Tyrone Nash notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against DePaul on Saturday.

Irish Hit The Road For Date With #3 Villanova On Wednesday

Jan. 26, 2010

Notre Dame (15-5, 4-3) vs. 3/3 Villanova (18-1, 7-0)
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 ° 7:00 p.m.
Wachovia Center (20,056)
Philadelphia, Pa.

Complete Notes in PDF Format icon-acrosmall.gif

TV: ESPN
Sean McDonough (play-by-play analyst)
Jay Bilas (color analyst) and Allen Hopkins (sideline reporter)

Radio: Jack Nolan (play-by-play analyst)
Jordan Cornette (color analyst)

Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WSBT AM 960 (South Bend, Ind.); WLS AM 890 (Chicago, Ill.); WXNT-AM 1420 in Indianapolis, Ind.; WEFM FM 95.9 (Michigan City, Ind.); WLYV AM 1450 (Ft. Wayne, Ind.); ESPN AM 1480 – WRSW (Warsaw, Ind.); WLUV AM 1520 (Rockford, IIl.); WVIL FM 101.3 (Jacksonville, Ill.); KWOC AM 930 (Poplar Bluff, Mo.); WJLS AM 560 (Beckley, W. Va.); WKKX AM 1600 (Wheeling, W. Va.); SIRIUS Satellite (159) and XM Radio (117); 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. Villanova

  • After two straight home games, Notre Dame (15-5, 4-3) will play its next two games on the road, beginning on Wednesday night when the Irish face third-ranked Villanova (18-1, 7-0) at the Wachovia Center.
  • The Irish, coming off an 87-77 victory on Saturday afternoon against DePaul which snapped a two-game skid, will be facing their fourth top-10 foe of the season. Notre Dame is 1-2 versus ranked teams this season that includes a 70-68 win over then No. 8 West Virginia at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 8. The two losses have come against No. 10 Connecticut (70-62) on the road and No. 5 Syracuse (84-71) at home.
  • Notre Dame is 2-10 in its last 12 BIG EAST regular-season road games. The Irish’s win over USF (74-73) earlier this season snapped a nine-game conference skid on the road.
  • The last time an Irish team defeated a top-10 opponent on the road in a true road game was on Jan. 27, 2001 in a 78-71 victory over Georgetown. Notre Dame’s last victory over a ranked opponent on the road was during the 2007-08 campaign in a 90-80 win against No. 18 Villanova at the Wachovia Center.
  • Notre Dame’s last win against a top-five team in a true road game was in a 59-57 victory at Ohio State on Nov. 16, 1999 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
  • Wednesday’s matchup will be the 32nd meeting between the two teams. Villanova leads the all-time series 17-14 and has won four of the last six meetings, including last year’s 77-60 victory at Notre Dame.
  • In the 16 regular-season BIG EAST meetings between the two schools, the Wildcats hold a 12-4 advantage. Villanova won the first eight matchups in conference play, but since that time, Notre Dame has gone 4-4 against the Villanova in the eight meetings.
  • Mike Brey is 4-7 all-time against Villanova and 4-6 versus the Wildcats at Notre Dame.
  • In the win over DePaul, Tim Abromaitis topped the 30-point mark for the second time this season as he finished with 30 points – the most points ever for the junior in a BIG EAST game. Three Irish players recorded double-doubles which marked the first time since Feb, 9, 2002 that three or more players recorded double-doubles in a game. Luke Harangody notched his 61st career double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ben Hansbrough contributed his second of the season and second of his career as he finished with 15 points and grabbed a career-high 10 boards. Tyrone Nash notched the first double-double of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Irish dished out 22 assists in the game and committed just two turnovers.
  • Luke Harangody has scored in double figures in all 20 games this season and has recorded 10 double-doubles, while Tim Abromaitis has notched 10-plus points in all but two contests (Idaho State and Connecticut) and has topped the 20-point mark five times.
  • Notre Dame has won 65 of its last 70 (.929) home games and is 27-4 (.871) in its last 31 BIG EAST regular-season home contests.

