Nov. 21, 2005
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0, 0-0) vs. Hofstra Pride (1-0, 0-0)
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
- 7:30 p.m. (EST) Joyce Center (11,418)
- Notre Dame, Ind.
- Television: None
Radio: Jack Lorri (play-by-play) and Jack Nolan (color analyst) Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: ESPN Radio in Chicago (Chicago land area and Midwest); WZOW 97.7 FM and 102.3 FM in South Bend, Ind.; ESPN 950 AM in Indianapolis, Ind.; WGL 1250 AM in Fort Wayne, Ind. and Northeast, Ind.; WLUV 96.7 AM in Rockford and DeKalb, Ill. and Beloit and Janesville, Wis.; WEFM 95.9 FM in Michigan City and Gary, Ind.; ESPN (WRSW) 1480 AM in Warsaw, Ind.; WAMW 107.9 FM and 1580 AM in Washington, Ind.; and www.und.com.
Real-Time Stats:
Live in-game statistics are available for all home games, via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).
Tuesday’s Game:
Notre Dame plays it second game in just over 48 hours when the Irish take on Hofstra on Tuesday evening … Coach Mike Brey’s squad opened up the 2005-06 season on Sunday afternoon with an 84-66 victory over Lafayette … Notre Dame is in the middle of a stretch in which it plays three games in six days … Following Tuesday night’s matchup against the Pride, the Irish travel to Indianapolis, Ind., where they will face North Carolina State in the John R. Wooden Tradition on Sat., Nov. 26 … Notre Dame used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Lafayette on Sunday as four players scored in double figures … The Irish were led by Rob Kurz’ career-high 18 points, while Chris Quinn and Colin Falls each finished with 15 points, and Rick Cornett added 10 points … Torin Francis led all rebounders with 14 boards, in addition to scoring eight points … Kurz’ eight rebounds also marked a career best as Notre Dame outrebounded the Leopards 43-29 in the game … Quinn finished with a career-best nine assists in the game … The Irish shot 48.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range, while limiting Lafayette to 39.3 percent accuracy … Notre Dame made 29 trips to the charity stripe and converted on 21 of its attempts … The 84 points were the third most under head coach Mike Brey in a season opener.
Irish In Season Openers:
With its win over Lafayette on Sunday, Notre Dame now owns an all-time record of 83-18 (.823) all-time in season openers and have won all six of its season openers under head coach Mike Brey … Since the opening of the Joyce Center in 1968-69, Irish teams are 32-6 (.842) in home openers … The last time Notre Dame lost a season opener was to Miami (Ohio) at home (76-65) on November 13, 1998.
Getting Out Of The Gate:
In the first five seasons under head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame has won each of its first two games and has not suffered its first loss until after the second contest … Irish teams have been 4-0 (2000-01), 7-0 (2001-02), 4-0 (2002-03), 2-0 (2003-04) and 3-0 (2004-05) to start the season before their first loss.
Irish Roll Under Brey In November:
Under head coach Mike Brey, the Irish are 20-1 (.950) all-time in games played during the month of November … The lone November loss was to Creighton 80-75 in the championship game of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 26, 2002.
Series Record vs. Hofstra:
Tonight’s Notre Dame-Hofstra matchup marks the seventh meeting ever between the two schools and first since the 1994-95 campaign when the Irish handed the Pride a 63-52 setback at the Joyce Center on Jan. 15, 1995 … Hofstra is winless in five appearances at the Joyce Center … The initial meeting between the two programs took place on March 12, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pa., with the Irish earning a 90-83 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Familiar Foe:
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey knows Hofstra well … The Pride, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, was a former member of the America East … When Brey was at Delaware, the Blue Hens also were members of the America East (they too are now affiliated with the CAA) … While at Delaware, Brey squared off against Hofstra on 13 occasions and owns a 9-4 record against the Pride.
