NOTRE DAME vs. NORTH CAROLINA
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball begins the 2019-20 campaign with a primetime matchup (7 p.m., ACC Network) at No. 9/11 North Carolina on Wednesday, November 6. The meeting between the Irish and Tar Heels marks a few notable firsts for the Irish and the conference –
- The first time the Irish will begin the season on the road against an ACC opponent.
- The first time the ACC will begin the season with 14 opponents playing seven conference games to kick off the college basketball season.
- The first time Notre Dame will face a ranked opponent in a season opener since 1999-2000.
- The first season the ACC will play 20 league games and two league games before the first of the year (the Irish also will face Boston College at home on December 7).
- The first game Notre Dame men’s basketball will be broadcast on the ACC Network, the new linear broadcast network launched by the conference available on AT&T TV Now, AT&T U-Verse, DirectTV, Dish, Hulu, Playstation Vue, Quality Cablevision, Sling, Spectrum and YouTube TV.
| NOTRE DAME | GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| Date | Wednesday, November 6, 2019 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Dean E. Smith Center • Chapel Hill, NC • Capacity 21,750 |
| TV: | ACC Network (for more information, go to ) • Chris Cotter (play-by-play) • Dan Bonner (analysis) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network • Jack Nolan (play-by-play) • Zach Hillesland (analyst) |
BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH AT TAR HEELS
|
1 |
Notre Dame will be playing its first season-opening conference game in program history on Wednesday evening as the ACC unveils its inaugural 20-game league schedule. |
|
1.39 |
Final assist-to-turnover ratio for the Irish in 2019-20, third in the ACC and 18th in the country. Notre Dame dished out 423 assists compared to just 305 turnovers. Of the top 25 teams in the country in A/T ratio, no other team committed less than 321 turnovers. |
|
2.33 |
Juwan Durham recorded four blocked shots against Georgia Tech in the first round of the 2019 ACC tournament and finished the season with a 2.33 blocks-per-game average – second in the ACC and 19th in the country. Durham combined to block nine shots in Notre Dame’s two exhibition game victories this season. |
|
3 |
Notre Dame has only started a season on the road 13 times since 1923-24 and own a three-game streak of season-opening victories away from Purcell Pavilion. The Irish won vs. Loyola Chicago at Allstate Arena in 1992-93, at No. 4/6 Ohio State in 1999-2000 and at DePaul in 2017-18. See page 3 for more details. |
|
9 |
T.J. Gibbs finished ninth in the country in minutes played per game from major conference players with a 36.1 average. Gibbs played all forty minutes in a game six times during the 2018-19 season. |
|
10 |
Notre Dame finished 10th in the country in minutes played per game by true freshman in 2018-19 among major conference teams. The Irish rookies averaged 81.2 minutes played per game this season. |
|
11.2 |
John Mooney led the ACC with 11.2 rebounds per game, becoming the third Notre Dame player (Zach Auguste – 2016, Bonzie Colson 2017) to lead the league in rebounds. He also finished fifth in the country in rebounds per game – and posted the highest average for any major conference player in the NCAA. |
|
17.0 |
In his two career games played in the Dean Smith Center at North Carolina, John Mooney is averaging 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. See page 3 for more details. |
|
20 |
Notre Dame will be starting the season on the road against a ranked team for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday evening and first time in the Mike Brey era. The 1999-2000 Irish opened the year in the Preseason NIT, upsetting No. 4/6 Ohio State in Value City Arena. |
|
103 |
T.J. Gibbs has appeared in 103 of a possible 104 career games (missing the Boston College on Jan 12, 2019, due to an illness suffered during warm ups) and, along with graduate student Rex Pflueger, could make a run at the career all-time played school record. See page 5 for the all-time games played list. |
|
108 |
Much like the note above, graduate student Rex Pflueger has appeared in 108 career games and returns this season for a fifth-year after injuring his knee in Notre Dame’s 10th game last season. Both Pflueger and Gibbs will end their season with the school record for career games played in sight. |
|
305 |
Notre Dame committed just 305 team turnovers in 2018-19, matching Saint Joseph’s for the second-least in the country. Omaha led the NCAA with 304 turnovers. |
|
1110 |
Prentiss Hubb logged 1,110 minutes in his rookie season with the Irish – becoming just the third freshman in program history to participate in over 1,000 minutes (Chris Thomas – 1,255; Jerian Grant – 1,232). |
MOONEY NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM
Senior forward John Mooney was named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-ACC First Team, by a vote of the attendees of ACC Media Day on October 8, 2019.
