Nov. 19, 2008
Notre Dame (1-0) vs. Loyola Marymount (0-3)
Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 • 10:00 p.m. (Est.)
Gersten Pavilion (4.156) • Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket (Channel 694 DirectTV)
Paul Sunderland (play-by-play analyst)
Sean Farnham (color analyst)
Radio: Jack Nolan Nolan (play-by-play analyst)
LaPhonso Ellis (color analyst)
Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes:
Sirius Satellite WLS 890 AM in Chicago, Ill (Chicagoland area and Midwest)
WSBT 960 AM in South Bend, Ind.
XL950 AM in Indianapolis, Ind.
WEFM95.9 FM in Michigan City and Gary, Ind.
WKKX 1600 AM in Wheeling, W. Va.
ESPN 1480 AM (WRSW) in Warsaw, Ind.
WAMW 107.9 FM/1580 AM in Washington, Ind.
WLUV 1520 AM in Rockford and DeKalb, Ill. and Janesville, Wis.
WVIL 101.3 FM in Jacksonville, Ill.
WDMN 1520 AM in Toledo, Ohio
WSSP 1250 AM in Milwaukee, Wis., and
WJLS 560 AM in Beckley, W. Va.,
Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 159 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. Loyola Marymount
- Notre Dame (1-0) pays a visit to the Los Angeles, Calif. area for the first time since February 28, 2004 when the Irish defeated UCLA (75-60) at Pauley Pavilion as Coach Mike Brey’s squad faces Loyola Marymount in the fifth-ever meeting between the two schools.
- Friday’s contest will mark the first of two visits the Irish will make to Los Angeles this season. Notre Dame is scheduled to take on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, Feb. 7.
- Notre Dame basketball teams are 11-26 all-time playing in the state of California.
Then Its Off To Maui
- Tonight’s game against the Lions is the first of four contests the Irish will play over the next five days. Following the game, Notre Dame heads to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Irish will take on Indiana in first-round action on Monday, Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. (ET) in a game slated by be televised by ESPN2. In The Polls
- Notre Dame began the season ranked ninth in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today rankings. It marked the first time in school history that the Irish have been ranked at the start of the season in the top-10 of both polls. Notre Dame moved up to eighth in this week’s AP ranking and maintained its ninth-place spot in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Keeping The Streak Alive
- Notre Dame ran its current home court win streak to 38 games (second-longest in the nation and longest in the 40-plus year history of the Joyce Center) following the season-opening win over USC Upstate (94-58). The Irish have recorded back-to-back undefeated campaigns at the Joyce Center each of the last two seasons and are the only school in BIG EAST history to finish undefeated at home in consecutive seasons. The win tied the all-time school home win streak record. That mark was set at the Notre Dame Fieldhouse and began with a 41-31 win over Wisconsin on December 11, 1943 and ended with a 68-51 loss to St. Louis on February 9, 1948.
The Captains
- Seniors Ryan Ayers, Zach Hillesland, Kyle McAlarney and Luke Zeller have been named captains for the 2008-09 campaign. They are the fifth four-man group to serve as captain in the 104-year history of the program.
Irish In Season Openers
- Notre Dame owns an all-time record of 86-18 (.827) all-time in season openers and have won all nine openers under head coach Mike Brey. Since the opening of the Joyce Center in 1968-69, Irish teams are 35-6 (.854) in home openers. The last time Notre Dame lost a season opener at home was against Miami of Ohio on November 13, 1998.
Great Beginnings
- The 94 points scored in the 95-58 victory over USC Upstate were the most scored by an Irish team in a season opener since the 2001-02 when Notre Dame defeated New Hampshire 99-53 on Nov. 16, 2001.
Just Another Day In The Office For Gody
- Luke Harangody, who averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds during the 2007-08 campaign, scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the season opener against USC Upstate. It marked the fourth 30-plus point performance of his career and his 26th career double-double.
Zach Attack
- Zach Hillesland, who battled plantar fasciitis during the preseason and missed the first exhibition game against Briar Cliff, started Sunday’s game against USC Upstate and scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds while also dishing off four assists in 21 minutes. Hillesland was 4-6 from the field and 5-7 from the line. It marked 13th time in his career in which he scored in double figures.
Deja Vu
- Luke Zeller had a career outing against USC Upstate in the season opener as he came off the bench in 19 minutes of action to score a personal best 18 points as he connected on 6-7 shots from the the field and was 4-6 from three rebounds. In addition to the 18 points, he grabbed five rebounds. Just one day prior to Luke’s performance, his brother Tyler scored 18 points as a starter for the North Carolina Tar Heels in his collegiate debut.
Irish Roll Under Brey in November
- Irish teams have traditionally played well under Irish head coach Mike Brey during the month of November. During his eight seasons on the Notre Dame bench, his teams have compiled a 31-5 (.861) record.
Series Record vs. Loyola Marmount
- Tonight’s contest will be the fifth meeting between the two schools with the Irish holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The two teams first played on Jan. 19, 1966 with Lions earning a 61-60 victory at Notre Dame. In the lone meeting played in Los Angeles on Dec. 5, 1994, the Irish defeated LMU 76-73. The contest played between the two team was at the Joyce Center (Jan. 5, 2000) as the Irish came away with a 75-57 victory.
Irish vs. West Coast Conference
- Notre Dame is 19-6 all-time versus teams from the West Coast Conference. The Irish last played a team from the WCC last season when they defeated San Francisco 84-76 on Dec. 22, 2007.
