More than 3,500 Irish faithful showed up to the Joyce Center on Friday, October 11 as Notre Dame officially opened up the 2002-03 men’s basketball campaign with its annual Moonlight Madness. Fans were treated to an hour-long series of contests orchestrated by Irish head coach Mike Brey. At midnight, the team took to the court for a 20-minute scrimmage followng spotlight introductions. Several team members participated in a slam dunk contest after the scrimmage with junior Torrian Jones taking home top honors in the event.

It was a short evening of sleep for Notre Dame that night as the Irish returned to the Joyce Center court for a 9:30 a.m. practice on the morning of October 12.