| NOTRE DAME | GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, December 8, 2020 |
| Time | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Purcell Pavilion • Notre Dame, IN |
| TV: | ACC/Big Ten Challenge/ESPN2 • Karl Ravech (play-by-play) • Dan Dakich (analyst) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network • Jack Nolan (play-by-play) Available locally on WSBT AM/FM and worldwide on und.com. |
Notre Dame Notes vs. Ohio State
BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH vs. BUCKEYES
|
1 |
Notre Dame led the country in three statistical categories last season: assist/turnover ratio (1.68), least amount of personal fouls committed per game (12.4) and fewest total fouls committed (397). |
|
2 |
Notre Dame finished second in the country in turnovers per game in 2019-20 (9.8) behind Liberty’s 9.4 average. That marks the sixth consecutive the Irish have ranked in the NCAA top 10 in least amount of turnovers per game. Through two games in 2020-21, the Irish have committed 9.0 turnovers per game. |
|
3 |
Potential home opening games canceled due to COVID-19 concerns on opposing teams this season. First to be scratched out was a visit by Tennessee on Dec. 4, then the home opener with Western Michigan on Dec. 2 was lost. Notre Dame pivoted to schedule Purdue Fort Wayne on December 5, but one day later that game was canceled. Eventually, Detroit Mercy was able to visit Purcell Pavilion on December 6 for the home opener – and second game of the season. |
|
4 |
The Irish are taking part in their eighth ACC/Big Ten Challenge and have a 4-3 record in the event. Notre Dame is 3-0 at home in the Challenge with wins over Iowa, Michigan State and Illinois. |
|
4.0 |
Notre Dame and Ohio State have met just five times in the modern era (eight of the meetings in the series occurred before 1937). The most recent five meetings have seen Ohio State own a 3-2 record, but all five games have been decided by an average of just four points with two meetings in the 1970s ending up in overtime. |
|
10.0 |
Junior Nate Laszewski recorded the second double-double of his career in the victory over Detroit Mercy on Sunday, leading the Irish with 11 rebounds to go with 16 points. Grabbing nine rebounds in the season opener at No. 13/12 Michigan State, Laszewski is currently averaging a double-double in the young season at 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds (while shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range). |
|
12 |
With 5:53 left against Detroit Mercy, the Titans claimed a one-point lead at 62-61. Notre Dame responded with a 12-0 run to seize control of the game and claim the team’s first victory of the season. |
|
14 |
Notre Dame and Ohio State will be meeting for the 14th time with the Buckeyes owning an 8-5 advantage in the series. This will mark the first meeting between the two teams during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and just the second of the Mike Brey era. |
|
23 |
A recent project by CBSSports.com ranked the ‘Greatest College Basketball Programs Ever’ with Notre Dame placing 23rd on the list and sixth in the ACC. The opponent on Saturday night, Michigan State, was selected 14th. |
|
21 |
Earning a 78-70 victory over Detroit Mercy on Sunday night, Notre Dame is now 21-0 in home openers during the Mike Brey era. |
|
178 |
Career assists in ACC regular-season games for junior Prentiss Hubb, the most among any returning ACC player and 10th all-time on the career conference-game charts at Notre Dame. |
|
200 |
Only two Notre Dame players have blocked 200 shots during their time in an Irish uniform. Jordan Cornette (2001-05, 201) and LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92). While the truncated 2020-21 season doesn’t help graduate student Juwan Durham, he could become the third player to reach 200 blocks. With a 2.2 bpg average in his career, Durham is on pace to add 60 blocks to his career total – putting him above 180. An increase in his average per game (he has swatted seven shots thus far) could put the school blocked shot record in reach. |
|
1905 |
Total victories in the history of Notre Dame men’s basketball, as the Irish became the eighth program to reach 1,900 victories in 2019-20 (Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse and UCLA have all reached that plateau). The Irish were 12th all-time in college basketball victories when Mike Brey took over the program in 2000-01 – they have since passed Oregon State, Pennsylvania, St. John’s and Indiana on the all-time wins list into eighth place. |
ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE HISTORY
Notre Dame is in its eighth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and is 4-3 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. For the Irish, the event has featured three home-and-home series with Iowa, Michigan State and Illinois.
