Feb. 11, 2016
Notre Dame vs. Louisville – By The Numbers:
1 – The Irish boast the most efficient offense in the nation, according to the Pomeroy Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Index (124.8).
2 – 2015-16 marks the second year in a row that Notre Dame has a player on the Naismith Award Midseason Watch List. Junior guard Demetrius Jackson made the list this week, while Jerian Grant was on the list in 2014-15.
5 – Overtimes played by Notre Dame and Louisville in the Cardinal’s last visit to Purcell Pavilion. The Irish won the longest game in school and BIG EAST regular-season history 104-101 (see page 29 for a final boxscore from that game).
7 – Turnovers committed by the Irish vs. North Carolina (2) and Clemson (5). The Irish lead the country in turnovers per game (9.0).
10.0 – Average rebounds per game for senior forward Zach Auguste – good for third in the ACC and 22nd in the country. Auguste also is fifth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.540).
11 – Sophomore forward Bonzie Colson ranks 11th in the ACC in rebounding (7.1). Teammate Zach Auguste ranks third (10.0). Notre Dame is the only school in the conference with two players ranked in the top 11 in rebounding.
12 – Consecutive ‘bounce-back’ games in which the Irish have earned a victory after a loss. Notre Dame has not lost consecutive games since the end of the 2013-14 season (see page 4 for more details).
15.6, 10.7 – Points and rebounds per game, respectively, by Zach Auguste over the past nine games.
15.0 – Points per game scored by junior forward V.J. Beachem in the last six Notre Dame games (14 vs. Boston College, career-high 22 at Syracuse, 15 vs. Wake Forest, 14 at Miami, 10 vs. North Carolina, 15 at Clemson).
34 – Notre Dame and Louisville are meeting for the 34th time. Nine of those meetings have gone to overtime, including seven of the last 14.
48.8 – Percentage the Irish are shooting from the field, second in the ACC and 16th in the nation. 1,812 – Wins in Notre Dame men’s basketball history, ranked eighth all-time. Since Mike Brey took over the Irish program in 2000-01, the Irish have moved from 12th to 8th on the all-time wins list.
8,878 – Combined points by Irish men’s basketball alumni expected to be in attendance Saturday afternoon. Jerian Grant (1,739) and Pat Connaughton (1,465), currently playing the NBA, are expected back in town during the All-Star Break. The program also will welcome back David Rivers (1984-88, 2,058 points), Chris Thomas (2001-05, 2,195) and Eric Atkins (2010-14, 1,421) to Purcell Pavilion.
NOTRE DAME ââ’¬” LOUISVILLE SERIES HISTORY: All-time series: Notre Dame trails 13-20. Notre Dame vs. Louisville at home: 7-6. First meeting: Jan. 5, 1952, a 65-59 Cardinal victory in Louisville. Most recent meeting: March 4, 2015, a 71-59 Notre Dame victory at Louisville. Mike Brey vs. Louisville at Notre Dame: 6-8
THE LAST TIMEââ’¬¦ VS. LOUISVILLE: Current junior Demetrius Jackson scored 21 points as Notre Dame secured third place in the final ACC standings with a 71-59 victory in the KFC Yum! Center. Current sophomore Bonzie Colson scored 17 points on seven of seven shooting.
BIG MEN DOMINATE SECOND 20 MINUTES: In the past two victories for the Irish, the ‘big men’ on Notre Dame’s roster – Zach Auguste and Bonzie Colson – have each taken turns to dominate on the front line.
At Clemson Feb. 8, Auguste exploded for 15 points on six of 10 shooting with four rebounds.
At home against #2/1 North Carolina, Colson took over the final 20 minutes with 13 points on four of six shooting along with seven rebounds (including four offensive boards).
20 and 10: Zach Auguste is putting together a stellar senior campaign. Averaging a career-best 14.1 points and 10.0 rebounds, Auguste has 13 ‘double-doubles’ to his credit this season and has reached the 20 and 10 plateau (20+ points, 10+ rebounds) three times this season.
Auguste had 23 points and 11 rebounds vs. Stony Brook, 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Georgia Tech and 21 points and 12 rebounds vs. Wake Forest.
Auguste just missed reaching that 20-10 mark vs. Georgia Tech (24-9) and UMass-Lowell (19-10). NOTRE DAME REACHES 1800-WIN MILESTONE: Notre Dame’s 84-79 victory at Illinois on Dec. 2 marked the 1800th win in program history.
The Fighting Irish are 1812-979 (.649) all-time in 111-plus seasons.
Notre Dame ranks eighth in Division I in all-time program wins behind Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse and UCLA. The Irish have improved four spots in the all-time wins list since Mike Brey took over the program for the 2000-01 season, surpassing Indiana, Oregon State, Pennsylvania and St. John’s.
As of Feb. 11, Notre Dame is the only NCAA program to rank in the top 10 for men’s basketball victories (1812) and football victories (892, 2nd). FANTASTIC FOUR: On Jan. 4, Irish head coach Mike Brey named Steve Vasturia a captain for the remainder of the 2015-16 season, joining Demetrius Jackson, Zach Auguste and A.J. Burgett as Irish players with a ‘C’ on their uniforms. BEST POINT GUARD IN THE COUNTRY: Demetrius Jackson has been named as one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Bob Cousy Award, given to the top point guard in the nation by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Jackson leads the Irish with 16.1 points and 5.0 assists per game.
BEST CENTER IN THE COUNTRY: Zach Auguste has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Kareem Abul-Jabaar award, given to the top center in the nation by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Auguste is averaging a career-best 14.1 ppg and 10.0 rbpg.
NOTE: For full notes package, download or view the PDF at the top of the page.