NOTRE DAME vs. DETROIT MERCY
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (6-3) looks to bounce back from its first loss at home with a non-conference match up against the University of Detroit Mercy (1-7) Tuesday evening (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network).
- One of the longest-running series in Notre Dame history, the Irish and Titans will be meeting for the 54th time Tuesday evening. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 41-12 and is 19-4 at home against Detroit Mercy.
- The teams first met at the Notre Dame Fieldhouse on Feb. 8, 1912, with the Irish earning a 32-19 victory.
- Several years throughout the series the teams met twice in a home-and-home matchups at the Notre Dame Fieldhouse and Naval Armory in Detroit.
- Notre Dame is 4-1 against Detroit Mercy in Purcell Pavilion, including the most recent meeting between the two teams, a 59-53 victory on Nov. 14, 2011.
- Detroit Mercy head coach Mike Davis is in his second year with the Titans. Notre Dame was 1-3 against Indiana with Mike Davis as the head coach from 2000-06. In 2008-09, Davis brought UAB to Purcell Pavilion in the NIT, with Notre Dame earning a 70-64 victory.
- The largest Catholic univerity in Michigan, Detroit Mercy also competed in Division I football from 1896 through 1964. The Titans were coached by Notre Dame All-American Gus Dorias from 1925-42.
| NOTRE DAME | GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, December 10, 2019 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Purcell Pavilion • Notre Dame, IN • Capacity 9,149 |
| TV: | ACC Network • Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) • Jordan Cornette (Notre Dame '05) (analyst) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network • Jack Nolan (play-by-play) • Zach Hillesland (Notre Dame '09) (analyst) Available locally on WSBT AM/FM and worldwide on und.com. |
| Tickets: | Tickets are still available at und.com/buytickets |
Notre Dame MBB Notes vs. Detroit Mercy (PDF)
BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH VS. TITANS
|
1 |
Senior John Mooney leads the nation in rebounds-per-game with a 13.5 average. Mooney has recorded single game totals of 16 rebounds (twice) and 18 (vs. Boston College on Saturday). |
|
1.62 |
Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.62. The Irish are ahead of Richmond (1.60), VMI (1.58) and Michigan State (1.56). |
|
5 |
John Mooney is tied for fifth in the country with six double-doubles in 2019-20. There are 10 Division I players with six or more double-doubles this season, led by William & Mary’s Nathan Knight with eight. |
|
6 |
Notre Dame is averaging 10.1 turnovers per game, the sixth-best mark in the nation as of December 9. The Irish have committed just 91 turnovers in nine games. |
|
8 |
Notre Dame ranks eighth all-time in Division I college basketball victories with 1,886. Over the next two weeks the Irish will face No. 7 (UCLA) and No. 10 (Indiana) from the NCAA the all-time wins list. |
|
12.1 |
The Irish continue their tradition of ‘defend without fouling’ in 2019-20 – currently ranked third in the country in personal fouls per game (12.1 – behind Virginia’s 11.9 and Weber State’s 12.0). In the last decade, Notre Dame has finished out of the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls per game just twice (11th in 2010-11, 15th in 2013-14) and led the country in the category in 2011-12, 2015-16 and 2018-19. See page 3 for more details. |
|
13 |
With four more blocks against Boston College on Saturday, senior Juwan Durham moved into 13th place all-time on the Notre Dame career blocked shots list. Durham is one of three players in school history to average over 2.0 blocks per game (see page 5 for more details). |
|
46 |
John Mooney is one of 46 players named to the initial United States Basketball Writers Association Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented to the national player of the year, as announced on December 5, 2019. |
|
54 |
One of Notre Dame’s oldest and most consistent Midwestern series, the Irish and Titans will be meeting for the 54th time on Tuesday evening. The series dates back to 1912 and was consistently played through the early 1970s. Tuesday’s meeting is the first between the two teams since 2011. |
|
647 |
With a game-high 22 points against Boston College on Saturday, senior T.J. Gibbs increased his ACC scoring career total to 647 points, the third-best in Notre Dame history since the team joined the league in 2013-14. Steve Vasturia (739) ranks first, followed by Bonzie Colson (696). Gibbs is one of seven players in the ACC to average over 20 points in the first two conference games of the season. |
|
798 |
Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey is approaching another milestone in his career. When the Irish face traditional rival UCLA on December 14, Coach Brey will take the sidelines for his 800th career game. Creighton’s Greg McDermott is scheduled to reach the 800 game mark on the same day as Brey and they will become the 24th and 25th active coaches to reach 800 career games. |
|
1256 |
Career points scored by T.J. Gibbs, the most for any active ACC player. Gibbs ranks ahead of Brandon Childress (1,083) and BC’s Nik Popovic (1,037). |
MOONEY LEADS THE COUNTRY IN REBOUNDING
Senior forward John Mooney is currently leading the nation in rebounds per game with a 13.5 average. Mooney is one of just three major conference players to average over 10.0 rebounds per game.