|
Date |
Opponent |
City |
Site |
ND Rank |
Opp Rank |
W/L |
ND |
Opp |
|
12/3/2013 |
at Iowa |
Iowa City, IA |
Carver-Hawkeye Arena |
23 / 24 |
L |
93 |
98 |
|
|
12/3/2014 |
vs. Michigan State |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
19/ 18 |
W (OT) |
79 |
78 |
|
|
12/2/2015 |
at Illinois |
Champaign, IL |
State Farm Center |
W |
84 |
79 |
||
|
11/29/2016 |
vs. Iowa |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
W |
92 |
78 |
||
|
11/30/2017 |
at Michigan State |
East Lansing, MI |
Breslin Center |
5 / 5 |
3 / 3 |
L |
63 |
81 |
|
11/27/2018 |
vs. Illinois |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
W |
76 |
74 |
||
|
12/4/2019 |
at Maryland |
College Park, MD |
XFINITY Center |
3/4 |
L |
51 |
72 |
HUBB POSTS NINE CAREER 20-POINT GAMES AGAINST POWER CONFERENCE TEAMS
Junior Prentiss Hubb has logged a team-high nine 20-point games in his career, all of which have come against ‘Power Conference’ opponents.
Hubb’s career 20-point game:
|
Date |
Opponent |
FG |
3FG |
FT |
TR |
AST |
TO |
STL |
PTS |
|
11/6/19 |
at North Carolina |
8-17 |
5-9 |
1-2 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
22 |
|
12/14/19 |
UCLA |
6-12 |
5-10 |
3-5 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
20 |
|
1/4/20 |
at Syracuse |
7-16 |
6-12 |
2-2 |
2 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
22 |
|
1/8/20 |
at NC State |
9-14 |
4-7 |
2-2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
24 |
|
1/15/20 |
at Georgia Tech |
8-16 |
3-8 |
6-8 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
25 |
|
1/25/20 |
at Florida State |
7-16 |
5-11 |
5-5 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
24 |
|
2/17/20 |
North Carolina |
7-17 |
2-9 |
4-5 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
20 |
|
3/4/20 |
Florida State |
8-13 |
5-9 |
3-3 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
24 |
|
11/28/20 |
at Michigan State |
7-22 |
4-11 |
5-7 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
23 |
DURHAM ALREADY AMONG TOP SHOT BLOCKERS IN NOTRE DAME HISTORY
Blocked shots are one of the youngest official NCAA official statistics, only becoming a part of a game boxscore for the 1985-86 season. With that in mind, it is still noteworthy that graduate student Juwan Durham has already established himself as one of the top shot blockers in Notre Dame history.
In 2018-19, Durham swatted 63 shots which ranks fifth on the Notre Dame single-season blocked shots list, he followed up with 66 as a senior last season.
Durham has pushed his career blocked-shot average to 2.2 and is one of just three Notre Dame players to average over 2.0 blocks per game in their career:
|
Player |
Seasons |
Blocks Per Game |
|
Ryan Humphrey |
2000-02 |
2.8 |
|
JUWAN DURHAM |
2018-current |
2.2 |
|
LaPhonso Ellis |
1988-92 |
2.1 |
Durham’s 136 total blocks at Notre Dame currently rank him sixth all-time (see sidebar, page 4). Jordan Cornette is the Notre Dame blocked shots record holder with 201 from 2001-05.
JUNIOR CLASS READY TO MAKE THEIR MARK
Notre Dame’s four member junior class is ready to show their mettle this season after two years of development. Robby Carmody, Dane Goodwin, Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski are all poised to make the ‘Junior Year Leap’ at Notre Dame (see page 6 for more).
As freshman, members of the group (Goodwin, Hubb, Laszewski) were the first true freshman trio to start a game in the Mike Brey era in the victory over Boston College (1/12/19) and the first such trio to post a victory since January 19, 1989.
