Irish Open BIG EAST Tournament Play Against Rutgers

March 6, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team opens up play in the first round of the 2000 BIG EAST Championship against Rutgers. Notre Dame is the No. 7 seed in the event and brings an overall mark of 17-13 and was 8-8 in BIG EAST play. The Scarlet Knights are the No. 10 seed and have an overall mark of 15-14 and were 6-9 in the league.

Notre Dame concluded its regular season with a 77-54 win over Georgetown on Saturday. 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.

Sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) led the Irish with 23 points and 15 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season while sophomore David Graves (Lexington, Ky.) had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his second career double-double. Freshman guard Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) had 16 points and four three-point field goals.

In Notre Dame’s win over Seton Hall on Feb. 19, Graves hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left to play to give the Irish the winning margin. The shot was the second buzzer-beater of the season for Graves as he hit a jumper on Nov. 16 against ’99 Final Four participant Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament in Columbus to give the Irish a 59-57 win. Notre Dame went on to finish fourth in that event.

Notre Dame has played a total of 10 games against ranked teams this season and have posted a 5-5 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).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-13)
vs. RUTGERS Scarlet Knights (15-14)

Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Place: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), 19,876
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Television: espn2 (Mike Tirico, Len Elmore)
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 LINE:

NOTRE DAME OFF THE BENCH:

THE NOTRE DAME-RUTGERS SERIES: Tonight’s game is the 13th meeting between Notre Dame and Rutgers and the series is tied at 6-6. Since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96, Rutgers leads the series by a 5-2 count. The two teams have never met in the BIG EAST Championship.

The two teams met only once this year with Rutgers posting a 76-51 win on Jan. 18 at Louis Brown Arena. Todd Billet led the way for the Scarlet Knights with 31 points on eight three-point field goals while Mike Tompson came off the bench for 10 rebounds. Eugene Dabney had 10 rebounds for Rutgers.

Murphy led the Irish with 18 points while Carroll had 13.

IRISH IN THE GARDEN: Tonight’s game marks the third appearance by Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden this season as the Irish lost to a pair of nationally-ranked teams in Arizona and Maryland in the finals of the Preseason NIT over Thanksgiving weekend. Notre Dame has a long tradition of playing in Madison Square Garden as the Irish were part of the first doubleheader in MSG history when the faced New York University on Dec. 29, 1934. Notre Dame has an overall mark of 45-27 in Madison Square Garden and has an 18-13 record since 1974.

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: Notre Dame has an 0-4 record in the BIG EAST Championship since joining the league in 1995-96. Notre Dame lost as the No. 13 seed to No. 4 seed Syracuse in 1996 (72-55), lost as the No. 9 seed to No. 8 seed Syracuse in 1997 (84-66), lost as the No. 9 seed to No. 8 seed Providence in 1998 (72-55) and lost as the No. 8 seed to No. 9 seed Seton Hall last year by a 79-69 count. Notre Dame’s No. 7 seed in this year’s tournament is the highest in school history.

QUICK HITS: Some quick notes about the Notre Dame basketball team –

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 Saturday 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).

WHAT A SCHEDULE: Matt Doherty is starting his collegiate head coaching career with a very rugged schedule as 15 of his first 30 games have been against teams that played in last year’s 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 5):

TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 97-44

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.

NATIONAL RANKED WINS: Notre Dame’s five ranked wins this season places them tied for third place nationally in victories over opponents ranked in the Associated Press poll at the time of the games (as of March 2).

The national leaders are:

IRISH SET RECORD FOR THREES: Notre Dame has connected for 236 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 619, 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 8,872 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.

MURPHY 25TH 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 1,208 points, which places him 25th in school history. Former Notre Dame athletic director Dick Rosenthal (1951-54) is 24th with 1,227 while Rich Branning (1976-80) is 23rd with 1,232.

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 18TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Murphy had his 18th double-double of the season last Saturday vs. Georgetown with 23 points and 15 rebounds. His 18 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 25 of 30 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 25 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 57 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 30 games and has scored 20 or more points in 31 games and 30 or more points in 11 games.

This season, Murphy has scored in double figures in every game, scored 20 or more points in 20 games and 30 or more points in eight games.

MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Murphy is among the national leaders in scoring and rebounding. As of March 5, Murphy was sixth in the country in scoring at 23.0 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 25.6 points per game. In rebounding, Murphy was tied for seventh at 10.5 per game while Darren Phillip of Fairfield is first at 14.0. Murphy is the only player in the country currently to be ranked among the top 10 scorers and rebounders.

