Irish Focused On First Four Challenge vs. Rutgers

ND_MBB_Game Notes vs. Rutgers

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team returns to the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament for the first time since 2016-17 and the 13th time of the Mike Brey era on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, as an 11 seed against No. 11 Rutgers in the First Four at Dayton Arena at 9:10 p.m. ET. The Irish and Scarlet Knights will battle each other for a spot in the First Round against No. 6 Alabama on Friday, March 18, in San Diego at 4:15 p.m. ET.   

NOTRE DAME – NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

Overall Appearances: 37, 10th all-time

Overall Record: 39-40

Appearances in Mike Brey era: 13

Record in Mike Brey era: 13-12

NOTRE DAME – RUTGERS SERIES HISTORY 

Overall: ND leads 20-13

Mike Brey Era (2000-01-current): ND leads 14-6

As BIG EAST Members: ND leads 15-10

Streak: 3, ND, including last meeting March 13, 2013, in BIG EAST Tournament, 69-61 Notre Dame victory

Mike Brey vs. Steve Pikiell: 3-0, all while Pikiell at Stony Brook

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

• 2022 All-ACC Third Team

• Father, Damon, played at Dayton from 1982-86 and the all-time winningest coach in Capital University (Columbus, Ohio) history. 

• The only player in the nation with .500 FG%, .440 3FG%, .850 FT% and averaging 13.0 ppg. 

• ACC Co-Player of the Week (12/27/21) who has become an All-ACC level guard this season.

• The only true freshmen in the country with 450 points, 100 rebounds, 75 assists, 50 3FGM and 30 steals.

• 2022 All-ACC Second Team & All-Rookie Team selection

• Has posted double-digit scoring streaks of 17 (Notre Dame best for a freshman) and 9 games this season. 

• National Freshman of the Week on January 10 (CBSSports/BWAA) and three-time ACC Freshman of the Week. 

• In his first career start in Purcell Pavilion, hit the game-winning jump shot with :12 left to defeat No. 10/12 Kentucky.

• First South Bend, IN, public school MBB prospect to attend Notre Dame since 1985. 

• 2022 All-ACC Honorable Mention

• The only player on the Irish roster with NCAA Tournament experience (2019 at Yale, vs. LSU, L, 74-79, 19 min, 9 pts, 1 reb, 2 blk) 

• Second among all active NCAA players in career field goal percentage, shooting .637 in his career. See page 7 for more details. 

• Named ACC Player of the Week while posting three consecutive double-doubles at Miami, NC State and at home vs. Louisville.  

• 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year at Yale, did not participate in 2020-21 as the Ivy League canceled all intercollegiate athletics.

• Coming off best game of the season vs. Virginia Tech in ACC Quarterfinals with 23 pts (8-for-12 shooting) and five assists

• Led all active ACC players with 386 assists in conference play. See page 7 for more details.   

• Has continued his penchant for game-winning plays this season, with game winning or game sealing plays at Howard, at Pittsburgh, vs. Virginia and vs. Boston College. See page 6 for more details.

• Posted second 20-point game of his career against Virginia Tech last game out, finishing with 20 points and going 8-for-8 at FT line. 

• The team’s best on-ball defender who routinely assumes the assignment of the opponents best perimeter scoring threat.

• Scored 21 points in the first half in the victory at Duke last year, eventually scoring career-best 28 points.

OFF THE BENCH 

• Earned fifth double-double of the season against Virginia Tech in ACC Quarterfinals.

• 14th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.460), one of 31 players in the country this year with 50 3FGM and 200 reb.   

• Became the 67th player in Notre Dame men’s basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points against Duke. 

• Keyed ND’s second half surge at NC State with ball handling against pressure and 12 points off the bench. 

• Went three-for-three from three point range at Louisville, surpassing 1,000 career points (747 scored at Santa Clara). 

• Planned to sit out 2020-21 after transferring from Santa Clara until all underclassmen transfers were given immediate eligibility in 12/20

• Hit the game-winning three pointer at the buzzer in the first round ACC tournament victory over Wake Forest last season. 

IRISH ITEMS – BY THE NUMBERS

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY EMBRACED

At one point this season, Notre Dame held seven consecutive opponents to 65 or less points in ACC play and finished the year with 10 such games against league foe and 17 against all opponents. 

The Irish have accomplished that feat against 17 of their opponents this season. 

The 2021-22 Irish are pushing the 2014-15 squad as the best defensive unit of the ACC era for Notre Dame men’s basketball. 