Mooney posted a remarkable junior year campaign for the Irish in 2018-19, his superlatives included:
- One of just seven major conference players to average a double-double (14.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg)
- Leading all major conference players in rebounds per game (12.6) in conference play
- Becoming the third Notre Dame player in the past four seasons to lead the ACC in rebounding
- Leading the ACC in double-doubles, both overall (20) and in conference play (13)
- Posting the second-most double-doubles in ACC conference play ever, behind Tim Duncan’s 15 in 1996-97
- His 12.6 rebounds-per-game average in ACC play is the second-highest total since Tim Duncan posted a 14.9 number in 1996-97
- He is the leading rebounder, second-leading field-goal percentage and sixth-leading scorer returning to the ACC this season
MOONEY PUTS UP NUMBERS IN DEAN DOME
Senior forward John Mooney has posted two of his best performances in an Irish uniform against North Carolina in the Smith Center. As a sophomore, Mooney went six-for-six from three point range to score a then career-high 18 points. He followed up last season by grabbing a career-best 19 rebounds while scoring a team-high 16 points.
In his last two game in Chapel Hill, Mooney has shot .650 from the field, .857 from three point range while averaging 12.5 rebounds and 17.0 points per game.
|
Date |
FG |
FGA |
3FG |
3FGA |
FT |
FTA |
OR |
DR |
TR |
PF |
A |
BLK |
MIN |
TP |
|
Jan. 15, 2019 |
7 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
19 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
24 |
16 |
|
Feb. 12, 2018 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
18 |
|
13 |
20 |
6 |
7 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
22 |
25 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
56 |
34 |
|
|
.650 |
.857 |
12.5 |
17.0 |
SEASON OPENERS
- Notre Dame is 19-0 all-time in season openers during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 to present).
- Historically, the Irish are 96-18 (.842) in season openers.
- Under Mike Brey, the Irish have began the season on the road just once. In 2017-18, the Irish helped DePaul dedicate WinTrust Arena on Nov. 11, earning a 72-58 victory.
THE LAST TIME… SEASON OPENER STYLE
The last time…
- Notre Dame opened a season on the road against a ranked team was 1999-2000, when the Irish knocked off No. 4/6 Ohio State in the Preseason NIT.
- Notre Dame opened a season on the road was in 2017-18, a 72-58 victory over DePaul (Nov. 11, 2017).
SEASON OPENERS AWAY FROM HOME
Since Hall of Famer George Keogan took over the men’s basketball from Walter Halas in 1923-24, Notre Dame has played away from home just 13 times, compiling a 9-4 record.
|
Season |
Date |
Opponent |
W/L |
ND |
Opp |
|
1951-52 |
Dec. 1 |
St. Thomas (MN) |
W |
71 |
37 |
|
1955-56 |
Dec. 1 |
Detroit Mercy |
L |
71 |
77 |
|
1968-69 |
Dec. 3 |
King’s College |
W |
84 |
54 |
|
1969-70 |
Dec. 1 |
Minneosta |
W |
84 |
75 |
|
1970-71 |
Dec. 1 |
Michigan |
W |
94 |
81 |
|
1972-73 |
Dec. 2 |
Michigan |
L |
87 |
96 |
|
1974-75 |
Nov. 30 |
Valparaiso |
W |
91 |
80 |
|
1976-77 |
Nov. 27 |
Maryland |
W |
80 |
79 |
|
1980-81 |
Nov. 29 |
No. 6 UCLA |
L |
81 |
94 |
|
1987-88 |
Dec. 2 |
No. 5/3 Indiana |
L |
59 |
76 |
|
1992-93 |
Dec. 4 |
Loyola Chicago* |
W |
52 |
50 |
|
1999-2000 |
Nov. 16 |
No. 4/6 Ohio State |
W |
59 |
57 |
|
2017-18 |
Nov. 11 |
DePaul |
W |
72 |
58 |
* – game played at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
IRON MAN T.J. GIBBS AMONG NATION’S TOP RETURNING PLAYERS IN MINUTES PLAYED
Senior T.J. Gibbs, who is already 19th on the all-time Notre Dame list for career minutes played, is among the nation’s leaders in minutes played by a major conference returning player. Gibbs has logged 3,042 minutes in three years with the Irish.
