Dec. 7, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Notre Dame, winners of four straight and coming off of a 68-59 victory over Kansas State at the Jimmy V Classic, looks to make history on Saturday night when it goes after its record-setting 25th consecutive win at the Joyce Center versus Northern Illinois. The Irish have not lost at the Joyce Center since an 80-72 setback to Marquette on February 25, 2006.
Notre Dame (6-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
vs.
Northern Illinois (2-6, 0-0 MAC)
Saturday, December 8, 2007 * 7:00 p.m. (EST) Joyce Center (11,418) * Notre Dame, Ind.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: Jack Nolan (play-by-play analyst)
LaPhonso Ellis (color analyst)
Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes:
WLS 890 AM in Chicago, Ill. (Chicagoland area and Midwest);
WZOW 97.7 FM and 102.3 FM in South Bend, Ind.;
ESPN 950 AM in Indianapolis, Ind.;
WLYV 1450 AM in Fort Wayne, Ind. and Northeast, Ind.;
WLUV 96.7 AM in Rockford and DeKalb, Ill., and Beloit and Janesville, Wis.;
WLUV 1520 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., Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 159 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).
Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois
- Notre Dame looks to make history when it goes after its record-setting 25th consecutive win at the Joyce Center. The Irish have not lost at the Joyce Center since an 80-72 setback to Marquette on February 25, 2006.
- Notre Dame heads into the contest having won four straight, including its most recent win, a 68-59 victory over Kansas State in the Jimmy V Classic.
- Tonight’s contest begins a six-game homestand for the Irish – their longest of the season. Following this evening’s game, Notre Dame will be off for two weeks before taking on San Francisco on Saturday, December 22 at 4:00 p.m.
- Notre Dame will not be on the road again until Saturday, January 12 when it travels to Milwaukee, Wis., to face Marquette.
- For the second straight Saturday evening, Notre Dame is facing an opponent from the Mid-American Conference. One week ago (Dec. 1), the Irish defeated Eastern Michigan 76-65.
Series Record vs. Northern Illinois
- The Irish and Huskies will meet for the fourth time with Notre Dame holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. All three of the previous meetings have been played at the Joyce Center. The first matchup was played December 10, 1969 as the Irish came away with a 101-92 victory. The second meeting took place on December 12, 1981 with the Huskies earning a 70-65 win. The only other, and the series’ most recent meeting, took place on November 24, 2003 with the Irish producing a 74-65 win.
Irish vs. Mid-American Conference
- Irish teams are 52-17 (.754) all-time versus teams that now comprise the Mid-American Conference.
Now That’s Something To Talk About
- Notre Dame’s current 24-game home win streak current spans three seasons – the final two games played during the 2005-06 campaign, the entire 2006-07 season and four games in 2007-08. Here’s a look at the dominance of the Irish during its present win streak:
Notre Dame Opponents FG Percentage 684-1398 (.490) 555-1415 (.392) 3-FG Percentage 209-516 (.405) 151-441 (.342) Points/Avg. 2,015 (83.6 ppg.) 1,517 (63.2 ppg.) Margin of Victory +498 points (+20.8) Notes: Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 13 of 24 games Notre Dame opponents have shot .500 or better in 3 of 24 games 19 wins by 10-plus points 11 win by 20-plus points 7 wins by 30-plus points 4 wins by 40-plus points 1 win by 50-plus points
Hot Stuff
- Since returning from the three games in the Virgin Islands where Notre Dame shot 33.9 percent against Baylor and 40.7 percent versus Georgia Tech in its final two games, Notre Dame has shot 119-244 (.488) from the field and 35-80 (.438) from three-point range. Against Eastern Michigan last Saturday night, the Irish connected on 56.3 percent (25-52) from the field and 62.5 percent (10-16) from three-point range – both season bests.
Valuing The Basketball
- In its two wins over Colgate and Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame committed just eight and nine turnovers, respectively, marking the first time this season that the Irish had fewer than 10 turnovers in back-to-back contests. Two of the strengths of Notre Dame basketball teams under head coach Mike Brey have been distributing and taking care of the basketball. The Irish are averaging 18.8 assists per game and 13.1 turnovers for a 1.4 assists-to-turnover ratio.