Checking The National Statistics

  • Luke Harangody currently is second nationally with a 24.7 scoring average and is 29th in rebounding (9.9).
  • Tory Jackson is first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.97), while Ben Hansbrough is third at 3.81.
  • Tim Abromaitis is first nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.496) and 33rd in free-throw percentage (.864)
  • As a team in the national statistics, Notre Dame ranks first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.80), tied for third in assists (18.6), 23rd in field goal percentage (.485), 19th in scoring offense (80.8) and 12th in three-point field goal percentage (.407).

Brey Gets Wins No. 200, No. 300

  • Notre Dame’s win over Providence on Dec. 30 gave head coach Mike Brey his 200th win with the Irish. In his 10th season along the Irish sidelines, he owns a 202-106 (.656) record. He is one of only three coaches in school history with 200 career wins. George Keogan (1923-43) won 327 games during his tenure, while Digger Phelps (1971-91) earned 393 victories during his 20-year tenure. His 100th win with the Irish came on Feb. 16, 2005 in a 70-64 victory at home against Georgetown.
  • Brey picked up his 300th career win against USF on Jan. 5. He owns a 301-158 (.656) ledger in 15 seasons as head coach.

Brey, Wright Know Each Other Well

  • Mike Brey and Villanova coach Jay Wright are certainly no strangers matching coaching wits against each other. Tonight’s matchup will be the 23rd time the two have faced each other on opposite sidelines. When both were former coaches in the America East Conference (Brey at Delaware and Wright at Hofstra), the two faced each other 14 times with Brey owning a 10-4 advantage in their coaching series. As BIG EAST counterparts, Wright owns a 5-3 edge in the eight meetings. Brey leads the all-time series between the two 13-9.

Check Out This Stat Line

  • In Saturday’s win against DePaul, Notre Dame dished off 22 assists and turned the ball over just twice. The two turnovers were the fewest ever for Notre Dame during Mike Brey’s tenure and the fewest for an Irish team in a BIG EAST game. The Irish did not commit a turnover until the 10:31 mark of the second half.
  • Notre Dame did not turn the ball over in the first half. It is the first time that an Irish team under Brey did not commit a turnover in the first half and it was the second non-turnover half for the Irish in the Brey era.
  • Saturday’s contest also marked the ninth time this season the Irish had 20-plus assists in a game.

Double Duty

  • It’s been a busy last few weeks for first-year assistant men’s basketball coach Martin Ingelsby as he and his wife Colleen became first-time parents. The couple welcomed twins (William Thomas and Kate Elizabeth) on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m. Ingelsby, who played point guard for the Irish from 1997-2001 and served as Notre Dame’s coordinator of basketball operations for six years, was promoted to his current position in July 2009.
  • During the week the twins were born, Ingelsby was the assistant responsible for the UCLA scout on Dec. 19.

Hot Shots

  • Notre Dame shot a season-best 60.7 percent against Bucknell on Dec. 22.
  • Notre Dame shot 53.8 percent from the field against West Virginia which marked the second 10 time this season that the Irish shot better than 50.0 percent.
  • The Irish shot 75.0 percent (18-24) in the first half against the Mountaineers that was the best-ever shooting percentage by a Notre Dame team in a half under head coach Mike Brey. In that contest, the Irish also finished the game by hitting 53.8 percent (7-13) from beyond the arc. The Irish have shot better than 50.0 percent from three-point range in six contests.

Streaking Along

  • Luke Harangody, who has scored in double figures in all 20 games this season, has a 25-game double-figure scoring streak heading into the Villanova game. That is the second-longest streak of his career. The longest double-figure scoring streak of his career is 50 games.
  • Harangody has scored in double figures in all but 13 of the 119 games he has played in during his college career.

Moving Up The Charts

  • Luke Harangody reached the 2,000-point plateau against Idaho State with the game’s first basket to become the program’s seventh 2,000-point scorer and joined Austin Carr – 2,560 points (1968-71); Adrian Dantley – 2,223 (1973-76); Chris Thomas – 2,195 points (2001-05); Pat Garrity – 2,085 (1994-98) and Troy Murphy – 2,058 (1998-01) in that illustrious group. He currently is second in program history with 2,316 career points. Harangody also is the first player in school history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Harangody reached the 1,000-rebound mark against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 and now has 1,147 career rebounds, which ranks third in school history. He is just the fifth player in Notre Dame basketball history to grab 1,000 rebounds.