NATIONAL REBOUNDING LEADERS:
|
Player |
School |
Reb/Game |
|
JOHN MOONEY |
NOTRE DAME |
13.5 |
|
Kevin Marfo |
Quinnipiac |
12.7 |
|
Willie Jackson |
Toledo |
12.1 |
|
Cletrell Pope |
Bethune-Cookman |
12.0 |
|
Arnaldo Toro |
George Washington |
12.0 |
|
Tyler Bey |
Colorado |
11.6 |
|
Justin Bean |
Utah State |
11.6 |
|
James Butler |
Drexel |
11.6 |
MOONEY CLIMBING THE CAREER REBOUND CHART
Passing 600 career rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson, John Mooney became the eighth Mike Brey-era (2000-01- current) player to surpass 600 career rebounds. The Notre Dame career top 25 rebounding chart begins at 715.
BREY ERA REBOUNDING TOTALS
|
Player |
Seasons |
Rebounds |
|
Luke Harangody |
2006-10 |
1,222 |
|
Torin Francis |
2002-06 |
969 |
|
Bonzie Colson |
2014-18 |
900 |
|
Pat Connaughton |
2011-15 |
823 |
|
Zach Auguste |
2012-16 |
822 |
|
Jack Cooley |
2009-13 |
792 |
|
Rob Kurz |
2004-08 |
650 |
|
JOHN MOONEY |
2015-20 |
638 |
MOONEY POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN SIX OF FIRST EIGHT GAMES
Senior forward John Mooney, who led all major conference players in rebounds per game in league action last season and was one of seven major conference players to average a double-double, is off to an even better pace in 2019-20.
The Orlando, Florida, native has posted six double-doubles in eight games played this season. He paced the ACC with 20 in 33 games played last year (and 13 in conference play – the most since Tim Duncan in 1996-97) and is up to 27 total in his career (good for 17th on the all-time Notre Dame double-double list).
Mooney missed the Presbyterian game with an illness.
MOONEY DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 2019-20
|
Opponent |
Rebounds |
Points |
|
Robert Morris |
10 |
10 |
|
Howard |
18 |
16 |
|
Marshall |
28 |
16 |
|
Fairleigh Dickinson |
13 |
13 |
|
at Maryland |
12 |
17 |
|
Boston College |
16 |
18 |
PFLUEGER MAKES WINNING PLAYS
Graduate student Rex Pflueger, who missed the final 23 games of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL in his left leg, returned to the lineup in the season opener this season and has quickly returned to form. Dating back to his freshman season when his last-second tip in in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Stephen F. Austin pushed Notre Dame to the Sweet 16, Pflueger has been making winning plays for the Irish – with the come-from-behind victory over Toledo the latest example.