McAlarney Named To BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
- Kyle McAlarney was one of four players named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 20.3 points and 4.5 assists in wins over Colgate and Eastern Michigan. The junior guard also averaged a blistering 72.7 percent (16-22) from the field and 70.6 (12-17) from three-point range. He netted a career-high 25 points in Notre Dame’s 94-63 win over Colgate as he finished 8-12 from the field and 7-10 from three-point range (the seven three-pointers matched a career best). In the 76-65 win over Eastern Michigan, McAlarney registered his third consecutive 20-plus point outing as he netted 21 points, hitting 8-10 shots from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc.
McAlarney Shines On The Big Stage
- Staten Island native Kyle McAlarney made his return to New York City and Madison Square Garden a happy one on Tuesday night as he led his Irish to a 68-59 victory over Kansas State. McAlarney finished with 18 points in the contest on 6-13 shooting from the field (2-5 from three-point range). He scored 14 points in the second, including nine straight in the final 2:10 of the contest. McAlarney nailed a three-pointer with 1:30 to play and converted four key free throws down the stretch.
Unstoppable Luke
- Luke Harangody leads the Irish in scoring and rebounding averaging 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds. Harangody had a career outing in Notre Dame’s 87-75 win against Youngstown State as he netted a personal best 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Harangody was 12-17 from the field in addition to dishing off four assists in 27 minutes. In the last three games, the 6-8 forward has been unstoppable averaging 23.0 points and 10.7 boards. Harangody netted 20-plus points in three consecutive outings for the first time in his career against Baylor (22 points), Georgia Tech (22 points) and Youngstown State (25 points) and had back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career versus Yellow Jackets (22 points, 11 rebounds) and the Penguins. In the win over Eastern Michigan, he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds and then recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 14 boards versus Kansas State.
Twenty Something
- Luke Harangody’s string of three consecutive games with 20-plus points ended against Colgate when he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Prior to that game, he had registered 20-plus points in three consecutive games – Baylor (22), Georgia Tech (22) and Youngstown State (25) for the first time in his career.
- Kyle McAlarney also had a three-game 20-plus point outing streak of his own that came to end against Kansas State. McAlarney registered his first 20-point outing of the season against Youngstown State when he tallied 23 points (a then career best). He followed that up with another career-high outing for the second time in as many games when tallied 25 points versus Colgate. In the Eastern Michigan outing, McAlarney led the Irish for the second straight game with a 21-point outing.
- The last Irish player to score 20-plus points in three consecutive outings was Russell Carter during the 2006-07 campaign when he netted 27 against Alabama, 21 versus Elon and 28 against Portland.
- The last Irish player to net 20-plus points in four consecutive outings was Chris Thomas in 2003-04 (his junior year) versus Pittsburgh (23 points), Connecticut (31 points), Seton Hall (26 points) and Syracuse (25 points).
McAlarney Finds The Range
- Since returning from St. Thomas, USVI, no Irish player is playing better than Kyle McAlarney. In the last four games, the Irish junior guard is averaging 21.8 points (87 points) and 3.5 assists. He has shot 28-48 (.583) percent from the field and 19-32 (.594) from three-point range. In back-to-back wins over Youngstown State and Colgate, McAlarney recorded back-to-back career-highs. In the 87-75 victory over the Penguins, he connected on 6-13 shots from the field and was 5-10 from three-points en route to a then personal best 23-point performance. He followed that up with a career-high 25-point effort against Colgate in the 94-63 win as he connected on 8-12 shots from the field and was 7-10 from three-point range and then was 8-10 from the field and 5-7 from beyond the stripe in the victory over Eastern Michigan. His current four-game double-figure scoring streak is the longest of his career. Prior to these two contests, McAlarney was just 9-31 (.290) from the field and 5-17 (.294) from three-point range in Notre Dame’s three games at the Paradise Jam.
One Is A Lonely Number
- Rob Kurz is the lone senior among the 14 players on this year’s Irish roster. The last time Notre Dame had only one senior on the roster was during the 1983-84 when Cecil Rucker was the only senior member of that team that consisted of four juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen. The 1988-89 Irish squad featured no seniors on that team and was comprised of five juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.