Ironmen

  • Irish seniors Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples have logged heavy playing time in their Irish careers. The trio has played in a combined 355 contests and been in the starting lineup on 220 occasions.
  • Harangody has made 103 consecutive starts in the 119 contests he has played as he earned a spot in the starting lineup in the 16th game of his freshman season. He has averaged 29.2 minutes per game throughout his playing career. He missed the only two games of his career last season when he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
  • Jackson has never missed a game during his collegiate career (121 contests) and has started 107 games while averaging 32.2 minutes per game.
  • Harangody and Jackson are two of eight players in Notre Dame history with 100 or more career starts.
  • Peoples has played in 115 career games. He started the first eight games of this season and has earned 10 starts overall during his career.

Thirty Something Guy

  • Luke Harangody’s season-high 36-point outing against USF marked his second straight 30-point performance after finishing with 31 in Notre Dame’s loss at Connecticut. It marked the second time in his career that he has produced back-to-back 30-point outings. Last year against Georgetown, he scored 31 points and followed that up with 30-point outing against Seton Hall.
  • The last Notre Dame player to score 30-plus points in three consecutive games was Adrian Dantley as he scored 30-plus points in six straight games in 1976 – 34 vs. Pittsburgh (1-13-76), 33 vs. Ball State (1-14-76), 35 vs. Xavier (1-17-76), 30 vs. St. Joseph’s (1-21-76), 30 vs. UCLA (1-24-76) and 31 vs. DePaul (1-28-76).
  • Harangody notched his fourth 30-point outing of the season and 13th of his career with his 31-point effort against Syracuse.
  • Tim Abromaitis has two 30-point outings of his own this season. He scored 31 points against Central Florida on Dec. 6 and netted 30 points against DePaul on Saturday which marked a career-high in BIG EAST play for the Irish junior.

Terrific Tory

  • Tory Jackson dished off a career-high 15 assists against Syracuse on Monday, including 10 in the first half. It marked the seventh time in his career that he dished off 10 or more assists.
  • The 15 assists were the most for an Irish player in a BIG EAST game and the most since Tim Singleton dished off 14 assists against Dayton on Feb. 21, 1989.
  • Jackson has turned the ball over just 29 times this season and has had six games this season in which he hasn’t turned the ball over.

Block Party

  • Notre Dame’s 10 blocked shots against IUPUI on Dec. 9 were the most for the Irish since they blocked 10 against Mt. St. Mary’s on Nov. 29, 2003.
  • Luke Harangody and Carleton Scott both registered career high block totals with five and three, respectively, against the Jaguars. Jonathan Peoples and Tim Abromaitis also added blocks in the contest.
  • Harangody currently ranks eighth in Notre Dame history with 91 career blocks.

Double Trouble

  • Luke Harangody posted his 10th double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds against DePaul on Saturday. He has 61 in his career and eclipsed the program mark of 56 set by LaPhonso Ellis from 1988-92.

Double The Pleasure Three Times

  • Notre Dame got double-doubles from three players in its win over DePaul on Saturday. Luke Harangody registered his 10th of the season and 61st of his career as he netted 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ben Hansbrough notched his second double-double of the season and second of his career as he scored 15 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds. Tyrone Nash was the third Irish player to produce a double-double as he matched his career with 13 points along with collecting 10 boards. It marked the first double-double of his career.
  • The last time Notre Dame had three players register double-doubles was on Feb. 9, 2002 when the Irish had four players record double-doubles in a 116-111 victory at Georgetown that was decided in four overtimes.

A New Era In Notre Dame Basketball — Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

  • Notre Dame basketball received a facelift in 2009-10 as the largest renovation in Joyce Center history signaled the opening of Purcell Pavilion. The $26.3-million project, which began with groundbreaking ceremonies in September 2008, was made possible by lead gifts from Philip J. Purcell III, Vincent J. Naimoli and Mike Leep, Sr. The renovation encompassed construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena that includes a new three-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area. Replacement of the existing Joyce Center arena seating, including the installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, took place during the summer of 2009 following Commencement Exercises in May. The entire project is nearing completion this month.
  • The arena is Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – and the new club/hospitality area (and two outdoor patios) will be named the Naimoli Family Sports Club Room. The new varsity shop will be named the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop, while the three-story atrium is named after former Notre Dame athletic director Dick Rosenthal.

