Irish Head To New York

March 24, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team plays Penn State of the Big Ten Conference tonight in a semifinal game of the 2000 National Invitation Tournament. The Irish advanced to the semifinals of the event with wins over Michigan (75-65 on March 15), Xavier (76-64 on March 20) and BYU (64-52 on March 22). Notre Dame brings an overall record of 21-14 into the game.

Notre Dame defeated BYU in quarterfinal action last Wednesday at the Joyce Center as sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) 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 as 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 22.9 points per game and 10.5 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).

Penn State enters tonight’s game with an overall mark of 18-15 and defeated Kent State in the NIT quarterfinals by an 81-74 score last Wednesday.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-14) vs.
PENN STATE Nittany Lions (18-15)

Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2000
Game: National Invitation Tournament – Semifinals
Place: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), 19,876
Time: 9:00 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).

NOTRE DAME STARTING LINEUP:

NOTRE DAME OFF THE BENCH:

THE NOTRE DAME-PENN STATE SERIES: Tonight’s contest marks the third meeting between Notre Dame and Penn State and the Nittany Lions lead the series by a 2-0 count. Penn State won a home game in 1924-25 by a 33-22 count and then won a NCAA East regional final game on March 19, 1954, by a 71-63 score in Iowa City, Iowa.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE BIG TEN: Tonight’s game is the fourth meeting of the season between Notre Dame and a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Irish opened their season with a win at Ohio State (59-57 on Nov. 16) in the first round of the Preseason NIT and then dropped an overtime decision at Indiana (81-64 on Nov. 30). The Irish opened play in the NIT with a win over Michigan (75-65 on March 15). The Irish has an overall mark of 223-192-1 against the Big Ten and a 1-3 record vs. the Big Ten in NIT play.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Here’s a look at the common opponent between Notre Dame and Penn State 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 19-6 in the tournament, including its three wins this season. Notre Dame 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 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 21 wins mark the most for the Irish since the 1988-89 campaign when they went 21-9 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The 1999-2000 season marks the 19th time in school history that the Irish have won 20 or more games. The last time Notre Dame won more than 21 games was 1979-80 when the Irish went 22-6.

Tonight’s game is the 36th 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 276 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. Freshman Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) 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 averaging 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 18TH 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 1,320 points, which places him 18th in school history. John Shumate (1972-74) is in 17th with 1,334 and Ken Barlow (1982-86) is in 16th with 1,342.

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 29 of 35 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 29 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 62 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 801 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 366 rebounds are 10th in school single-season history as Tom Hawkins is the leader with 499 in 1957-58. His 260 field goals made are 10th (Austin Carr leads with 444 in 1969-70), and his 530 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’s 252 free throws are the second-highest in school history (Adrian Dantley is the leader with 253 in 1974-75) and his 311 attempts are second (Dantley is the leader again with 314 in ’74-’75).

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 62 of the 65 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 10 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 793 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 80-of-172 (46.5%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc. The 80 threes ties the Notre Dame single-season mark set by Ryan Hoover in 1993-94. Graves’ 172 attempts is the fourth-highest, as Hoover holds the record with 198 in ’95-’96.

In terms of career records, Graves has 115 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 17 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 and 13 vs. Xavier.

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 61-of-174 from three-point field goal range this season. His 61 threes is 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 20 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.