Irish Host NIT Quarterfinal Game Wednesday

March 21, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team plays host to a quarterfinal National Invitation Tournament game against BYU of the Mountain West Conference.

The Irish, who bring an overall record of 20-14 into the game, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 76-64 win over Xavier in the second round on Monday. Sophomore forward David Graves (Lexington, Ky.) led the Irish with 24 points and nine rebounds – with 21 of those points coming in the first half. Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) had 21 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) had 13 points.

Notre Dame led at halftime by a 41-38 count and the Irish opened up a 59-49 lead with 10:30 left to play. Xavier would not led the Irish pull away and closed the gap to 64-61 with 2:07 left to go. Notre Dame then scored the next 10 points – including an eight-for-nine performance from the free-throw line – to seal the win.

The Irish advanced to the second round with a 75-65 win over Michigan in the first round on March 15.

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 in the event. Notre Dame was eliminated from the event 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 23.0 points per game and 10.5 rebounds. Murphy was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year and 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, sophomore 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).

BYU enters tonight’s game with an overall mark of 22-10 and has posted wins over Bowling Green (81-54) and Southern Illinois (82-57) to advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (20-14) vs.
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars (22-10)

Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2000
Game: National Invitation Tournament – Quarterfinals
Place: Joyce Center (Notre Dame, IN), 11,418
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Television: ESPN (Ron Franklin)
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)

NOTRE DAME STARTING LINEUP:

NOTRE DAME OFF THE BENCH:

THE NOTRE DAME-BYU SERIES: Tonight’s contest marks the seventh meeting between Notre Dame and BYU and the series is tied at 3-3. The two teams last met on Dec. 6, 1986, with the Irish taking a 62-46 win at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame has won both games in the series played at the Joyce Center and the Cougars have won both games in Provo.

The teams have met once before in the postseason with BYU taking a 51-50 win on March 19, 1981, in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Championship on a last-second layup by Danny Ainge.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST: Notre Dame has an overall mark of 27-7 against the current members of the Mountain West Conference. The last time Notre Dame played a Mountain West team was a 58-55 victory over Utah in the semifinals of the 1992 NIT.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Here’s a look at the common opponent between Notre Dame and Xavier this year:

IRISH IN THE NIT: The 2000 NIT marks the seventh time that the Irish have appeared in the event and Notre Dame holds an overall record of 18-6 in the tournament, including its first round win over Michigan and second round victory over Xavier in ’00. Notre Dame last played in the NIT in 1997 and advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Oral Roberts and TCU and a loss 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: Some quick notes about the Notre Dame basketball team and tonight’s game –

Notre Dame’s 20 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.

Tonight’s game is the 35th 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. 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 34 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 21):

TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 101-47

IRISH SET RECORD FOR THREES: Notre Dame has connected for 270 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 704, 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 is currently averaging 8,766 fans per home game at the Joyce Center for the 1999-2000 season, which places the Irish fourth among BIG EAST teams behind Syracuse (20,807), Connecticut (13,543) and St. John’s (10,732).

Notre Dame is also a draw on the road as it has 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.

MURPHY AN ALL-AMERICAN: Murphy has 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 Adrian 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 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 30 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 20TH 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 1,291 points, which places him 20th in school history. Tracy Jackson (1977-81) is 19th with 1,293 while Jack Stephens (1951-55) is 18th with 1,314.

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 28 of 34 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 28 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 61 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 21, Murphy was sixth in the country in scoring at 23.1 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 24.8 points per game. In rebounding, Murphy was seventh at 10.6 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 Feb. 16, 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 71.6 points, second in free throw percentage at .734, second in field goal percentage at .465, second in three-point field goal percentage at .380 and first in assists per game at 17.79. 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 782 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 357 rebounds are tied for 12th in school single-season history as Tom Hawkins is the leader with 499 in 1957-58. His 255 field goals made are 10th (Austin Carr leads with 444 in 1969-70), and his 520 attempts are 11th (Carr leads with 832 in 1970-71).

Murphy has 36 blocked shots this season, which is the sixth-highest single-season mark in school history. The leader is LaPhonso Ellis with 86 in 1991-92.

Murphy’s 244 free throws are the second-highest in school history (Adrian Dantley is the leader with 253 in 1974-75) and his 303 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 IS SUPER SOPH: Sophomore forward David Graves has started 61 of the 64 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 44 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 819 career points.

Graves led the Irish in scoring in Monday’s 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 77-of-169 (45.6%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc.

Graves’ 77 three-pointers made is the second-highest in school single-season history as Ryan Hoover made 80 in 1993-94 for the record. Graves’ 169 attempts is the fourth-highest, as Hoover holds the record with 198 in ’95-’96.

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. Against Elon on Dec. 28, Graves also led the Irish in scoring as he registered 24 points and also added six rebounds.

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 60-of-170 from three-point field goal range this season. His 60 threes is fourth in Notre Dame single-season history while his 170 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 19 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.

Swanagan scored in double figures for the first time this season when he had 10 points and added four rebounds against Valparaiso on Dec. 8. Swanagan has started 28 of 31 games for the Irish this year at the center position.

