Dec. 13, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – While Notre Dame did not weather last week’s opponents too well, it did manage to stay in the polls.
The Irish went 0-2 last week in a pair of games, dropping the team’s record to 4-2 overall. Despite dropping two games against mediocre opponents, the Irish are ranked No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. They find themselves sandwiched between Maryland and Arkansas.
In the AP poll, Notre Dame is ranked 21st. The team is just 19 votes behind Maryland, which holds the No. 20 spot.
“We found out rather quickly that rankings don’t mean anything,” forward Troy Murphy said. “It is more of a bulls eye than a blessing.”
IRISH LEADERS
Two of Mike Brey’s squad are among the best in the country. Having played just six games, Murphy is already one of the top scorers in the country. He is averaging 24 points a game.
Murphy is currently tied for third place in the country with New Hampshire’s Austin Gantly. Just ahead of Murphy and Gantly are the likes of Texas El Paso’s Brandon Wolfram, averaging 27.2, and Syracuse’s Preston Shumpert, averaging 24.1.
Also among the tops in the country is Notre Dame guard Martin Ingelsby. He ranks 15th in the country in assists. Ingelsby is tied with USC’s Brandon Grandville at 6.8 assists per game.
Ingelsby logged 11 assists in the win over Loyola of Chicago. The 11 assists is his season-high. His career-high is 12 assists, which he posted against Indiana in 1997-98 season.