Elite Company
- Notre Dame joined an elite group last year when it registered its 1,600th win against Providence on February 15, 2007. In its 103rd season, Notre Dame has 1,610 victories. Only 12 other schools have reached the mark: Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Temple, St. John’s, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah and UCLA.
Eight Straight Postseason Appearances
- Notre Dame’s appearance in last year’s NCAA tournament field marks the fourth NCAA berth for the Irish in seven years. Since 2000, Notre Dame has appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments each of the last eight years. The Irish played in the 2000 NIT and then earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths – 2001, ’02, ’03 – followed by NIT appearances in ’04, ’05 and ’06. This current postseason streak matches the longest stretch since making eight straight from 1983-90 (NIT in 1983 and ’84 and NCAA from 1985-90).
Four 20-Win Seasons Under His Belt
- Notre Dame’s 24-8 campaign a year ago marked the fourth time in seven seasons under head coach Mike Brey that the Irish won 20-plus games. The 24 wins also equaled the most for Notre Dame during the Brey era. Notre Dame’s 20-win campaigns under Brey have been in 2000-01 (20-10), 2001-02 (22-11) and 2002-03 (24-10). In the 102-year history of the program, Notre Dame teams have won 20 or more games on 31 occasions.
“D” The Key Against Monmouth
- En route to its 76-33 victory over Monmouth on November 16, Notre Dame held the Hawks without a point in the final 10:31 of the contest and outscored Monmouth 23-0 down the stretch. In fact, the Irish held the Hawks to just eight points in the second half and just 11 points overall in the final 24:52 of the contest. Notre Dame also limited Monmouth to just nine field goal attempts (all misses) in the final 8:17 of the game.
Monmouth Notables
- The 33 points allowed by Notre Dame were the fewest ever under head coach Mike Brey and the eight points in the second half were the fewest ever by an Irish team in a half since the inception of the three-point shot.
- The 33 points allowed were also the fewest given up by a Notre Dame team since January 4, 1950 in a 54-33 win at home against Butler. It also marked the fewest points scored by an Irish opponent in a road or neutral site game since Kentucky’s 34-28 win over the Irish on December 29, 1981 in Louisville, Ky.
- The 43-point margin of victory was the matched the seventh-highest for an Irish team under Mike Brey.
Defense Shines In First Two Games …
- While offense has always been a staple under head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame’s defense keyed Notre Dame’s first two wins. The Irish allowed just 41.5 points per game and held opponents to 27.2 percent shooting from the field and 20.5 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame owned a +19.5 advantage on the boards and outscored its first two opponents a combined 82-35 in the second half.
But Defense Struggles Against Baylor And Georgia Tech
- In Notre Dame’s last two outings, which resulted in losses to Baylor and Georgia Tech, the Irish allowed 138 points (69.0 ppg.) and allowed the Bears and Yellow Jackets to shoot a combined 51-115 (.443) from the field and 18-39 (.462) from three-point range. The Irish also were outrebounded in both contests.
Irish Offense Struggled Against Bears and Yellow Jackets
- Notre Dame struggled on offense in its two losses versus Baylor and Georgia Tech. Against the Yellow Jackets, the Irish were just 20-59 from the field (.339) and connected on just 7-19 (.368) from three-point range. In the second half, Notre Dame was only 8-28 from the field (.286).
- In the loss to Georgia Tech, the Irish hit on 40.7 percent of its shots (22-54) and were only 5-16 (.313) from three-point range.
- Notre Dame averaged just 12.0 assists in the two games and turned the ball over 29 times (14.5).
Lost Leads Down The Stretch
- In its first two wins of the season, Notre Dame never trailed in either contest. In fact, the Irish have only trailed 6:40 of a possible 320 minutes this season.
- Against Baylor, the Irish led by as many as 14 points in the first half after jumping out to a 8-0 lead. The Bears took their first lead (61-60) of the contest with 3:15 remaining in the contest. It also marked the first time Notre Dame had trailed in a game all season long. The Irish regained the lead briefly at 62-61 with 1:33 left on the clock before the Bears closed the game with a 7-2 run to close the game.