Class of 2010 Aims For History

  • The Irish senior class of Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson, Jonathan Peoples and Tim Andree is looking to become the all-time winningest class in career and BIG EAST Conference regular-season victories at Notre Dame. The quartet has an 85-36 record for a .702 winning percentage and is 37-22 (.627) overall in BIG EAST play. They need eight wins to surpass the 92 wins from the 1975-79 and 1977-81 classes. The most BIG EAST wins are 40 set by Irish teams from 2000-04 and 2004-08.

Andrean Honors Harangody

  • Luke Harangody was honored by his alma mater, Andrean High School, in a special ceremony on Dec. 5 as the school designated the evening Luke Harangody Night. Harangody’s No. 40 jersey that he wore in high school was honored by the school in a pre-game ceremony and was the first-ever to be recognized in this special ceremony.
  • Harangody led Andrean to a 67-29 record, won two Athletic Conference crowns (2005 and 2006) and three sectional titles. A two-time all-state and all-conference honoree, he finished his career with 1,527 points (18.8 ppg.) and 850 rebounds (10.5 rpg.).

Harangody Tabbed As National Player of the Week

  • Luke Harangody honored as the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week this week after averaging 30.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 57.9 percent (22-38) in Notre Dame’s wins over USF and West Virginia. He topped the 30-point mark for the third time this season when he scored 36 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 74-73 victory. He followed that up with 24 points and five rebounds in the win over the Mountaineers. Harangody also was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career.

Harangody Tops Associated Press Preseason All-America Team

  • Luke Harangody was the leading vote-getter on the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team that was announced Nov. 2. Harangody received 57 votes from the 65-member media panel. Joining him on the preseason AP All-America team was junior Cole Aldrich of Kansas (49 votes), senior Sherron Collins of Kansas (39 votes), junior Patrick Patterson of Kentucky (35 votes) and junior Kyle Singler of Duke (30 votes).
  • Harangody also was one of nine BIG EAST players named to the 50-person 2009-10 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List that was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
  • In August, Harangody was named to the John R. Wooden All-America Team Preseason Top 50 List. Among the 50 returnees, he is the only two-time member of that squad having earned a spot on the 10-member team in both 2008 and 2009.
  • Harangody also was named as one of 30 candidates in men’s basketball for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Same Game, New Number

  • Irish fans will not see the familiar No. 2 worn by Tory Jackson in his first three seasons as he has switched jersey numbers and is wearing No. 3 in 2009-10.

Points a Plenty

  • Notre Dame has scored 80-plus points in 13 of 20 contests this season and scored 90-plus points on six occasions.
  • The Irish topped the 90-point mark for the second time in as many outings in the 93-78 win over Providence on Dec. 30.
  • In a 101-69 victory over Bucknell on Dec. 22, the Irish topped the 100-point mark for the first time this season and the 12th time during Mike Brey’s tenure.
  • Currently, Notre Dame is averaging 80.6 ppg.
  • Through its first five games, Notre Dame was averaging 86.8 points per game and yielding just 66.6 to its opponents. The Irish opened up the season scoring 80 or more points in all five games. The last time Notre Dame topped the 80-point mark in the first five games of a season was in 1978-79.
  • The Irish averaged just 61.0 ppg. in the final two games of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the UIC Pavilion. The 58 points in a 72-58 loss to Northwestern were the fewest scored by Notre Dame since a 66-48 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 6, 2007.

Irish Aim For Fourth Straight 20-Win Season

  • Notre Dame will be looking for its fourth straight 20-win season in 2009-10. The Irish recorded a 24-8 record in 2006-07, finished 25-8 in 2008-09 and posted a 21-15 mark in 2008-09. Notre Dame last had three consecutive 20-win campaigns in head coach Mike Brey’s first three seasons from 2000-03. The last time Irish teams reached the 20-win mark in four straight campaigns was from 1983-89 when those Notre Dame squads under former head coach Digger Phelps had six consecutive 20-win seasons.