Passing Thoughts
- After leading the nation in assists a year ago (18.4 per game), Notre Dame dished off 25 assists in the season opener against USC Upstate. Tory Jackson led the Irish with eight assists in the contest, while Kyle McAlarney and Zach Hillesland had six and four, respectively. Last season, the Irish dished off 20-plus assists in 12 games, including a season-high 28 in the season opener against Long Island.
It’s All In The Experience
- Notre Dame’s starting lineup of Zach Hillesland (78 games played/21 starts), Luke Harangody (66 games played/50 starts), Ryan Ayers (82 games played/19 starts), Tory Jackson (66 games played/54 starts) and Kyle McAlarney (75 games played/56 starts) boast a combined 200 starts in the 367 the five have combined to play in during their careers. Luke Zeller, who was the first player off the bench in Sunday’s season opener against USC Upstate has started 26 games in the 92 that he has appeared in during his three-plus seasons with the Irish.
Top 10 Debut
- Notre Dame was ranked ninth in ESPN/USA Today Preseason Coaches’ Poll that was released on October 30. It was was the highest preseason ranking ever for the Irish in the preseason coaches’ poll. Prior to this season, it’s highest ranking ever was 17th in 2000-01 in the poll which began in 1991-92. The last time the Irish started the season ranked in the preseason coaches poll was in 2004-05 (21st). The BIG EAST led all conferences with seven teams ranked in the top 25 — Connecticut (2nd), Louisville (3rd), Pittsburgh (6th), Marquette (17th), Georgetown (18th) and Villanova (25th).
- The Irish also were ranked ninth in the Preseason Associated Press Poll. It marked the fifth time in program history that Notre Dame has debuted in the top-10 of the AP poll.
- The Irish have not begun a season ranked in the top 10 of the AP rankings since 1980-81 when they were 10th. Notre Dame’s highest-ever AP preseason mark was third in 1978-79. The Irish were ranked fourth in 1977-78 and fifth in 1979-80. The last time Notre Dame was ranked in the preseason AP poll was in 200-405 when the Irish were 20th.
- A total of seven BIG EAST teams appear in the top 25, including four in the top 10.
- Seven BIG EAST teams also appeared in the preseason AP poll.
Leader Of The Pack
- Notre Dame led the nation in assists during the 2007-08 campaign. In 33 games, Notre Dame dished out 608 assists (the third-highest single-season total in school history) for an 18.4 average per game.
Nine Straight Postseason Appearances
- Notre Dame’s appearance in last year’s NCAA tournament field marked the fifth NCAA berth for the Irish in seven years. Since 2000, Notre Dame has appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments each of the last nine years — the longest postseason stretch in school history.
Five 20-Win Seasons Under His Belt
- With its 25-8 record last season, Notre Dame reached the 20-win mark for the fifth time in eight seasons and second consecutive year under head coach Mike Brey. Notre Dame’s 20-win campaigns under Brey have been in 2000-01 (20-10), 2001-02 (22-11), 2002-03 (24-10) and 24-8 (2006-07). In the 103-year history of the program, Notre Dame teams have won 20 or more games on 32 occasions.
Tough Schedule
- Notre Dame’s 2008-09 schedule may rank as the toughest in school history. The Irish are slated to play No. 2 Connecticut and No. 3 Louisville twice during the BIG EAST regular season and will face No. 6 Pittsburgh on the road and No. 17 Marquette, No. 18 Georgetown and No. 25 Villanova at home. The Irish are also slated to take on No. 4 UCLA in Los Angeles in early February. Two other potential top-10 foes Notre Dame could face at the Maui Invitational are No. 1 North Carolina and No. 8 Texas.
BIG EAST Turnaround
- Under head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Notre Dame has had only one losing season. That season was in 2005-06 when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST campaign with a 1-8 record. Since that 1-8 start, Notre Dame has gone 30-11 (.732) over the last 41 regular-season games.
Now That’s Something To Talk About
- Notre Dame’s current record-setting 38-game home win streak spans three seasons — the final two games played during the 2005-06 campaign, the entire 2006-07 season (18 games), 17 games in 2007-08 and one game into the 2008-09 campaign. Here’s a look at the dominance of the Irish during its present win streak:
Notre Dame Opponents FG Percentage 1081-2251 (.480) 929-2361(.386) 3-FG Percentage 331-835 (.396) 251-761 (.330) Points/Avg. 3,198 (84.2 ppg.) 2,471 (65.0 ppg.) Margin of Victory +727 points (+19.1) Notes: Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 16 of 38 games
Notre Dame opponents have shot .500 or better in 3 of 38 games
27 wins by 10-plus points
14 wins by 20-plus points
10 wins by 30-plus points
5 wins by 40-plus points
1 win by 50-plus points
Home Cookin’
- Notre Dame’s 17-0 record at home in 2007-08 marked just the fourth time since the opening of the Joyce Center in 1968-69 that an Irish team finished undefeated at home during the regular season. In 2006-07, the Irish were 18-0, which marked the most wins ever for a Notre Dame team in a single season. In addition to this year’s team and the 2006-07 squad, only two other Notre Dame squads ever completed a season undefeated at home — the 1973-74 and 1985-86 squads both finished their campaigns with identical 15-0 records. The Irish have been the only BIG EAST team to finish undefeated at home each of the last two seasons. Dating back to the 2005-06 campaign, Notre Dame has won 38 consecutive games at the Joyce Cetner — an active streak that is second among all Division I teams and is the longest during Mike Brey’s tenure.