MINUTES PLAYED – CAREER – MAJOR CONFERENCES
|
Player |
School |
Minutes Played |
|
Payton Pritchard |
Oregon |
3,719 |
|
Lamar Stevens |
Penn State |
3,388 |
|
Anthony Cowan Jr. |
Maryland |
3,320 |
|
Kamar Baldwin |
Butler |
3,236 |
|
Tres Tinkle |
Oregon State |
3,213 |
|
Jordan Bohannon |
Iowa |
3,142 |
|
Desmond Bane |
TCU |
3,127 |
|
Myles Powell |
Seton Hall |
3,086 |
|
T.J. GIBBS |
NOTRE DAME |
3,042 |
|
Quentin Goodin |
Xavier |
3,030 |
IRISH TRADITIONALLY AMONG BEST IN THE COUNTRY AT TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Notre Dame finished third in the NCAA last season in turnovers per game – posting the fifth consecutive season of ranking in the nation’s top-10 for least amount of turnovers in a game.
The Irish have not averaged over 10.0 turnovers per game since a 10.3 mark in 2013-14 (which was still good enough for 26th nationally).
NOTRE DAME TURNOVERS PER GAME, LAST FIVE SEASONS
|
Season |
Turnovers/Game |
National Rank |
Conference Rank |
|
2014-15 |
9.4 |
5 |
2 |
|
2015-16 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
|
2016-17 |
9.5 |
2 |
1 |
|
2017-18 |
9.9 |
7 |
2 |
|
2018-19 |
9.3 |
7 |
2 |
HUBB ENDS UP SIXTH ON THE ROOKIE ASSIST BOARD
Freshman Prentiss Hubb was the main ball handler for the Irish throughout his rookie season and paced the team with 131 assists. He is the ninth true freshman since the class became eligible to play to post 90-or-more assists during their rookie season.
Hubb is the fourth Mike Brey-era guard to reach 100 assists in his rookie season.
TRUE FRESHMAN SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS (since 1972-73)
|
Player |
Season |
Assists |
|
Chris Thomas* |
2001-02 |
252 |
|
Doug Gottlieb |
1995-96 |
154 |
|
Martin Ingelsby |
1997-98 |
150 |
|
Tory Jackson* |
2006-07 |
139 |
|
Rich Branning |
1976-77 |
138 |
|
PRENTISS HUBB* |
2018-19 |
131 |
|
David Rivers |
1984-85 |
127 |
|
Eric Atkins* |
2010-11 |
110 |
|
Admore White |
1993-94 |
96 |
* – Mike Brey era players
MOST ACTIVE FRESHMAN CLASS SINCE 1972-73 NOW SOPHOMORES
The five-person freshman class of Robby Carmody, Chris Doherty, Dane Goodwin, Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski combined to play 2,680 minutes in 2018-19 – the most of the Mike Brey era and since freshman became eligible in 1972-73.
FRESHMAN PLAYING TIME – SINCE 1972-73
|
Season |
Number of Players |
Minutes Played |
|
2018-19 |
5 |
2,680 |
|
1999-2000 |
4 |
2,332 |
|
1998-99 |
5* |
2,211 |
|
1973-74 |
6 |
2,031 |
|
1982-83 |
5 |
2,060 |
|
1988-89 |
5 |
1,974 |
* – three scholarship players
DURHAM RIM PROTECTION MAKES AN IMPRESSION
Even though Juwan Durham is listed as a senior on the Notre Dame roster, he actually just finished off his first season of full action in 2018-19. Durham saw limited minutes in his freshman season at UConn (2016-17) after sitting out his senior year of high school to recover from an ACL tear in his right knee. He also had wrist surgery while sitting out during his transfer season last year with the Irish.
In his first game in a Notre Dame uniform against UIC (11/6/18) he became the first Notre Dame player since 2012 to block six shots in a game. Durham also sparked the Irish with 10 points and five blocks in the second half of a victory over Illinois (11/27/18).
During the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – present) only six other players have blocked five or more shots multiple times, putting the Tampa, Florida, native – with two full years of eligibility remaining starting in 2019-20 – among some noteworthy Irish players.
Durham combined to block nine shots in Notre Dame’s two exhibition game victories this season.
MULTIPLE GAMES WITH FIVE OR MORE BLOCKED SHOTS
|
Players |
Years |
Games |
|
Ryan Humphrey |
2000-2002 |
7 |
|
Juwan Durham |
2018-present |
4 |
|
Jordan Cornette |
2001-2005 |
4 |
|
Torin Francis |
2002-2006 |
4 |
|
Bonzie Colson |
2014-2018 |
2 |
|
Luke Harangody |
2006-2010 |
2 |