Postseason Stretch

  • Notre Dame has earned appearances in the postseason in each of the last 10 years – it’s the longest stretch in school history. The Irish have been in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions and in the National Invitation Tournament five times during this current stretch.
  • Under 10th-year head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame has played in the NCAA five times and NIT four times. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003.

Non-Conference Home Win Streak

  • Notre Dame had its 41-game non-conference home win streak snapped last Saturday night (Dec. 12) in its 87-85 loss to Loyola Marymount. The Irish last lost to a non-conference opponent at home when they suffered a 71-57 setback to Michigan on Dec. 3, 2005.

The Captains

Harangody Tabbed as BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year

  • For the second straight year, Luke Harangody was named the 2009-10 Preseason BIG EAST player of the year by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Harangody was chosen for the honor prior to his junior season after earning the conference’s player-of-the-year accolade in 2008. Last season, he became the first player in league history to lead the conference in both scoring (25.2) and rebounding (12.8). Harangody is one of only four players in Notre Dame history with 1,800 career points and 900 rebounds, ranking seventh all-time with 1,998 points and standing fifth with 1,019 rebounds. In his three-year BIG EAST career, he has scored 1,031 points (19.9 ppg.) in 52 league contests. Only three other players in BIG EAST history — Ray Allen (Connecticut), Richard Hamilton (Connecticut) and Pat Garrity (Notre Dame) — scored more than 1,000 points in three seasons.

The One And Only

  • Luke Harangody reached a milestone never before achieved by an Irish basketball player – 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds – on Dec. 1 against Idaho State. He scored his 2,000th career point against the Bengals and reached the 1,000-rebound mark with his 15 boards against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 to become only the fifth player in the 105-year history of the program to accomplish that feat.
  • While he is the only player in Notre Dame basketball history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, he is one of only five players to have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds:
    Tom Hawkins (1956-59): 1,746 points, 1,318 rebounds
    Bob Whitmore (1966-69): 1,580 points, 1,043 rebounds
    LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92): 1,505 points, 1,075 rebounds
    Walter Sahm (1962-65): 1,077 points, 1,146 rebounds

Jackson Tops 600 Career Assists

  • Tory Jackson became the second player in school history to reach 600 career assists with his three assists against Cincinnati on Jan. 16. He has 624 in 121 career outings to rank second all-time in that category. Chris Thomas (2001-05) is Notre Dame’s career assists leader with 833.

Elder Statesman

  • Mike Brey is in his 10th season along the Irish sidelines and is the third-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Brey stands seventh all-time in the BIG EAST win 96 victories (96-72 overall that includes regular-season and tournament contests). He needs just three wins to move ahead of Steve Lappas, who coached at Villanova, on the career wins list and is five wins shy of becoming just the sixth coach in BIG EAST history to record 100 conference wins.

BIG EAST All-Time Winningest Coaches By Victories

1. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 356
2. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 282
3. John Thompson, Georgetown 231
4. Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s 139
5. Rollie Massimino, Villanova 123
6. Steve Lappas, Villanova 97
7. Mike Brey, Notre Dame 96

Jackson Becomes 50th 1,000-Point Scorer in Notre Dame History

  • Tory Jackson became the 50th player in program history to score 1,000 career points when he reached that mark against Bucknell on Dec. 22. He owns a scoring average of 8.7 points and has played in all 121 games of his Irish career.
  • With 624 career assists, he is just the fourth player in school history with 1,000 career points and 500 assists.
  • The three Irish players with 1,000 points and 500 assists are:
    Chris Thomas (2001-05): 2,195 points, 833 assists
    David Rivers (1984-88): 2,011 points, 586 assists
    Elmer Bennett (1956-59): 1,488 points, 516 assists

