bulldogs to just 21.7 percent shooting in the half (5-23). The 12 points were the fewest allowed by a Notre Dame team under Mike Brey in six-plus seasons. Luke Harangody came off the bench and scored 16 first-half points (7-9 from the field and 2-2 from the free-throw line) in 11 minutes, not only averaging 1.5 points per minute, but also outscoring the entire Citadel squad in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
Hot Shooting:
Notre Dame is shooting 51.7 percent from the field (151-292) and 38.0 percent from three-point range (38-100) following four games games. The Irish have shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in three games this season (54.0 percent (34-63) vs. IPFW, 58.3 percent (35-60) against Lafayette and 54.5 percent (30-55) vs. Lehigh). In the Lafayette game, Notre Dame shot a blistering 72.0 percent (18-25) in the second half, the highest field goal percentage ever by an Irish team in a half under head coach Mike Brey. Prior to its last game against The Citadel, Notre Dame had not shot below 48.0 percent in a game as the Irish also connected on 48.1 percent (25-52) in their loss to Butler. Against the Bulldogs, Notre Dame shot a season-low 43.5 percent (27-62).
Board Dominance:
Not known in recent years to be a dominant rebounding team, Notre Dame has been exceptional on the boards this season and is currently outrebounding its opponent 39.0 to 27.0 for a +12.0 advantage. The Irish have outrebounded each of its first four opponents – IPFW (54-28), Butler (29-24), Lafayette (35-23), The Citadel (40-34) and Lehigh (32-24).