- In the loss to Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets grabbed a four-point lead early on, but Notre Dame’s basket at the 16:54 mark would give the Irish the advantage until the final two seconds of the contest. The Yellow Jackets trailed by nine (62-53) with 5:11 to play before outscoring Notre Dame 17-7 down the stretch.
- In Notre Dame’s win over Youngstown State, the Irish led by 25 with 11:41 left in the game, but were outscored 31-18 in the final 11-plus minutes of the contest before holding on for the 87-75 victory.
Quietly Goes About His Business
- Perhaps no player in the Irish lineup is as steady as Rob Kurz. The senior forward is the team’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder and has scored in double figures in all but three contests. He has recorded two double-doubles and had a season-high 20-point performance against Colgate on 7-10 shooting from the field. In addition, he grabbed 10 boards. Kurz is shooting 52.4 percent (33-63) from the field and 43.8 (7-16) from three-point range.
Gody A Force
- Seven games into the 2007-08 campaign, Luke Harangody is averaging a team-leading 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds (both career bests). He has scored in double figures in seven of eight contests. He also is shooting 55.5 percent (61-110) from the field. Harangody recorded his first double-double of the season against the Yellow Jackets when he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds and then followed that up with 25 points and 13 rebounds against Youngstown State. He registered his third double-double of the season against Kansas State as he finished with 19 points and a personal best 14 boards.
Zach Attack Off The Bench
- As he was a year ago, junior forward Zach Hillesland has been a spark for the Irish off the bench. He is averaging 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds and has scored in double figures in two games and grabbed five or more rebounds in all eght games. He recorded back-to-back double-figure scoring outings for the first time in his career against Georgia Tech (12 points) and Youngstown State (10 points). He had a season-high nine boards in the win over Kansas State. Hillesland is shooting 47.4 percent (18-38) from the field.
‘AYERS’ Ball
- Junior Ryan Ayers is off to the best start in his career shooting 45.1 percent from the field (23-51) and 53.3 percent (16-30) from three-point range. His 8.1 points per game also marks a career best. Last year, he began the season 0-12 from the field before hitting his first field goal in the sixth game of the year. Heading into this season, he owned a 38.5 career field goal percentage and 37.5 percent mark from three-point range. Ayers netted a career-high 13 points against Monmouth.
Zeller Matches Career High Against Colgate
- Luke Zeller is coming off his second double-figure scoring outing of the season and the sixth of his career in Notre Dame’s win over Colgate. He matched his career-high with 14 points as he finished 5-8 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range in 16 minutes off the bench. In addition, Zeller grabbed four rebounds in the contest. He is averaging 6.3 points and 2.7 rebounds this season.
Home Cookin’
- Notre Dame’s 18-0 record at home last season marked just the third time since the opening of the Joyce Center in 1968-69 that an Irish team finished undefeated at home during the regular season. It also marked the most wins ever for a Notre Dame team in a single season. Only two other Notre Dame squads ever completed a season undefeated at home – the 1973-74 and 1985-86 squads both finished their campaigns with identical 15-0 records. The Irish were the only BIG EAST team to finish the season undefeated at home. Dating back to 2005-06 campaign, Notre Dame has won 24 consecutive games at home following the win over Eastern Michigan one week ago – an active streak that is fourth among all Division I teams and matches the longest in school history as well as the longest during Mike Brey’s tenure.
- Notre Dame’s current streak dates back to the final two games of the 2005-06 campaign as Irish defeated DePaul (66-61) in the regular-season finale and Vanderbilt (79-69) in the first round of the NIT. Notre Dame’s last loss at home was an 80-72 setback to Marquette on February 25, 2006.