A BEN-e-ful Debut

  • Senior guard Ben Hansbrough had a successful debut in an Irish uniform against North Florida in the season opener as he scored 19 points and dished off four assists in 31 minutes. Hansbrough was 5-6 from the field in the contest.
  • He finished 5-5 from three-point range and in the process tied a Purcell Pavilion record for three-point field goal percentage.
  • Hansbrough followed that performance up with 18 points and seven assists against St. Francis.
  • Hansbrough has scored in double figures 12 times this season, including in each of the past nine contests. He deposited a season-high 22 points against IUPUI on Dec. 9.
  • Hansbrough scored 14 points and dished off a career-high nine assists against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 12.
  • He scored Notre Dame’s first nine points in the win over UCLA en route to a 14-point performance.
  • He had a career-best nine-game double-figure scoring streak snapped against USF when he scored just three points against the Bulls on Jan. 5..

BIG EAST Debut

  • Ben Hansbrough didn’t display any jitters in his BIG EAST debut as he recorded his first career double-double against Providence on Dec. 30 with 10 points and career-high 10 assists. He also had a career-high eight rebounds in the contest. Hansbrough followed that up with 14 points against Connecticut on Jan. 2.
  • In Notre Dame’s win over West Virginia, Hansbrough matched his career high with 10 assists while not committing a turnover in 39 minutes. He also grabbed a personal best nine rebounds. He also did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes of action against Cincinnati.
  • In Notre Dame’s last six games, spanning 217 minutes, he as turned the ball over just five times.

Making It Count

  • Junior forward Tim Abromaitis, who played in just 12 games as a freshman in 2007-08 and did not play at all during the 2008-09 campaign, has had more than timely contributions in Notre Dame’s 20 games as he is averaging 16.7 points (second leading scorer) and 4.5 rebounds this season.
  • Making his first career start in Notre Dame’s win over UCF on Dec. 6, he scored a career-high 31 points as he connected on 10-17 shots from the field, 3-7 from three-point range and was 8-9 from the charity stripe. He followed up that performance with 18 points in another start versus IUPUI on Dec. 9. Abromaitis was 6-11 from the field and 4-8 from three-point range against the Jaguars.
  • His most recent 30-point outing came in Notre Dame’s win over DePaul as he led the Irish with 30 points as he connected on 9-16 shots from the field and was 5-9 from three-point range. It marked the most points ever for Abromaitis in a BIG EAST game and came off a 26-point effort against Syracuse in which he connected on 10 field goals (five from three-point range).
  • Abromaitis registered the second 20-plus outing of his career on Dec. 12 against Loyola Marymount as he scored 23 points and topped the 20-point mark for the third time with a 22-point effort against Providence, in addition to grabbing a career-high seven rebounds.
  • He is shooting 54.9 percent from the field (113-206) and 49.6 from three-point range (51-115) and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line (51-59) to lead the Irish in all three of those categories.
  • In the season opener against North Florida, Abromaitis came off the bench and registered then personal-bests of 21 minutes and 13 points (first career game in double figures) as he connected on 5-6 shots from the field and was 3-4 from three-point range.
  • In Notre Dame’s second outing of the season, he eclipsed his career-best with a 17-point performance that also included grabbing a personal-best five rebounds.
  • Abromaitis scored in double figures in Notre Dame’s first seven games and in 18 games overall.
  • Abromaitis stands first nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.496).

Nearly Perfect

  • Tim Abromaitis went 8-9 from the charity stripe against UCF and missed not only his first free throw of the season, but also the first one of his career.
  • Overall in his career, he has converted on 58 of 66 attempts (.879). Prior to the miss against UCF, he had been good on all 21 of his free throw attempts.

Rock Solid

  • Notre Dame’s backcourt tandem of seniors Tory Jackson and Ben Hansbrough have combined for 218 assists and they have turned the ball over just 56 times.
  • Jackson owns a 3.97 assist-to-turnover ratio (115 assists, 29 turnovers), while Hansbrough stands at 3.81 (103 assists, 27 turnovers). Jackson is second nationally in that category, while Hansbrough is third. Notre Dame is the only school in the country with two players in the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • Jackson is averaging a turnover every 23.0 minutes, while Hansbrough is averaging a turnover every 24.5 minutes.
  • Against Providence, they dished off 17 of the team’s 21 assists and accounted for 17 of the team’s 21 assists against West Virgnia.
  • In Notre Dame’s seven conference games, they have combined for 89 of the team’s 127 assists (.701) and have turned the ball over just 20 times while playing a combined 528 minutes.