Swanagan played in 29 games last season, scoring in double figures in eight of them and starting two games.

DILLON DISHES OUT: Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon has started all 34 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 200 assists to go with 105 turnovers. His 200 assists are the fifth-highest in school single-season history. Dillon’s 200 assist total is also his personal career-high for a season as he had 80 last year.

Entering the season, Dillon had started just two games in his career and had averaged 11.6 minutes per game – as opposed to 29.6 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 119.

In the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami, Dillon had 10 points to register a career high. Against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Dillon scored nine points – to tie a career-high – and dished out seven assists. In the win over St. John’s, Dillon scored nine points and had a steal and a dunk for a three-point play late in the contest to seal the victory.

Dillon also had nine assists in the Feb. 19 win over Seton Hall for 19 assists in the past two games.

BASKETBALL BANQUET
The annual Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Banquet will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2000, at the Joyce Center. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Scholarship Fund.

The evening begins with a silent auction from 5:45 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. with a team autograph session at 6:15 p.m. Dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. with a progam to follow.

Tickets are priced at $35 each. Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check made payable to the University of Notre Dame to Athletic Business Office, C112 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

INGELSBY CHIPS IN
Junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Pa.) started the first six games of the season at point guard and has come off the bench in the next 21. Although his minutes are down this year from previous seasons (he started 54 games in his first two seasons), his productivity remains high.

Ingelsby has hit key three-point field goals this year for the Irish and is 38-of-88 from that range. He was three-of-four against Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and was two-of-three in the win over Connecticut on Jan. 5. In the win over West Virginia, Ingelsby had eight points and was two-of-five from three point range.

On Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Ingelsby played just five minutes, but hit a key three-point field goal with 7:17 left to extend the Irish lead to six, 58-52.

In the first round NIT win over Michigan, Ingelsby came off the bench and hit two three-point field goals in the first half and hit one against Xavier in the second round.

When he was in the starting lineup, Ingelsby hit four-of-seven three pointers against Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT, including two key ones down the final stretch, in the Irish win and he hit three against Siena two days later in the second round of the NIT.

MONSEREZ GETS CAREER HIGHS
Freshman guard Mike Monserez (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted his career high for points in three-straight games.

Monserez scored five points vs. Elon (Dec. 28), six points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31) and nine vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 2). Monserez registered three three-point field goals vs. LMU and is 9-of-27 from that range this season.

Monserez came off the bench vs. St. John’s (Jan .29) and scored eight points, including two three-point field goals.

KARTELO GETS REBOUND HIGH
Kartelo registered a career-high eight rebounds vs. Seton Hall in the Irish win on Feb. 19.

Kartelo also scored 11 points off the bench in 22 minutes of action against St. Peter’s (Dec. 31). Kartelo played a career-high 26 minutes vs. Connecticut on Jan. 5 and scored two points with five rebounds. He started his first career game on Jan. 25 vs. Miami.

MACURA GETS 12 AGAIN
Macura scored 12 points against Syracuse (March 1), including three three-point field goals, to tie his second-highest scoring game of his career. He played 21 minutes vs. the Orangmen and added two rebounds. Macura also scored 12 points vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and added four rebounds and two assists in the effort.

He was one of four players in double figures in Notre Dame’s BIG EAST Championship first round win over Rutgers with 10 points. The Irish rookie was four-of-five from the field, including a two-of-three performance from three-point range as he played 22 minutes.

Macura started the first game of his collegiate career vs. VMI (Dec. 18) and had two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He also started the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami and scored three points with two rebounds.

Macura registered a career-high 13 points, including two three-point field goals, vs. Indiana (Nov. 30). Macura played a career-high 33 minutes off the bench and also added eight rebounds.

Macura scored five points in 10 minutes against Connecticut on Jan. 5. All five points – a field goal and a three-point field goal – were scored during a 13-2 Irish run during the second half that turned a 38-35 UConn lead into a 48-40 Notre Dame lead.

Postseason Biography Updates

13 Matt Carroll
Guard, Freshman, 6-6, 200, Horsham, PA (Hatboro-Horsham)
Has started the past 27 games for the Irish and has scored in double figures in 17 games this season, including 15 as a starter and in eight BIG EAST regular-season games…his 60 three-point field goals are the fourth-highest in school single-season history while his 170 attempts are third…scored 11 points in first round NIT win over Michigan (March 15) – all in the second half…had 13 points in second round win over Xaiver on Monday.

21 Jimmy Dillon
Guard, Senior, 6-2, 178, Philadelphia, PA (Holy Ghost Prep)
Has started all 34 games this season at point guard…his 200 assists are a career-high and the fifth-highest in school history…had six assists in first round NIT win over Michigan (March 15) and six in second round win over Xavier on Monday….also added six points vs. Xavier…in the latest BIG EAST statistics (as of March 20), is third in assists, fourth in assists/turnover ratio and eighth in steals…in conference games, was fourth in assist/turnover ratio, fifth in assists and tied for 14th.

