Oct. 31, 2014
Exhibition Game 1
Minnesota Duluth
vs.
Notre Dame
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014
2 p.m. (ET)
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
Notre Dame, Ind.
TV/INTERNET
WatchND (free)
Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
LaPhonso Ellis (analyst)
RADIO
WatchND (free)
Check local affiliates (Pg. 4 of notes packet)
LIVE STATS
IRISH MEET MINNESOTA DULUTH IN EXHIBITION OPENER
– Notre Dame will open its 2014-15 exhibition slate Saturday against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ET) inside Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
– A free live video broadcast of Saturday’s game will be available on WatchND.tv. Jack Nolan will handle play-by-play duties, while LaPhonso Ellis will serve as the analyst.
– Saturday will be the first of two exhibition contests for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame will play host to Lewis at 7 p.m. (ET) on Friday at Purcell Pavilion.
– Notre Dame opens regular-season play Nov. 14 with a home tilt against Binghamton.
A BREAKDOWN OF THE BULLDOGS
– Last season, Minnesota Duluth posted a 12-15 record and finished fifth in the North Division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with a 10-12 league mark.
– The Bulldogs returned three starters from last season’s squad. UMD was picked to finish fourth in the NSIC North Division for the 2014-15 campaign.
– Head coach Matt Bowen is in his third season at Minnesota Duluth.
– UMD athletics director Josh Berlo spent 12 years in the University of Notre Dame’s athletic department. His final role at Notre Dame was senior assistant athletics director for guest relations and event marketing. Berlo began his UMD tenure in April of 2013.
– While Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between the Irish and the Bulldogs on the hardwood, the two schools have met 40 times in hockey with Notre Dame holding a 21-15-4 advantage. UMD topped Notre Dame, 3-0, on Oct. 12 in the Compton Family Ice Arena.
ACC HONORS
– The Fighting Irish were picked to finish seventh in the ACC for the 2014-15 season, according to a vote of media in attendance at the league’s annual “Operation Basketball.” Notre Dame senior guard Jerian Grant was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team for the second consecutive year.
110 YEARS OF FIGHTING IRISH BASKETBALL
– The 2014-15 campaign marks the 110th season of basketball at the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame teams have posted an all-time record of 1763-966 for a .648 winning percentage.
IRISH LOOK TO REBOUND AFTER TOUGH 2013-14 CAMPAIGN
– Notre Dame posted a 15-17 record last season and finished tied for 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with a 6-12 league mark. Notre Dame’s season came to an end with an 81-69 setback to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
– The 17 losses were the most ever for an Irish team under head coach Mike Brey. Previous to the 2013-14 campaign, the most losses under Brey had been 15 during the 2008-09 season when that squad finished with a 22-15 mark.
– The six wins and 12 setbacks in ACC regular-season play were the fewest wins and most conference losses for a Notre Dame squad under Brey. In 13 seasons coaching in the BIG EAST, Brey’s Irish teams only had two losing seasons — 2005-06 (6-10) and 2008-09 (8-10).
– The 17 overall losses were the most for the Fighting Irish since the 1995-96 campaign (9-18).
FIGHTING IRISH IN ITALY
– In early August, the Fighting Irish squad traveled to Italy for a 10-day, four-game foreign tour. Notre Dame posted a 4-0 record. The Irish visited Rome, Perugia, Pesaro, Venice and Como during the trip.
– It was the program’s first foreign tour since 2008 when the Irish ventured to Ireland for 13 days.
BREY GETS 300TH WIN AT NOTRE DAME, ONE SHY OF 400TH CAREER VICTORY
– Notre Dame’s victory over Georgia Tech on Feb. 26 was head coach Mike Brey’s 300th win at Notre Dame. Brey has compiled a 300-159 (.654) record in his 14 seasons in South Bend. He is one of 16 active head coaches to have 300 or more Division I victories at their current institution.
– Only two other Notre Dame head coaches have reached the 300-win milestone. Digger Phelps led the Fighting Irish to a 393-197 record from 1971-91. George Keogan notched a 327-97 mark from 1923-43.
– Brey is just one victory shy of recording his 400th career win as a college head coach. He has registered a 399-211 (.654) record in 19 seasons at Delaware and Notre Dame.
GRANT RETURNS
– Senior guard Jerian Grant returns to the Fighting Irish lineup after missing the final 20 games of the 2013-14 season. Grant led Notre Dame in scoring (19.0 ppg) and assists (6.2 apg) through the first 12 games of last season.
– Grant has 1,111 points (13.7 ppg), 228 rebounds (2.8 rpg) and 437 assists (5.4 apg) in 81 games (79 starts) during his Notre Dame career.
PAT AN ALL-AROUND PERFORMER
– In ACC play last season, Pat Connaughton ranked seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.46), 10th in rebounding (7.1) and 14th in scoring (13.9).