Notre Dame vs. Colonial Athletic Association:
Notre Dame is 11-0 all-time versus teams currently members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Irish All-Time:
Notre Dame begins its 101st season of basketball and 11th as a member of the BIG EAST Conference … In 100 seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1566-863 record for a .645 winning percentage … In BIG EAST play, Notre Dame owns an 84-84 record all-time in conference regular-season play.
The Captains:
Guard Chris Quinn and forward Torin Francis have been named captains for the 2005-06 season, marking the second straight year that the two have served as captains. The duo becomes the 11th and 12th players to serve as two-time captains.
Postseason Trend:
Since 2000, Notre Dame has appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments each of othe last six years … The Irish played in the 2000 NIT and then earned three consecutive NCAA tournament berths – 2001, ’02 and ’03 – followed by NIT appearances in ’04 and ’05 … This is the longest stretch of postseason appearances for Irish teams since making six straight from 1983-90 – (NIT in 1983 and ’84 and NCAA from 1995-90).
Home Sweet Home:
Since the inaugural season in 1968-69 at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 445-135 record all-time for a .767 winning percentage … The Irish are 60-21 (.741) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s five seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 108-37 mark for a .745 winning percentage … Notre Dame’s 13-5 mark a year ago at home marked the seventh time in eights years that the Irish won 10 or more home games.
Approaching 1,000:
Heading into the season seniors Chris Quinn and Torin Francis are each less than 100 points away from becoming the 44th and 45th players in Notre Dame history to reach the 1000-point plateau … Quinn has 956 career points in 95 career outings for a 10.1 scoring average, while Francis has scored 939 points in 84 career contests for an 11.2 average … The last time two players from the same class scored 1,000 points was Notre Dame’s Class of 2002 – Troy Murphy and David Graves … Murphy had reached the 1,000-point mark in his sophomore season and finished his career with 2,011 points before leaving after his junior year for the NBA … In 94 career games, he averaged 21.4 points per game … Graves finished his career with 1,746 points and reached the 1,000-point mark in his junior year (2000-01), the same season that Murphy topped the 2,000-point mark.
Quinn and Francis Set To Join Elite Company:
Senior forward Torin Francis collected his 700th career rebound in the season opener, and he currently stands 61 points shy of 1,000 in an Irish uniform … The Boston, Mass., native is looking to become just the 13th player in Notre Dame history to collect 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds, joining this select company:
- Adrian Dantley (2,223 points, 843 rebounds)
- Pat Garrity (2,085 points, 776 rebounds)
- Troy Murphy (2,011 points, 924 rebounds)
- Tom Hawkins (1,820 points, 1,318 rebounds)
- Bob Arnzen (1,665 points, 944 rebounds)
- Bob Whitmore (1,580 points, 1,043 rebounds)
- LaPhonso Ellis (1,505 points, 1,075 rebounds)
- Collis Jones (1,367 points, 884 rebounds)
- Ron Reed (1,153 points, 872 rebounds)
- Gary Novak (1,103 points, 736 rebounds)
- Walt Sahm (1,077 points, 1,146 rebounds)
- Keith Robinson (1,073 points, 713 rebounds)
Francis’ classmate Chris Quinn also hit a milestone in the season-opening win over Lafayette, dishing out his 250th career assist … With 956 career points to his credit, the Dublin, Ohio, native is poised to become just the ninth player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points and hand out 250 assists, entering into this select company:
- Chris Thomas (2,195 points, 833 assists)
- David Rivers (2,058 points, 586 assists)
- Matt Carroll (1,850 points, 314 assists)
- David Graves (1,746 points, 340 assists)
- Elmer Bennett (1,488 points, 516 assists)
- John Paxson (1,366 points, 411 assists)
- Ryan Hoover (1,269 points, 264 assists)
- Rich Branning (1,232 points, 466 assists)
Two New Faces In Irish Starting Lineup:
When the starting five took the court for Notre Dame’s season-opening game against Lafayette, two of the Irish players were relatively new additions to the starting lineup … Junior guard Russell Carter made just his second career start, while sophomore Rob Kurz was in the starting lineup for the first time in his collegiate career … In contrast, the other three Irish starters – senior guard Chris Quinn, senior forward Torin Francis and junior guard Colin Falls – carried 166 combined starts into the 2005-06 opener.
