| WHO: | Notre Dame (3-3) at Boston College (5-3) |
| WHAT: | 2021-22 ACC Opener For Both Teams |
| WHERE: | Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA |
| WHEN: | Friday, December 3, 2021 | 6 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ACC Network | Play-by-Play: Jon Meterparel | Analysis: Malcolm Huckaby |
| RADIO: | Play-by-Play: Tony Simeone | Live locally on WSBT-AM 960/FM 96.1, worldwide on und.com |
2021-22 FIGHTING IRISH – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (3-3) looks to cap its long road trip with a victory at Boston College (5-3) in the ACC season opener for both teams Friday night (6 p.m. ET, ACC Network). The Irish have not played a home game since the win over High Point on November 16.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#20 | PAUL ATKINSON JR. | Graduate Student | 6-9 | 230 | West Palm Beach, FL
Saw double-digit game scoring streak end at Illinois, still averaging 12.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg in 2021-22 • 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year at Yale • did not participate in 2020-21, as the Ivy League cancelled all intercollegiate athletics • ranked by ESPN+ as the fourth-best transfer prospect in 2020-21 • boasts a .661 career field goal percentage – top for any returning NCAA Division I player this year – and led Ivy League in FG% all three seasons in which he competed.
#3 PRENTISS HUBB | Senior | 6-3 | 176 | Upper Marlboro, MD
Preseason All-ACC Second Team • leads all returning ACC players in career assists (462) • led the Irish in scoring (14.6) and three-point field goals made (65) last season • one of five major conference players to reach 100 assists in league play last season.
#5 CORMAC RYAN | Senior | 6-5 | 195 | New York, NY
Pulled down a season and team-high seven rebounds at Illinois • started 16 of 25 games in his first year with the Irish last season • scored 21 points in the first half in the victory at Duke last year, eventually scoring career-best 28 points • shot .344 from 3FG range last season.
#23 DANE GOODWIN | Senior | 6-4 | 202 | Upper Arlington, OH
Has scored in double figures in all six games this season and leads the team with 15.0 ppg • six-game double-digit scoring streak is the second best of his career (seven straight in 2019-20 – final four games – and 2020-21 – first three games) • averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg one of the best free throw shooters on the team, boasting a .831 career average from the stripe (15-16 this season).
#14 NATE LASZEWSKI | Senior | 6-10 | 235 | Jupiter, FL
Scored 13 points with three three-point field goals at Illinois • leads the Irish in rebounding at 9.3 per game • improved FG% 19 percent, 3FG% 11% and RPG by 3.1 last season • scored over 20 points four times last season and has five 20-point games in his career.
OFF THE BENCH
#2 TREY WERTZ | Senior | 6-5 | 192 | Charlotte, NC
Led the Irish with five assists vs. St. Mary’s (CA) and played a season-high 26 minutes • planned to sit out 2020-21 season after transferring from Santa Clara until all underclassmen transfers were given immediate eligibility in December of 2020 • appeared in 21 games making 14 starts, shooting .429 from three-point range • hit the game-winning 3FG at the buzzer vs. WF in 2021 ACC tournament.
#0 BLAKE WESLEY | Freshman | 6-5 | 185 | South Bend, IN
Exploded for 24 points, 18 in the second half at Illinois in the first true road game of his career • has hit double figures in four of his six career games played • first Mike Brey freshman to score 20 points in a career debut (vs. CSUN) since Chris Thomas in 2001 • first South Bend, IN, public school MBB prospect to sign with Notre Dame since 1985 • consensus four-star prospect • athletic backcourt player expected to be an immediate key contributor.
#22 ELIJAH TAYLOR | Sophomore | 6-8 | 242 | Philadelphia, PA
Earned earliest minutes of his career in the first half at Illinois, eventually scored four points in career-high seven minutes • made Irish debut vs. Chaminade and scored his first career field goal • missed CSUN game as a precaution due to minor lower leg injury, then the High Point game with the flu • missed 2020-21 while recovering from ankle surgery • athletic front court player will provide depth on the Irish front line.
#1 J.R. KONIECZNY | Freshman | 6-6 | 195 | South Bend, IN
(pronounced Ko-NEZZ-knee) Saw action in first career game vs. CSUN, scored first career points vs. Chaminade • all-time leading scorer in St. Joseph County history (1,996) • joins classmate Blake Wesley as the first Northern Indiana Conference players to sign with Notre Dame since 2012 (D. Jackson, A. Torres).
IRISH ITEMS – BY THE NUMBERS
|
1 |
Since 2000-01 (first year of the Mike Brey era), Notre Dame has led the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.44). |
|
7 |
Notre Dame will confer an NCAA Division I men’s basketball-best seven degrees in the spring of 2022 – undergraduate degrees to R. Carmody, D. Goodwin, P. Hubb, N. Laszewski, C. Ryan and T. Wertz, along with a graduate degree to P. Atkinson Jr. |
|
9.3 |
Rebounds-per-game average for Nate Laszewski, which is third in the ACC as of Dec. 1 |
|
15.0 |
There is only one player in the nation averaging 15.0 points while shooting .480 from the field, .500 from 3FG and .930 from the free throw line – Dane Goodwin. |
|
20+ |
Freshman Blake Wesley has scored 20-or-more points twice off the bench this season. In the Mike Brey era, a bench player has only scored 20-or-more points 16 times and only two other players have done it twice – Chris Quinn (2003, 2004) and David Graves (2001, 2002). |
|
24 |
Blake Wesley scored 24 points off the bench at Illinois, including 18 in the second half. It was the most points from a bench player since teammate Dane Goodwin scored 27 against Detroit Mercy in 2019. It also was the most against a Power 5 opponent since Bonzie Colson’s 31 at Duke in 2016. |
|
66 |
Or .661 to be precise – graduate student Paul Atkinson Jr.’s career field goal percentage – which led all returning NCAA Division I players this year. The 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year graduate transferred to Notre Dame during the offseason. Atkinson is 13-19 (.684) so far this season. |
|
258 |
Games won by Notre Dame with Mike Brey and Associate Head Coach Anthony Solomon on the coaching staff. Solomon returns for his third stint with the Irish this season and with him on the sidelines, Mike Brey has won .676 percent of the games he has coached at Notre Dame. |
|
451 |
Wins at Notre Dame for Mike Brey, the most in school history and the ninth-most for any NCAA coach at his current school. The victory over Chaminade was his 700th game at Notre Dame. |
|
956 |
Career points at Notre Dame for Dane Goodwin, who will become the 66th Irish player and 24th player recruited by Mike Brey to reach 1,0000 points in a career. |