– Connaughton’s 41 three-pointers in ACC games ranked fifth in the league.
– Connaughton pulled down 10 or more rebounds in seven games during the season (four ACC contests) and had five double-doubles.
– Connaughton netted a season-high 22 points at Miami (Feb. 19). He was 6-of-7 from three-point range against the Hurricanes. It was his fourth game of the season (second in ACC play) with 20-plus points.
– In the loss at North Carolina in the regular-season finale, he had 17 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
– Connaughton has 990 points (9.8 ppg), 541 rebounds (5.4 rpg) and 200 assists (2.0 apg) in 101 career games (85 starts).
IRONMAN
– Pat Connaughton has never missed a game during his Fighting Irish career. He has played in all 101 contests, including 85 starts. Connaughton has started 82 consecutive games.
– Connaughton never left the court in eight games last season (six times in ACC play).
– In ACC regular-season contests, Connaughton ranked third in minutes played per game (39.00). On the season, he ranked 17th nationally in minutes played per game (37:11).
CONNAUGHTON DRAFTED BY ORIOLES
– The Baltimore Orioles selected Irish swingman Pat Connaughton in the fourth round of June’s Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 121st pick overall.
– Connaughton spent part of June and July pitching for the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Class A Orioles’ affiliate.
– Connaughton finished his Fighting Irish baseball career last spring. He posted a 3.03 ERA and had an 11-11 record on the mound during his three seasons. He fanned 105 batters in 154.2 innings pitched.
IRISH TO TAKE PART IN TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
– Notre Dame will play Massachusetts and Providence Nov. 22 and 23 in the 2014 Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
– Notre Dame will be part of the Naismith Bracket and will play home games against Binghamton (Nov. 14) and Navy (Nov. 16) before facing the Minutemen and Friars at the Mohegan Sun.
– Both Massachusetts and Providence were part of the NCAA Championship field last season.
FIGHTING IRISH TO HOST SPARTANS IN ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE
– Notre Dame will play host to Michigan State Dec. 3 in the 16th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
– The Notre Dame-Michigan State contest will mark the 95th meeting between the two Midwest schools, but the first since March 18, 1979, when the Spartans downed the Irish 80-68 in the Mideast Regional final in Indianapolis, Ind., en route to the national championship. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 59-35. Michigan State last played at Notre Dame on Feb. 5, 1975, when the Spartans defeated the Irish 76-73.
– Notre Dame fell at Iowa, 98-93, last season in its inaugural appearance in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
ANOTHER CROSSROADS CLASSIC CLASH
– Notre Dame will battle Big Ten rival Purdue in the fourth annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The game between the Irish and the Boilermakers will be the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 20. Butler and Indiana will square off in the first contest.
– The Fighting Irish are 2-1 in their three previous Crossroads Classic showdowns. Notre Dame topped Indiana, 79-72, last season and the Irish downed Purdue, 81-68, in 2012. Notre Dame fell to Indiana, 69-58, in the inaugural event in 2011.
SHUFFLING THE STARTERS
– Notre Dame used 12 different starting lineups during the 2013-14 season.
– Eric Atkins and Pat Connaughton started all 32 games, while Garrick Sherman started all 31 of the contests he played. Demetrius Jackson (15), Zach Auguste (13), Steve Vasturia (12), Tom Knight (7), Austin Burgett (5) and V.J. Beachem (1) also notched starts.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
– Last season, the Fighting Irish were 6-7 in games decided by five points or fewer (5-4 in ACC play).
– Notre Dame’s 17 defeats were by a total of just 132 points (7.8 ppg.). Notre Dame’s 12 ACC regular-season losses were by a combined 95 points (7.9 ppg.).
NOTRE DAME FIRST AGAIN IN GRADUATION RATE SUCCESS
– The University of Notre Dame once again claims the 2014 national championship for graduating student-athletes in all sports–in the process posting the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figure (99) for its student-athletes for the eighth straight year.
– The GSR number for all Notre Dame student-athletes rates the Irish first among the football-playing institutions in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). The 2014 NCAA figures are based on entering classes from 2004 through 2007.
– Twenty-one of Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s athletic programs posted GSR numbers that rank them best in the nation within their sports (including 20 perfect 100 scores)– and 11 produced federal graduation rates that led all NCAA FBS institutions (including eight perfect 100 scores). Men’s basketball at 100 tied for first with 14 other schools.
– Five Irish women’s programs had perfect 100 federal rates ranking them first within their sports among the NCAA FBS subset. Six Irish men’s programs had federal rates ranking them first within their sports (three with perfect 100 scores) among the NCAA FBS subset. Men’s basketball at 85 ranked tied for first with Penn State.