A breakdown of Pflueger’s big plays over the final three minutes and overtime of the win over the Rockets:
|
Time Remaining |
Play |
Led To |
Notes |
|
2:51 |
Steal |
Hubb Lay Up |
Cut Toledo lead to three |
|
0:29 |
Steal |
Pflueger FT |
Cut Toledo lead back to two |
|
1.5 seconds |
Assist |
Laszewski 3FG |
Executed baseline out of bounds play to send game to overtime |
|
4:21 OT |
Rebound |
Goodwin FG |
Rebound first miss in OT |
|
0:25 OT |
Lay Up |
Pflueger FG |
Back door cut to open lay up, give ND lead in overtime |
|
0:01 OT |
Free Throws |
Pflueger 2 FT |
Two free throws provide the winning points |
PFLUEGER JOINS 300-200-100 CLUB
Graduate student Rex Pflueger is one of just 10 players since 1996-97 (the year Notre Dame joined a conference) to compile 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career.
The list of players who have reached the 300-200-100 plateau: Chris Thomas, Tory Jackson, David Graves, Jerian Grant, Chris Quinn, Eric Atkins, Steve Vasturia, Matt Carroll, Demetrius Jackson, T.J. Gibbs and Pflueger.
IRISH CLAIM MABC HONORS
The University of Notre Dame capped off a clean run through the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational with a 64-62 overtime victory against Toledo on Thursday, November 21. Combined with a victory in the 2018 Gotham Classic Showcase Game, Notre Dame has won 15 of its last 16 in-season tournament contests – a run that includes the 2016 Legends Classic Championship and the 2017 Maui Inviational title.
John Mooney added to his personal trophy case by garnering MABC MVP honors (as voted on by media members attending each contest). Mooney follows up on his MVP honors in the Gotham Classic Showcase game from last season. Graduate student Rex Pfleuger and sophomore Dane Goodwin were named to the MABC All-Tournament Team as well.
A look at Mooney, Pfleuger and Goodwin’s statistics during the four game MABC Invitational:
|
Player |
MP |
FG |
FGA |
FG% |
3FG |
3FGA |
3FG% |
FT |
FTA |
FT% |
REB |
REB/G |
AST |
BLK |
STL |
PTS |
PTS/G |
|
Mooney |
118 |
25 |
60 |
.417 |
5 |
19 |
.263 |
8 |
17 |
.471 |
57 |
14.3 |
11 |
3 |
5 |
63 |
15.8 |
|
Pflueger |
104 |
8 |
27 |
.296 |
3 |
14 |
.214 |
8 |
9 |
.889 |
18 |
4.5 |
12 |
1 |
8 |
27 |
6.8 |
|
Goodwin |
96 |
20 |
37 |
.541 |
6 |
13 |
.462 |
10 |
11 |
.909 |
17 |
4.3 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
56 |
14.0 |
DURHAM POSTS TWO NOTEWORTHY DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Senior Juwan Durham responded to the loss of John Mooney (illness) on the front line against Presbyterian with 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to record his second career double-double. He followed up with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four more blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson. It was just the seventh and eighth time a Mike Brey era player has recorded 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 4+ blocks – and the first time since John Mooney did it at North Carolina last season.
Others who have accomplished such a double-double include current Irish assistant coach Ryan Humphrey (2001), Torin Francis twice (2003, 2004), Luke Harangody (2008) and Bonzie Colson (2017).
DURHAM ALREADY AMONG TOP SHOT BLOCKERS IN NOTRE DAME HISTORY
Blocked shots are one of the youngest official NCAA official statistics, only becoming a part of the game boxscore for the 1985-86 season. With that in mind, it is still noteworthy that senior Juwan Durham (who still retains a year of eligibility after 2019-20) has already established himself as one of the top shot blockers in Notre Dame history.
In his first full season at Notre Dame in 2018-19, Durham swatted 63 shots which ranks fifth on the Notre Dame single-season blocked shots list.
With four more blocks against Boston College, Durham pushed his career blocked-shot average to 2.38 and is one of just three Notre Dame players to average over 2.0 blocks per game:
|
Player |
Seasons |
Blocks Per Game |
|
Ryan Humphrey |
2000-02 |
2.8 |
|
JUWAN DURHAM |
2018-current |
2.4 |
|
LaPhonso Ellis |
1988-92 |
2.1 |
Durham’s 86 total blocks at Notre Dame currently rank him 13th all-time (see sidebar, page 5). Jordan Cornette is the Notre Dame blocked shots record holder with 201 from 2001-05.