Even as Robby Carmody was lost just nine games into the 2018-19 season with a shoulder injury, the group set the school record for most minutes played by a freshman class with 2,634, besting the 1999-2000 rookie class of Matt Carroll, Jere Macura, Ivan Kartelo and Mike Monserez.
The group combined to set Brey-era freshman class records for minutes played (2,634), FG (250), FGA (702), 3FG (112), 3FGA (375), rebounds (351) and points (740).
IRISH TRADITIONALLY AMONG BEST IN THE COUNTRY AT TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Notre Dame finished second in the NCAA last season in turnovers per game – posting the sixth consecutive season of ranking in the nation’s top-10 for least amount of turnovers in a game. The Irish are also perennially one of the top teams in the country in assist to turnover ratio.
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 |
Conf. Rank |
Ast/Turnover |
National Rank |
Conf. Rank |
|
2014-15 |
9.4 |
5 |
2 |
1.61 |
4 |
2 |
|
2015-16 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
1.34 |
43 |
5 |
|
2016-17 |
9.5 |
2 |
1 |
1.66 |
2 |
1 |
|
2017-18 |
9.9 |
7 |
2 |
1.46 |
14 |
3 |
|
2018-19 |
9.3 |
3 |
2 |
1.38 |
18 |
3 |
|
2019-20 |
9.8 |
2 |
1 |
1.68 |
1 |
1 |
RYAN HOPES TO BUILD OFF NOTRE DAME TRADITION OF TRANSFER IMPROVEMENT
Transfers have become a normal part of college basketball over the past couple of decades and the Notre Dame basketball program, under Mike Brey, has brought in seven student-athletes prior to Cormac Ryan (eligible this year) and Trey Wertz (eligible in 2021-22).
Those seven players ended up improving across the board in their first season in an Irish uniform, compared to their final season at their previous school.
|
Name |
Prev School |
Year |
MP |
Pts |
Year |
MP |
Pts |
MP+ |
Pts+ |
|
|
Ryan Humphrey |
Oklahoma |
1998-99 |
831 |
343 |
Notre Dame |
2000-01 |
863 |
410 |
3.8% |
19.5% |
|
Dan Miller |
Maryland |
2000-01 |
676 |
174 |
Notre Dame |
2002-03 |
1195 |
473 |
76.6% |
171.8% |
|
Dennis Latimore |
Arizona |
2002-03 |
277 |
74 |
Notre Dame |
2004-05 |
596 |
203 |
115.1% |
174.3% |
|
Ben Hansbrough |
Miss. State |
2006-07 |
1005 |
314 |
Notre Dame |
2009-10 |
1241 |
419 |
23.4% |
33.4% |
|
Scott Martin |
Purdue |
2007-08 |
700 |
272 |
Notre Dame |
2010-11 |
1008 |
319 |
44.0% |
17.2% |
|
Garrick Sherman |
Mich. State |
2010-11 |
410 |
107 |
Notre Dame |
2012-13 |
467 |
211 |
13.9% |
97.2% |
|
Juwan Durham |
UConn |
2016-17 |
232 |
45 |
Notre Dame |
2018-19 |
413 |
154 |
78.2% |
242.2% |
|
Average Improvement |
50.7% |
107.9% |
Among these previous transfers are the 2011 BIG EAST Player of the Year (Hansbrough), three team MVPs (Humphrey, 2002, Hansbrough, 2011, Martin, 2012).
A DECADE OF ‘NO FOUL’ CONTINUES?
One of the mantras of Notre Dame basketball under Mike Brey has been to keep the amount of opponent foul shots down. Defend without fouling is a way of life for Irish basketball and the statistics bear out that trend.
In the last 11 years, Notre Dame has failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just twice. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls three times.
The NCAA has been tracking the least amount of fouls committed in a season since 1993. Notre Dame is the only team since 1993 to lead the country in least amount of fouls more than twice (four times) and are on pace to make it five times this season.