Current NCAA Division I Home Court Win Streaks:1. Memphis 362. BYU 343. Wisconsin 284. NOTRE DAME 245. Tennessee 22 Indiana 227. Louisiana-Monroe 158. Akron 13
Joyce Center Streakin’
- Notre Dame tied the Joyce Center home win streak mark on Saturday night with its win over Eastern Michigan. The current 24-game win streak is the second-longest streak at the Joyce Center and longest during the Mike Brey era. Here’s a look at the Joyce Center streaks: 24 – Began with a 94-68 win over Xavier on 2/3/73 and ended with a 94-84 loss to Indiana on 12/11/74 24 – Began with a 66-61 win over DePaul on 3/4/06 (current streak) 22 – Began with an 88-68 win over Pittsburgh on 1/26/77 and ended with a 69-68 overtime loss to DePaul on 2/12/78 16 – Began with a 92-70 win over Fairfield on 12/9/82 and ended with a 51-47 loss to UCLA on 12/3/83 16 – Began with an 89-76 win over West Virginia on 2/20/02 and ended with a 87-79 loss to Connecticut on 2/24/03.
What A Difference A Year Makes
- With its 11-5 record in BIG EAST play last season, Notre Dame’s win total was five more than the 2005-06 team which finished with a 6-10 conference mark after beginning league play 1-8. Notre Dame’s 24 wins also were eight more its total of 16 the previous season.
Irish Roll Under Brey In November
- Irish teams have traditionally played well under Irish head coach Mike Brey. Notre Dame completed the month of November in 2006 with a 5-1 record. The Irish are 30-5 (.857) all-time in games played during the month of November. The five November losses have been to Creighton 80-75 in the championship game of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 26, 2002; to North Carolina State (61-48) at the John R. Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Nov. 26, 2005; against Butler (71-69) on Nov. 13, 2006 in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off; and to Baylor (68-64) and Georgia Tech (70-69) this season. This is the first season that an Irish team has lost more than one game during the month of November under Brey.
The Irish All-Time
- The 2007-08 men’s basketball campaign marks the 103rd season of basketball and 13th as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. In 102-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1611-887 record for a .645 winning percentage. In BIG EAST play, Notre Dame owns a 101-99 (.505) record all-time in conference regular-season play.
Always In It
- Since the 2005-06 campaign, Notre Dame’s 24 losses have been by a combined 121 points for an average of 5.0 points per game. The 14 setbacks in ’05-’06 were by a total of 59 points (4.2 points). The only double-digit loss was to North Carolina State (61-47). The Irish suffered 10 BIG EAST losses during the regular season and those were by a combined 35 points (3.5).
Putting Up The Points And Winning Impressively
- Notre Dame averaged 81.0 points per game last season, the best points per game average ever under Mike Brey. With its 82 points against Long Island in the season opener, the Irish proved once again that they can score points. Ten of the 24 victories a year ago were by 24 or more points, while six of those games were by 30 points or better.
Keeping It Close
- In the 80 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s seven seasons, only 19 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 520 for an average of 6.5 points per game. Notre Dame’s 18-point loss (66-48) to Georgetown in 2006-07 was the largest ever for an Irish team under Brey.
18-Game BIG EAST Slate
- Notre Dame will play Connecticut, DePaul and Marquette twice as part of its 2007-08 18-game BIG EAST men’s basketball conference slate. The league is employing an 18-game schedule this year with all teams playing each other at least once and three opponents twice (home and away). The BIG EAST utilized the 16-game slate since the 1999-00 campaign and has not played an 18-game conference schedule since 1998-99 when the league had 13 members. The format was used for eight years from 1991-99.
BIG EAST Formula For Success Under Brey
- Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led Notre Dame to a 66-46 (.589) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 3-7 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 69-53 (.566) 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 had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record since joining the league in 1995-96.
277 And Counting
- Heading into tonight’s game against Kansas State, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 277 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 Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in the game. The 2005-06 Irish squad set the single-season record with 288 three-pointers and fell just one field goal short of that mark (287) in 2006-07.
Home Sweet Home
- Since the inaugural season in 1968-69 at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 478-141 record all-time for a .772 winning percentage. The Irish are 93-27 (.775) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s seven-plus seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 140-43 mark for a .765 winning percentage. Notre Dame’s 18 wins at home last season marked the ninth time in 10 years that the Irish won 10 or more home games. The Irish played their 600th game at the Joyce Center on Nov. 27, 2006 versus Lehigh.
Over The Century Mark
- Notre Dame topped the 100-point mark twice during the 2006-07 campaign and eight times under Irish head coach Mike Brey.