IRISH BEGAN SEASON AS MOST EXPERIENCED TEAM OF THE BREY ERA

Notre Dame is in an unusual position this season and welcomes back, by far, its most experienced group of players since the Mike Brey era began in 2000-01. With the additions of Trey Wertz (two seasons at Santa Clara) and Cormac Ryan (one season at Stanford) last season, then adding Paul Atkinson Jr. (three seasons at Yale) the Irish boast a veteran group of players who have seen a significant amount of college basketball action. 

As shown below, the Irish returned the most career starts, minutes played, field goals, field goals attempted, three point field goals, three point field goals attempted, free throws, free throws attempted, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, assists and points of any team in the Brey era: 

WESLEY’S ALL-AROUND GAME PLACES HIM AMONG ROOKIE ELITES

Freshman Blake Wesley had made his presence felt on both ends of the court this season and is putting up overall statistics that rank among the best rookies over the past 35 years. Just one steal away from reaching statistical plateaus of 450 points, 100 rebounds, 75 assists, 50 3FGM and 40 steals.  

Here are the major conference true freshmen over the past five seasons who reached 450 points, 100 rebounds, 70 assists, 50 3FGM and 40 steals. 

HUBB’S CLUTCH MOMENTS

Senior Prentiss Hubb has posted four game-winning moments this season to further enhance his legacy of stepping up in clutch situations throughout his Irish career. 

2018-19 – thrust into the starting lineup due to an illness to T.J. Gibbs, Hubb scores 16 points and puts the Irish ahead 67-66 with two free throws with 2.8 seconds left against Boston College. The Irish eventually won the game 69-66. 

2019-20 – his three pointer with 1:20 left ties the game at Syracuse, then his two free throws with :18 left seal the 88-87 victory. 

2019-20 – converts five of six free throws in the final minutes of the game as the Irish win 78-74 at Georgia Tech. 

2019-20 – drives the length of the court in the closing seconds at Boston College, finding T.J. Gibbs for the game-winning jumper in the lane at the buzzer. 

2020-21 – scores the final 11 points of the game against Kentucky, including the game-winning drive to the bucket for a 64-63 win. 

2020-21 – his 28-foot three pointer with :37 seconds left puts Notre Dame up five in the 93-89 victory at Duke. 

2021-22 – connects on the game-winning turnaround jump shot with :05 left in the 68-67 victory at Pittsburgh. 

2021-22 – turns in a clutch drive to the hoop at Howard with :19 remaining, turning a one-point lead into the three-point winning margin (71-68). It was Hubb’s first game back in the DMV after his prep hoops career at Gonzaga. 

2021-22 – steps to the line with :04 left and sinks both free throws to secure a 69-65 victory over Virginia. 

2021-22 – in overtime against Boston College, hits a turnaround jumper with :10 left to put the Irish up three, then steals the next inbounds pass, is fouled and hits two free throws to put the Irish up five. After a BC desperation three pointer is scored, calmly hits two more free throws to seal the game. Ended up scoring six points in 10 seconds to secure the victory. 

2021-22 – with just over three minutes left and the Irish up by two points, Hubb connects on a step back rainbow three pointer to put the Irish back up five points against Syracuse. The lead would not drop below three points the rest of the way in the 10-point Irish win.

HUBB AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN CAREER ASSISTS OVER FOUR SEASONS

Prentiss Hubb’s 572 career assists are noteworthy without any qualifiers, but a further look at the numbers shows that the Upper Marlboro, MD, native is among the national leaders. 

Among Division I players in their fourth year of action, Hubb is sixth among such players in career assists. Filter to major conference players and he is fourth.  

DIVISION I CAREER ASSIST LEADERS – FOUR YEARS OR LESS

HUBB FINISHES SEASON AS LEADER IN ACTIVE MAJOR CONFERENCE ASSISTS

Prentiss Hubb has always stepped up his game in conference play – of his 567 assists, 386 of them have been delivered during regular season ACC play– by far the most of any active player in the league and the most for any active major conference player.  

ACTIVE CAREER ASSISTS IN MAJOR CONFERENCE PLAY

ACC ACTIVE CAREER ASSISTS IN LEAGUE PLAY

ATKINSON JR. SECOND AMONG ALL ACTIVE NCAA PLAYERS IN CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Graduate student Paul Atkinson Jr. has continued his penchant for putting the ball in the basket while stepping up from the Ivy League to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The all-time field goal percentage leader in Yale basketball history, Atkinson Jr. is near the top of the list for active Division I players in career field goal percentage.  

DIVISION I ACTIVE CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADERS

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTED BY 1,000 POINT SCORERS

Notre Dame has produced 67 1,000 point scorers throughout the history of the program with 26 of those players having been recruited by Mike Brey and exhausted their eligibility (or turned professional early).