NOTRE DAME FOULS PER GAME NATIONAL/CONFERENCE FINAL RANKING
|
Year |
Fouls Per Game |
NCAA Raking |
Conference Ranking |
|
2009-10 |
15.1 |
10 |
2 |
|
2010-11 |
15.2 |
11 |
1 |
|
2011-12 |
13.8 |
1 |
1 |
|
2012-13 |
14.1 |
8 |
1 |
|
2013-14 |
16.2 |
15 |
5 |
|
2014-15 |
15.1 |
6 |
1 |
|
2015-16 |
15.1 |
1 |
1 |
|
2016-17 |
14.9 |
4 |
1 |
|
2017-18 |
13.1 |
1 |
1 |
|
2018-19 |
13.8 |
1 |
1 |
|
2019-20 |
12.4 |
1 |
1 |
IRISH BOAST SOLID RECORD FOR ANNUAL HOME-AND-HOME ACC SERIES
Since joining the ACC for the 2013-14 season, Boston College and Georgia Tech have been designated as the ‘traditional’ yearly rivals for Notre Dame in the league. Each season, the Irish have met the Eagles and Yellow Jackets for home-and-home series. Notre Dame boasts the best record in the league against its designated repeat opponents since 2013-14 (records below are regular-season meetings only):
RECORD VS. ACC ANNUAL HOME-AND-HOME OPPONENTS SINCE 2013-14
|
Team |
Opponent |
Opponent |
Record |
|
NOTRE DAME |
Boston College |
Georgia Tech |
22-6 |
|
Duke |
North Carolina |
Wake Forest |
20-8 |
|
Florida State |
Miami |
Clemson |
18-10 |
|
Syracuse |
Boston College |
Pittsburgh |
20-8 |
|
North Carolina |
Duke |
NC State |
18-10 |
|
Virginia |
Virginia Tech |
Louisville |
19-9* |
* – Virginia repeated with Maryland in 2013-14
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTED BY 1,000 POINT SCORERS
Notre Dame has produced 64 1,000 point scorers throughout the history of the program with 23 of those players reaching that statistical milestone during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – current). Of the 85 players who have suited up for Notre Dame under Mike Brey, 36 of them were recruited by the staff and exhausted their eligibility with the Irish – 20 of those players have scored more than 1,000 points in a career.
Since 2000-01, Notre Dame leads all ACC teams in 1,000 point scorers (23) and is second in the country over that time frame to Villanova.
|
School |
All-Time 1,000 Point Scorers |
1,000 Point Scorers since 2000-01 |
|
North Carolina |
77 |
20 |
|
Louisville |
69 |
18 |
|
Duke |
67 |
20 |
|
NOTRE DAME |
64 |
23 |
|
Villanova |
64 |
24 |
|
Syracuse |
62 |
19 |
|
Kansas |
61 |
19 |
FOUR VETERANS NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2020-21
Glenn and Stacey Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey has announced four student-athletes to serve as team captains for the University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team.
Graduate students Nikola Djogo and Juwan Durham, along with juniors Prentiss Hubb and Cormac Ryan, will make up a four-player group of captains in 2020-21.
All four Irish players will be serving as team captains for the first time in their careers.
IRISH RECEIVE COMMITMENTS FROM TWO AREA PROSPECTS
Rising high school seniors J.R. Konieczny (Ko-nez-nee) and Blake Wesley, both from South Bend, Indiana, have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame.
Rated among the top 150 high school players in the 2020-21 class, Konieczy (Kah-nez-nee) is a four-star recruit according to ESPN.com and earned third-team all-state honors as a junior in 2019-20. He averaged over 24 points a game last season, including a 42-point outburst in the 2020 sectional semifinal – a performance that earned him the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week honors.
A consensus four-star recruit, Wesley is ranked 96th nationally by Rivals and 113th by 247Sports. An honorable mention all-state selection as a junior in 2019-20, Wesley led all local area players with a 26.0 points-per-game average last season.