Road Warriors
- In Mike Brey’s seven-plus seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 54-53 (.505) that includes a 35-36 (.492) in true road games and a 19-17 mark (.545) in neutral site contests.
Double The Pleasure
- Rob Kurz led the Irish with nine double-doubles last season and has registered two this season (13 for his career) in the season opener against Long Island in the season (19 points and 10 rebounds) and Colgate (20 points, 10 rebounds). Ironically, both of those came while playing just 28 minutes in each contest.
Unselfish Duo
- Junior Kyle McAlarney and sophomore Tory Jackson started in the backcourt in a regular season game for the first time ever against Long Island in the season opener. The duo combined for 11 points and 15 assists (eight by Jackson and seven by McAlarney) of Notre Dame’s 28 assists. Against Colgate, they dished off 12 assists (seven by Jackson and five by McAlarney) and turned the ball over just once.
Team Basketball
- Under Irish head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame always has done a good job of distributing the basketball and shown great unselfishness as a team. That was again evident against Long Island when the Irish dished off 28 assists on 35 baskets (a 0.8 assists-to-basket ratio). Notre Dame also enjoyed a strong assist-to-basket ratio against Youngstown State with 24 assists credited to 32 baskets and against Colgate (25 assists on 32 baskets). Through seven games, the Irish are averaging 19.7 assists per game and have dished off 138 assists on 197 baskets for a .70 assist-to-basket ratio.
Zeller Down Under
- For the second straight summer in 2007, forward Luke Zeller played with Athletes In Action, joining them this year for an eight-game Australian tour. During the exhibition tour, he averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds and scored in double figures in five of those contests. The previous year, he traveled to Taipei City, Taiwan and was a member of the AIA squad that captured the gold medal at the 2006 William Jones Cup.
A BIG EAST Family
- The Kurz family name is family in BIG EAST circles this season. Rob Kurz’ younger Laura is a member of the Villanova women’s basketball team. She played for two years 2004-06 at Duke before tranferring to Villanova. After sitting out last season, the junior forward is posting identical numbers as her older brother Rob. Rob is currently the third-leading scorer for the Irish (13.9 ppg.) and second-leading rebounder (7.4), while Laura is the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer (13.9 ppg.) and top rebounder (7.4).
A New Addition To The Irish Basketball Family
- Assistant coach Rod Balanis and his wife Liz welcomed their second son, Lukas Lowell, into their family on Tues., November 27 at 11:43 a.m. joining older brother Andrew George (now two years old). The baby was delivered just over 14 hours after the Irish had beaten Colgate 94-63 on Monday night.
Paradise Jam Recap
- Notre Dame finished fifth at the Paradise Jam in the eight-team field and Luke Harangody was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.3 points and 8.0 rebounds.
- The Irish opened up tournament play with an impressive 76-33 victory over Monmouth as Notre Dame shot 50.9 percent from the field and limited the Hawks to just 26.5 percent (13-49). Notre Dame also held a 46-18 advantage on the boards. Rob Kurz led all scorers with 15 points, while Kyle McAlarney and Ryan Ayers each added 13. Ayers’ 13 points marked a career-high as he connected on 5-6 shots from the field and was 3-4 from three-point range.
- Luke Harangody scored a game-high and matched his career-high with a 22-point effort against Baylor as he finished 9-14 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. The only other Irish player in double figures was Rob Kurz as he finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Notre Dame shot just 28.6 percent in the second half and 33.9 percent for the contest, while the Bears connected on 41.4 percent.
- Notre Dame led for all but the first three minutes of the game and the final two seconds when Georgia Tech’s three-pointer lifted the Yellow Jackets to the win. Luke Harangody notched the fifth 20-plus point outing of his career and matched a his personal best for the second time in as many nights as he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Harangody was one of four Irish players in double figures. Rob Kurz finished with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Zach Hillesland added 12 points and Tory Jackson finished with 10 points as he netted double figures for the first time in four outings. Notre Dame shot 40.7 percent from the field, but allowed Georgia Tech to connect on 47.4 percent for the game and 58.8 percent (10-17) from three-point range.