MURPHY NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK – TIES RECORD: Murphy was named the BIG EAST co-player of the week on Feb. 21 for his performance in the Seton Hall game. Murphy has 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 71.8 points, second in free throw percentage at .727, third in field goal percentage at .464, second in three-point field goal percentage at .381 and second in assists per game at 18.07. 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 35 points vs. St. Francis (Pa.) earlier this season and Seton Hall on Feb. 19 is tied as the second-highest points by a BIG EAST player in a single game this season. Murphy’s 14 field goals made vs. St. Francis is tied as second. His 15 free throws made vs. Siena tops the league as does his 18 attempts vs. the Saints. Murphy leads the league in overall double-doubles with 18.

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)

POSTSEASON HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy earned a number of additional honors during the season and as postseason awards start to be named, including:

• First team, all-district (District 10), National Association of Basketball Coaches
• 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
• 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 AND SINGLE-SEASON MARKS: Murphy leads the Irish with 689 points this season, which is the seventh-highest in school history. John Shumate had 703 in 1973-74 for sixth place while Austin Carr is the leader with 1,106 in 1969-70.

Murphy has 34 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 205 free throws are the fifth-highest in school history (Adrian Dantley is the leader with 253 in 1974-75) and his 257 attempts are sixth (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 10 games Notre Dame has played against ranked teams, Murphy has four double-doubles with a 24.8 scoring average and 11.7 rebounds per game.

GRAVES IS SUPER SOPH: Sophomore forward David Graves has started 57 of the 60 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 41 of those contests. He has scored in double figures in all but nine 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 762 career points.

Graves led Notre Dame with 16 points against Miami (Feb. 26), marking the fourth 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 66-of-146 (45.2%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc.

Graves’ 66 three-pointers made is tied as the second-highest in school single-season history as Ryan Hoover made 80 in 1993-94 for the record. Graves’ 146 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), three-point field goals (five) 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 has the second double-double of his career on Saturday 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 14 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 and 16 vs. Georgetown.

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 was five-for-seven from the field and four-for-five from three-point distance in the second half.

Carroll is 51-of-149 from three-point field goal range this season. His 51 threes is tied for fourth in Notre Dame single-season history while his 149 attempts are fourth.

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. He scored eight points in the United States’ opening round win over China.

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 five of the past 15 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) and 10 vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12). 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 23 of 25 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 30 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 178 assists to go with 90 turnovers. His 178 assists are the fifth-highest in school single-season history. Dillon’s 178 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 29.2 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 115.

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.

MACURA GETS 12 AGAIN: Macura scored 12 points against Syracuse last Wednesday night, 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.

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.

MONSEREZ AND 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.

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 34-of-82 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.

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.

IRISH ON THE RADIO
Host/USA originates the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network for the 12th consecutive year in 1999-2000.

Jack Lorri will handle the play-by-play of all Notre Dame basketball games and this season marks his 31st year announcing Irish games. Lorri spent his first 14 years with Notre Dame as sports director of WTRC-AM in Elkhart, Ind., and then five years doing games on WGN-AM in Chicago before teaming up with Host/USA. He served as sports director for WSJV-TV in Elkhart for 13 years beginning in 1967 and did play-by-play for Kentucky football and basketball on WLAP in Lexington in 1961-63. Lorri also served as sports director of the Tribune Radio Network in Chicago.

Jack Nolan handles the color commentary on the network. He has been a sports anchor at WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, for more than a decade. He has done play-by-play of Irish basketball on both television and radio as well as on live telecasts of Notre Dame football. He is also the host of WNDU’s highly successful Saturday and Sunday morning news broadcasts.

Stations on the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network this season are: WMAQ 670 AM in Chicago, WAUR 930 AM in Chicago, WNDV 1490 AM and 92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM 95.9 FM in Michigan City, Ind., WLUV 96.7 FM and 1520 AM in Rockford, Ill., KHEP 1280 AM in Phoenix, Ariz., KATD 990 AM in San Francisco, Calif., KSAR 92.7 FM in Conway, Ark., and KIND 1010 AM in Independence, Kan.

All radio broadcasts of Notre Dame basketball games can also be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com.

CHICAGO RADIO
WMAQ-AM radio will carry Notre Dame basketball games in the Chicago market again this season as part of the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network originated by Host/USA. In addition, Chicago’s WAUR-AM will also broadcast selected Irish games.

WMAQ-AM (670), with its 50,000-watt clear channel signal, covers a larger geographic area than any other radio station in Chicago. The station’s other sports properties include the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks and the station is also affiliated with CNN Radio.

Notre Dame basketball games on WMAQ this season include: Dec. 4 against Vanderbilt, Dec. 11 at Miami (Ohio), Dec. 18 vs. VMI, Jan. 16 at Syracuse, Jan. 22 vs. Pittsburgh, Jan. 25 vs. Miami (Fla.), Jan. 29 vs. St. John’s, Feb. 6 at Pittsburgh, Feb. 8 at Villanova, Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Feb. 19 at Seton Hall, Feb. 26 at Miami (Fla.) and March 4 at Georgetown.