34 David Graves
Forward, Sophomore, 6-6, 208, Lexington, KY (Lexington Catholic)
Has started 33 of 34 games for the Irish this year, scoring in double figures in 24…led the Irish with 24 points against Xavier on Monday, including 21 in the first half…tied a career-high with five three-point field goals on seven attempts…scored nine points and led team with 12 rebounds in NIT first round win over Michigan (March 15)…in the latest BIG EAST statistics (as of March 21), is second in three-point field goal percentage, sixth in three-point field goals made per game and 12th in steals…in conference games was fifth in three-point field goal percentage, seventh in three-point field goals made per game and tied for 14th in steals…his 77 three-point field goals this season are the second-highest in school single-season history while his 169 attempts are the fourth-highest…has now played 64 collegiate games, scoring in double figures in 44 of them…scored 370 points as a freshman last year, the fourth-highest in school history behind Troy Murphy, Adrian Dantley and David Rivers…has 819 career points.

24 Martin Ingelsby
Guard, Junior, 6-0, 192, Philadelphia, PA (Archbishop Carroll)
Started the first six games of the season as a combination guard working with Jimmy Dillon…came off the bench to score eight points in the first round of the NIT against Michigan (March 15)….hit on two three-point field goals in the first half…scored five points in second-round win over Xavier on Monday…has 577 career points and 330 career assists.

11 Ivan Kartelo
Center, Freshman, 6-11, 247, Split, Croatia (Winchendon, MA School)
Scored three points with three rebounds in first round NIT win over Michigan (March 15) and added six rebounds vs. Xavier on Monday…Croatian product who spent the 1998-99 academic year at the Winchendon School, a prep school in Massachusetts…was the first player to commit to the Notre Dame program after Matt Doherty had been named head coach.

15 Jere Macura
Forward, Freshman, 6-9, 218, Split, Croatia
Scored four points in 19 minutes of action in first round NIT win over Michigan (March 15)…Croatian native that the Irish coaching staff recruited off film and did not actually meet him until he arrived on the Notre Dame campus in August.

22 Mike Monserez
Guard, Freshman, 6-6, 192, Cincinnati, OH (Moeller)
Has come off the bench in all 34 games…played four minutes in first round NIT win over Michigan.

3 Troy Murphy
Forward, Sophomore, 6-10, 237, Morristown, NJ (Delbarton)
Enters tonight’s game with 1,291 points, the 20th-highest in school history…named first team All-America by the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Assocation and Basketball Times…named second team by The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches…the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-theyear….scored his 1,000th career point in win vs. St. John’s (Jan. 29) when he had 30 points and career-high 18 rebounds…became the second-youngest player in terms of age to reach 1,000 points at Notre Dame and fifth-fastest in terms of games at 48…scored a game-high 32 points vs. Michigan in first round of the NIT and had 21 against Xavier in the second round…one of 30 top candidates for the John R. Wooden Award and a finalist for the United States Basketball Writers Assocation player-of-the-year award and the Naismith Trophy…named all-district for this season by the National Association of Basketball Coaches…was named to mid-season All-American teams by USA Today, The Sporting News and Dick Vitale…was been named the BIG EAST player-of-the-week six times this season – tying the league record set by John Wallace of Syacuse in 1995-96…earlier in the year won the award four times in a row (Dec. 20-Jan. 10) – one short of the conference record (five by Wallace in 1995-96)…in NCAA statistics as of March 21, is the sixth-leading scorer in the country at 23.1 points per game and is seventh in rebounding at 10.6…in the latest BIG EAST statistics (as of March 21), leads the league in scoring and rebounding for both overall and league games…also in overall games is fourth in field goal percentage, sixth in free throw percentage, 13th in blocked shots and first in defensive rebounding…in conference games, was seventh in field goal percentage, sixth in free throw percentage, 13th in blocked shots, 11th in offensive rebounds and first in defensive rebounding…his 782 points this season are the fifth-highest in school history, his 36 blocks this season are sixth in single-season school history, his 244 free throws made are second, his 303 attempts are second, his 357 rebounds are tied for 12th, his 255 field goals are 10th and his 520 attempts are 11th…has scored in double figures in all 34 games this season and has 20 double-doubles, most in the BIG EAST and tied for fourth nationally…has scored 20 or more points in 24 games and 30 or more in 12…has now played in 61 collegiate basketball games, scoring in double figures in all but one and posting 31 double-doubles…has scored 20 or more points 35 different times and 30 or more points 12 times…was named to the Preseason NIT all-tournament team after averaging 24.8 points per game in four games in the event.

43 Skylard Owens
Forward, Senior, 6-4, 220, Shreveport, LA (Loyola College Prep)
One of three captains along with Troy Murphy and Todd Palmer…will miss the rest of the season with a toe injury…has played in eight games this year.

44 Todd Palmer
Forward, Senior, 6-6, 216, Harrington Park, NJ (Don Bosco Prep)
One of three captains along with Skylard Owens and Troy Murphy…has played in 22 games this year.

42 Harold Swanagan
Center, Sophomore, 6-7, 252, Hopkinsville, KY (University Heights Academy)
Has started 31 of 34 games this season…scored seven points in first round NIT win over Michigan…suffered an ankle sprain late in the game, but is expected to be fine for tonight’s game.