The Peoples’ Choice

  • Senior guard Jonathan Peoples scored a career-high 23 points and matched his personal best with six rebounds against Providence on Dec. 30. He was 6-7 from the field and 5-5 from three-point range. He connected on his first five shots (all from three-point range) and had already eclipsed his career high with 17 first-half points.
  • Peoples started the first eight games of the 2009-10 campaign and has made 10 starts during his career. In the season-opening win over North Florida, he played a career-high 30 minutes in the contest and notched his third career double-figure outing as he scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including a 3-5 performance from three-point range. Peoples also reached double figures against Long Beach State as he scored 10 points.
  • Overall in his career he has scored in double figures in five games.

A Coming Out Party

  • Junior forward Carleton Scott had his best outing in an Irish uniform against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 as he notched seven points and two assists along with grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds in 22 minutes.
  • He put together another solid effort against Northwestern as he played a career-high 26 minutes and had seven points and eight rebounds.
  • Scott scored a career-high eight points on 4-4 shooting in 21 minutes against Idaho State.
  • He had a career-high four blocks against Bucknell on Dec. 22.

Hitting The Boards

  • Tyrone Nash had one of the most complete outings of the season against DePaul as he recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
  • o He also had a strong rebounding effort in Notre Dame’s win over Saint Louis on Nov. 28 as he finished with 10 boards. It marked the second game in his career that he recorded 10-plus rebounds in a game.
  • His recent string of three straight games in double figures is the longest of his career. He matched his career-high with 13 points against West Virginia after scoring 11 points in both the Connecticut and USF contests.
  • He scored a career-high 13 points against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 12 and also finished with nine rebounds to post one of the best outings of his career. He following that up with an 11-point performance against UCLA for his fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season and the first time in his career that he has recorded back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts.
  • Nash’s other career double-digit rebounding effort came against Villanova last season when he grabbed 11 rebounds.
  • Nash posted 11 points and eight rebounds versus Connecticut on Jan. 2.
  • In the last 14 games, he is averaging 8.1 points (114 points) and 6.4 rebounds (89 rebounds).

Hammer Time

  • Freshman Mike Broghammer has become a crowd favorite and has been affectionately dubbed “The Hammer” by the Irish student body.
  • Broghammer played a career-high nine minutes against Idaho State on Dec. 1 and finished with three points and three rebounds. He tallied four points in seven minutes of play against IUPUI on Dec. 9.

Getting In The Act

  • Joey Brooks and Jack Cooley had “coming out parties” of their own on Dec. 22 against Bucknell. Both played career-high minutes with Brooks seeing action for 12 minutes off the bench and Cooley playing 11 minutes. Brooks scored 12 points and dished off two assists, while Cooley scored five points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Statistical Champions

  • Notre Dame finished first nationally in 2008-09 in two statistical categories – turnovers (9.5) and assist to turnovers (1.75).
  • In 2007-08, the Irish led the nation in assists with 18.4 per game.

105 Years Young

  • The 2009-10 campaign marks the 105th season of basketball at Notre Dame and the 15th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame teams have posted a 1666-913 record for a .646 winning percentage. In 15 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, the Irish own a 127-116 (.523) record all-time in conference regular-season play.

BIG EAST Turnaround

  • During head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Notre Dame has had only two losing seasons in BIG EAST play – 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-10 in 2008-09. Since the ’05-’06 campaign when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST campaign with a 1-8 record, Notre Dame has gone 42-24 (.636) over the last 66 regular-season league games.

BIG EAST Formula For Success

  • Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led the Irish to a 92-63 (.594) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 4-9 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 96-72 (.571) against league foes. In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the league’s West Division title with an 11-5 mark. Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record from 1995-2000.

359 And Counting

  • Entering tonight’s contest against Villanvoa, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 359 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer in a game was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc. In 2008-09, the Irish set a single-season three-point record with 319.