Six more Irish games will be carried in the Chicago area on WAUR-AM (930). They include: Nov. 16 at Ohio State, Nov. 30 at Indiana, Dec. 8 vs. Valparaiso, Jan. 5 at Connecticut, Feb. 23 vs. Providence and March 1 vs. Syracuse.

IRISH SIGN THREE
University of Notre Dame basketball coach Matt Doherty announced on Nov. 12 that three players have signed national letters of intent and plan on enrolling at Notre Dame in the fall and playing for Doherty’s squad. The three are: Torrian Jones, a 6-4, 185-pound guard from Fairless Hills, Pa., and Pennsbury High School, Tom Timmermans, a 6-11, 235-pound center from Driehuis, Netherlands and the Blue Ridge School in Dyke, Va., and Chris Markwood, a 6-5, 185-pound guard from South Portland, Maine and South Portland High School.

Jones averaged 17 points per game last year at Pennsbury for head coach Frank Sciolla as the team won 26 games – the most in school history. The team played in the District One championship game and lost in the second round of the state tournament. Jones earned first team all-conference and all-area honors and averaged 22 points per game in seven post season contests. In his junior year, Jones shot 50.2% from the field and 43.8% from three-point field goal distance.

Markwood earned first-team all-state honors last season at South Portland, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and four assists for head coach Tony DiBiase. Markwood earned first team all-conference honors last year and was named conference MVP. His AAU team in Maine has been the state champions for the past three years.

Timmermans averaged 12.5 points per game last year at Blue Ridge for head coach Bill Ramsey along with 10 rebounds. The team finished 19-6 on the season – third in the state among independent schools.

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.

BACK TO THE FUTURE
Ever since Matt Doherty was named the coach at Notre Dame, he has stressed the tradition of winning that the program has. He has worked hard to include former players in the program:

Bruce Flowers, a member of the ’78 Irish Final Four team, served as a counselor at the Irish summer basketball camp, while Ken Barlow, who scored 1,342 career points for the Irish from 1982-86, was a guest speaker.

Flowers returned to the Joyce Center on Jan. 22 for the game against Pittsburgh and was introduced to the audience.

Collis Jones, who scored 1,367 career points for the Irish from 1968-71, has visited with the Irish coaching staff and practice sessions during his trips to campus as a member of the University’s Advisory Council for the College of Business Administration. He also attended Saturday’s game at Georgetown.

Austin Carr, the all-time leading scorer in the history of Irish basketball with 2,560 points, was a special guest at ?Friday Night Live,? a series of events that led to the first Irish practice at midnight on Oct. 16. Carr was joined at the event by ESPN and ABC announcer Dick Vitale and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

Dwight Clay, who hit the game-winning shot against UCLA on Jan. 19, 1974, for a 71-70 victory over the Bruins to end their record 88-game winning streak, spoke to the Irish before their practice on Nov. 15 – the day before they beat Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT.

Kelly Tripucka, the sixth-leading scorer in school history with 1,719 points from 1977-81, attended the Notre Dame games at the finals of the Preseason NIT and the contest at Rutgers.

Gary Novak, who scored 1,103 points for the Irish from 1971-74 and was a two-time captain, attended the St. John’s game Jan. 29 and was introduced to the audience.

Peter Crotty, who was the co-captain of the 1974-75 squad, attended the Providence game on Wednesday and was introduced to the crowd.

IRISH ON ESPN
Wednesday’s game against Syracuse marked the fourth ESPN appearance for the Irish this season and Notre Dame has also appeared on espn2 once. The Irish game against Ohio State in the first round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament was televised on espn2 and the semifinal game against Arizona was on ESPN.

Other Irish games on ESPN were: Sat., February 19, at Seton Hall and Sat., February 26, at Miami (Fla.).

EVERYONE GETS IN THE ACT
The end of the Elon, St. Peter’s and Loyola Marymount games allowed Doherty to use all the walk-ons that make up his bench. Sophomore John Hiltz (Ft. Mitchell, Kent.) played three minutes and scored six points in his second career appearance vs. Elon and now has played in four games this season. Freshman Tony Carney (Rockford, Ill.) played three minutes and scored two points vs. Elon in his first-ever appearance and also played vs. St. Peter’s and LMU. Sophomore Charles Thomas (Flint, Mich.) played three minutes vs. Elon, one vs. LMU and scored two points in one minute of action vs. St. Peter’s.

FORMER IRISH NOW COACHING RIVALS
Former Irish guards Keith Kurowski (Matawan, N.J.) and Pete Miller (South Bend, Ind.) — both ’96 graduates of Notre Dame and teammates for three years from 1994-96 — were back on the court together on Fri., Jan. 14, but not on the same team. Kurowski is in his first year as coach of the varsity boys’ basketball team at Marian High School in Mishawaka, Ind. Miller also is the first-year coach of the varsity boys’ basketball team at his alma mater, St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend. Kurowski led Marian to a 61-53 over St. Joseph’s in that game.