Tough Enough:
Notre Dame’s 2005-06 schedule features five teams – Connecticut (2), Louisville (8), Alabama (14), West Virginia (15) and Syracuse (16) – ranked in the top 25 … In addition, Notre Dame will take on eight teams that played in the 2005 NCAA Tournament – North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Louisville and Connecticut.
Irish Set For Three Repeat Games In BIG EAST Play:
Notre Dame will play DePaul, Marquette and Providence twice (both home and away) as part of its BIG EAST Conference regular-season 16-game slate during the 2005-06 campaign … Playing under a straight divisional format with 16 teams this year, Notre Dame will play 10 opponents once, but will not face either Cincinnati or St. John’s during the regular season.
Road Warriors:
In Mike Brey’s five seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 43-33 (.566) … That includes a 28-24 mark (.538) in true road games and a 15-9 (.625) record in neutral site contests.
BIG EAST Road Warriors:
Over the past five seasons, four teams haves compiled winning road records in BIG EAST league games. Pittsburgh is the leader with a 24-16 mark, Connecticut and Syracuse at 22-18, while Notre Dame is 21-19.
“B” Is For BIG And BIG EAST:
With its membership of 16 teams, The BIG EAST Conference is the largest Division I conference in the nation … The new additions are Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida.
BIG EAST Distinction:
Notre Dame and Syracuse are the only two schools to post winning conference records in BIG EAST play each of the last five seasons … Notre Dame has gone 11-5 (2000-01), 10-6 (2001-02), 10-6 (2002-03), 9-7 (2003-04) and 9-7 (2004-05), while Syracuse has posted marks of 10-6 (2001-01), 9-7 (2001-02), 13-3 (2002-03), 11-5 (2003-04) and 11-5 (2004-05).
BIG EAST Formula For Success Under Brey:
Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Brey has led Notre Dame to a 49-31 (.605) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 2-5 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 51-36 (.586) against league foes … In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the BIG EAST West Division title with an 11-5 mark … Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams has a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record since joining the league in 1995-96.
Down To The Wire:
Five of Notre Dame’s 28 games in 2004-05 were decided by a single point … The Irish were 3-2 in those contests … Notre Dame teams are 9-4 overall during Mike Brey’s tenure in one-point games … 13 of Notre Dame’s 17 BIG EAST contests last season were decided by less than 10 points.
Not So Lucky:
Notre Dame is the only team from one of the six major conferences to have a winning record in league play each of the past two seasons yet fail to make the NCAA Tournament … 20 teams from the Big Six (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC) had a winning record in both 2003-04 and ’04-05, while 19 other schools made the Tournament both seasons.
Keeping It Close:
In the 56 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s four seasons, only 15 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 398 points for an average of 7.1 points … Notre Dame’s biggest losses have been on the road at Pittsburgh (72-55 on January 6, 2003) and against Arizona (88-71 on March 27, 2003) in the West Regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif…. Prior to those setbacks, the worst defeat was a 16-point decision at Connecticut during Brey’s first season … Notre Dame’s 11 losses during the 2001-02 season were by a combined 49 points for an average margin of defeat of 4.5 points … Only one loss that season (versus Georgetown at the Joyce Center) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five or less points.
209 And Counting:
Heading into the tonight’s game against Hofstra, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 208 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign … The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer was a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on January 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in the game.
Irish Among Best In Wins Average:
Over the last six years, Notre Dame is one of 25 teams nationally that has averaged better than 20 wins per season … The Irish have compiled a 123-71 record for a .634 winning percentage after finishing 22-15 (1999-2000), 20-10 (2000-01), 21-11 (2001-02), 24-10 (2002-03), 19-13 (2003-04) and 17-12 (2004-05).
Over The Century Mark:
Notre Dame has scored 100-plus points five times during the Mike Brey era … The last 100-point effort by an Irish team was in a 101-96 overtime decision at Boston College on Jan. 25, 2003.