Living Large At The Line

  • Notre Dame is shooting 71.4 percent from the free throw line, led by Tim Abromaitis’ 86.4 percent accuracy as he has connected on 51-59 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Irish have outscored their opponents 314-213 from the line, while attempting 153 more free throws (7.7 per game). Notre Dame is 314-440 from the free-throw line, while opponents have made 74.2 percent (213-287).

In the Spotlight

  • Notre Dame will appear on national television 14 times during the 2009-10 campaign and that includes two games on CBS (UCLA and Georgetown), seven contests on either ESPN or ESPN2 and five games on ESPNU. The Irish appeared on national television a school-record 23 times in 2008-09.

Now That’s Something To Talk About

  • Notre Dame has won 65 of its last 70 home games that included a school-record 45-game win streak from 2006-09. The Irish also tied a BIG EAST mark by winning 20 straight conference home games during that time period. Notre Dame became the first BIG EAST team in conference history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons at home after finishing 17-0 in ’06-’07 and 18-0 in ’07-’08. Here’s a look at the dominance of the Irish over the course of the last 70 contests at home:
Notre Dame Opponents
FG Pct. 1982-4184 (.474) 1756-4310 (.407)
3-FG Pct. 614-1507 (.407) 482-1446 (.333)
Points/Avg. 5,788 (82.7 ppg.) 4,643 (66.3 ppg.)
Margin of Victory +1,145 points (+16.4 per game)

Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 29 of 70 games; opponents have shot .500 or better in 7 of 70 games. There have been 47 wins by 10-plus points; 24 wins by 20-plus points; 15 wins by 30-plus points; 5 wins by 40-plus points; and 1 win by 50-plus points.

Irish Sign Three Guards In Early Signing Period

  • Irish head coach Mike Brey signed a trio of guards during the early signing period in November: Eric Atkins (Columbia, Md./Mount St. Joseph/6-1, 170); Alex Dragicevich (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North/6-6, 210) and Jerian Grant (Bowie, Md./DeMatha/6-5, 180). Atkins averaged 23.4 points, 6.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 steals en route to earning Baltimore Catholic League player-of-the-year honors and first team all-Baltimore Metor accolades. Dragicevich led his Glenbrook North squad to a 23-5 record in 2008-09 while averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists and being selected as the Central Suburban League North Player of the Year. Grant will be one of three members from the current Notre Dame men’s basketball family who attended DeMatha, which also is the alma mater of Brey and assistant Rod Balanis. As a junior, he averaged 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists and led his team to a final 32-4 mark and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

It’s Academic

  • The Irish finished the 2009 fall semester with a 2.966 grade point average. The Irish starting five posted a GPA of 3.150 with four of five starters earning better than a 3.00. Tim Abromaitis led the way with 3.834, while Luke Harangody had a 3.133.
  • Notre Dame has achieved a GPA of 3.00 and above in nine of the last 12 semesters and its cumulative grade index has been above a 3.00 in 11 consecutive semeters spanning five-and-a-half years.
  • Members of the 2008-09 Irish squad earned a 3.151 following the 2008 fall semester, and, for the academic year, produced a 3.165 GPA.
  • Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Academic Sport Excellence Award for men’s basketball for the second time in as many years last season. The BIG EAST began recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport in 2008. The Irish men’s basketball team has won it each of the two years it has been presented and joined two other Notre Dame squads (men’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis) as recipients in 2009.
  • Seven players were named to the 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team, while 10 of the 14 members of the squad earned a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the spring semester.

Trends Under Brey

  • Under Irish head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame always has been a team that has had a high number of assists and very few turnovers. Here’s a look a the Irish under Brey:
FGs Assts TOs Asst/Bskt Asst/TO
2000-01 814 527 434 .647 1.21
2001-02 934 629 435 .673 1.45
2002-03 917 558 446 .609 1.25
2003-04 766 434 329 .567 1.32
2004-05 671 415 341 .618 1.22
2005-06 772 468 364 .606 1.29
2006-07 869 552 414 .635 1.33
2007-08 914 608 429 .665 1.42
2008-09 988 601 343 .608 1.75
2009-10 570 371 206 .651 1.80