Just this season alone, Dane Goodwin, Trey Wertz (who scored 747 of his career points at Santa Clara) and Nate Laszewski have reached the 1,000-point plateau. Along with Paul Atkinson Jr. and Prentiss Hubb, Notre Dame is the first program in the nation this year to have five players with over 1,000 point scored in a career.    

DECISIVE RUNS

In eight of Notre Dame’s last 11 victories the Irish have been challenged in the second half and responded with decisive runs to take control of the game and eventually earn the victory. 

A DECADE OF ‘NO FOUL’ CONTINUES

One of the mantras of Notre Dame basketball under Mike Brey has been to keep the amount of opponent foul shots down. Defend without fouling is a way of life for Irish basketball and the statistics bear out that trend. 

In the last 11 years, Notre Dame has failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just once. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls three times.  

The NCAA has been tracking the least amount of fouls committed in a season since 1993. Notre Dame is the only team since 1993 to lead the country in least amount of fouls more than twice and the Irish finished the 2020-21 season second in the NCAA. 

NOTRE DAME FOULS PER GAME NATIONAL/CONFERENCE FINAL RANKING

IRISH INK NATIONALLY-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball program and Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey have announced that three prospective student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Notre Dame and compete for the Fighting Irish in 2022-23. 

The three-member class is composed of forwards Dom Campbell and Ven-Allen Lubin, along with guard J.J. Starling. All three are consensus top-100 players and four-star prospects which provide the Irish the 15th-ranked recruiting class by 24/7 Sports (fifth-best in the ACC) and the 18th-rated (fourth-best in the ACC) group from Rivals. 

“Our new staff started with a plan in June and I really like how we stayed focused and committed while being on the road in June and July, then followed through when the visits on campus took place,” Brey said. 

“It was a fabulous team effort by our coaching staff to get a three man class that will be part of a bright future for Notre Dame basketball. Our fans will love to watch these guys play and grow as part of our program.” 

Dom Campbell | Forward | 6-9, 265 | Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) | Scarborough, ME

“Dom is a gifted low post guy with great hands and footwork. He has the ability to carve out space and step out as well. He can make really good decisions with the ball in his hands.” 

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 96th overall, 11th power forward

24/7 4 star – 123rd overall, 22nd power forward, 2nd state

Ven-Allen Lubin | Forward | 6-8, 220 | Orlando Christian Prep | Orlando, FL

“Ven-Allen is a position less basketball player. He has the ability to post up, face up, run and change ends. He also brings great length on the defensive end.” 

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 63rd overall, 8th power forward

24/7 4 Star – 73rd overall, 14th power forward, 14th state

ESPN 4 star – 91st overall, 13th power forward, 14th state

J.J. Starling | Guard | 6-4, 195  | La Lumiere School (IN) | Baldwinsville, NY

“J.J. is an explosive guard. You can’t pigeonhole him as a point guard or a two man, he does a little bit of everything. The most infectious thing is his energy and charisma that he plays with. He really engages his teammates and leads on the floor.” 

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 40th overall, 8th point guard

24/7 – 30th overall, 5th point guard, 1st state

ESPN – 17th overall, 4th point guard, 3rd state

STARLING EARNS A SPOT ON MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN TEAM 

J.J. Starling, a 6-4, 185-pound guard from Baldwinsville, New York, and currently competing at La Lumiere School in Indiana, has been named to the 2022 McDonald’s All-America Boys Basketball Team. Starling has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Notre Dame and compete for the men’s basketball team in 2022-23.

The selections will appear in the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game, which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, in March of 2022 at WinTrust Arena.

Starling is the 17th rated national recruit from ESPN, 25th by 24/7 Sports and 40th by Rivals.com.

He will become the fifth McDonald’s All-American recruited during Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey’s tenure and the eighth to suit up for the Irish under Brey.

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball McDonald’s All-Americans

J.J. Starling, 2022

Demetrius Jackson, 2017

Luke Zeller, 2005

Torin Francis, 2002

Chris Thomas, 2001

Danny Miller, 1998 (transferred from Maryland)

Ryan Humphrey, 1997 (transferred from Oklahoma)

LaPhonso Ellis, 1988

Keith Robinson, 1986

Mark Stevenson, 1985 (transferred to Duquesne)

Matt Beeuwsaert, 1984 (transferred to California)

Ken Barlow, 1982

Tim Kempton, 1982

Joe Kleine, 1980 (transferred to Arkansas)

Tom Sluby, 1980

Barry Spencer, 1980

Tim Andree, 1979

John Paxson, 1979

Tracy Jackson, 1977