Kurz Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors:
Rob Kurz was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the week of Nov. 21 after finishing with career bests of 18 points and eight rebounds in Notre Dame’s 84-66 win over Lafayette. Kurz played a career-high 25 minutes in the game and shot 8-10 from the field..
McDonald’s All-Americans:
Notre Dame’s 2005-06 team features two McDonald’s High School All-Americans – Torin Francis and Luke Zeller … A total of 15 players who have donned an Irish uniform have been McDonald’s All-Americans … Zeller, a freshman from Washington, Ind., is the most recent McDonald’s All-American, following Francis who earned McDonald’s accolades in 2002 … Francis also was named the recipient of the Morgan Wootten Award as the McDonald’s National Boys Player of the Year … Zeller played his McDonald’s All-American game at the Joyce Center on March 30, 2005 … Former Irish players who were also McDonald’s All-Americans include: Tim Andre (1979-83), Ken Barlow (1982-86), LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92), Ryan Humphrey (2000-02), Tracy Jackson (1973-77), Tim Kempton (1982-86), Dan Miller (2001-03), John Paxson (1979-83), David Rivers (1984-88), Keith Robinson (1986-90), Tom Sluby (1980-84), Barry Spencer (1980-84), Chris Thomas (2001-05), Torin Francis (2002-present) and Luke Zeller (2005-present).
Mr Indiana:
When former standout Chris Thomas (2001-05) entered Notre Dame in the fall of 2001, he became the first Mr. Indiana Basketball to play for the Irish. Thomas, who graduated in May of 2005 and finished as the school’s career leader in nine categories, earned the honor in 2001, History repeated itself four year later when current freshman Luke Zeller copped the state’s top honor in 2005.
Irish Sign Two In Early Signing Period:
Irish head coach Mike Brey signed two players during the early signing period on Wed., Nov. 9 – Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) and Tory Jackson (Saginaw, Mich.), Harangody, a 6-8, 250-pound forward attends Andrean High School in Merriville, Ind. As a junior, he led his team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 23.2 points and 12.3 rebounds. He ranked 11th and third, respectively, in scoring and rebounding among all Indiana players in his junior season. Named the 2005 Post Tribune Northwest and The Times Northwest Player of the Year, led Andrean to a 21-3 record and to the Gary (Ind.) Class 3A sectional championship. Jackson, a 5-10, 175-pound guard, was named the ’05 Michigan Class C Player of the Year and was a unanimous all-state selection. He paced his Buena Vista High School team to a 17-6 record in ’04-’05 while averaging 30.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals. This past summer, he played for the Blue Team which garnered the silver medal at the ’05 Youth Development Festival as his squad finished with a 3-1 mark.
All In The Families:
Sophomore Rob Kurz’ sister Laura is a sophomore on the Duke women’s basketball team … Freshman Ryan Ayers’ father Randy is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic … He formerly was the head coach at Ohio State and with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Omari Isreal Leaves Program:
Junior forward Omari Isreal left the Irish basketball program on November 11 and will transfer to another school … As a sophomore last season, he averaged 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds … He missed the 2003-04 campaign, his freshman season, while recovering from knee surgery for an ACL injury suffered in the final season of his prep career.
Kevin White Radio Show:
Look for the Kevin White Radio Show on ESPN 1000 AM radio in Chicago … The hour-long show, which debuted on Sept. 4, is in its sixth season and will run for 30 weeks throughout the year.
Guests regularly will include familiar names from all facets of college athletics … The show features White, Notre Dame’s director of athletics, and ESPN 1000’s Dave Juday … It can be heard regularly at 11:00 p.m. Central time on Sunday evenings … ESPN 1000 in Chicago can be heard in more than 30 states around the country.
Sponsors of the show include Gatorade, Xerox, adidas, Comcast, McDonald’s, Chase, Coca-Cola, Sirius Satellite Radio, Jordan Industries and Sayers Computer Source.