Jan. 3, 2017
WHO: No. 23/21 Notre Dame (12-2, 1-0 ACC) vs. No. 9/9 Louisville (12-2, 0-1 ACC)
WHERE: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center
WHEN: Wednesday, January 4, 2017, 9:00 p.m. ET
TICKETS: und.com/buytickets
TELEVISION BROADCAST: ACC Network with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst).
RADIO BROADCAST: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Colin Falls (analyst).
Here are Five Things To Know about the Notre Dame – Louisville matchup:
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACC NETWORK BROADCAST?
The ACC Network is available across the country through several local television network affiliates. In the South Bend, Indiana, area the game will be on WMYS – MyTV which is broadcast over-the-air on channel 69, AT&T U-Verse channel 69, Xfinity channel 15 and Dish Network channel 69.
Here is a complete list of affiliates across the country carrying the Notre Dame – Louisville game
The game also is available anywhere there is access to WatchESPN, subject to blackout restrictions.
NOTRE DAME vs. LOUISVILLE SERIES HISTORY:
The Irish and Cardinals renew their dramatic rivalry on Wednesday evening. Notre Dame trails Louisville 14-20 in the all-time series history, but the Irish have won the last five meeting between the two teams at Purcell Pavilion.
This series has been notable for a number of overtime battles, including the legendary 104-101 five-overtime Notre Dame victory that ended up as the longest regular-season game in Big East conference history on Feb. 9, 2013. In all, the teams have gone into overtime nine times in 34 meetings. Louisville won the first five games in the series that advanced to overtime, but the Irish have claimed wins in three of the four most recent overtime games (Feb. 9, 2011, Jan. 7, 2012 and Feb. 9, 2013).
VASTURIA’S HEROICS AT PITTSBURGH:
Saddled with four personal fouls early in the second half at Pittsburgh, senior captain Steve Vasturia stepped up when the team needed him the most to secure the overtime victory at the Petersen Events Center.
With time winding down in regulation, Vasturia drove to the basket, drew a foul and hit both free throw shots to tie the game at 68 with 25 seconds remaining. The Irish defense stepped up to force overtime, stopping the Panthers on their final offensive possession.
Vasturia started the overtime with a two-point field goal, but Pittsburgh responded with a seven-point run to force a Notre Dame timeout.
Out of the timeout, Vasturia took over, finding Bonzie Colson open in the short corner as the shot clock wound down for a jumper, then hitting a three-point field goal with 1:13 remaining to tie the game at 75, corralling a rebound of his own miss with 0:21 seconds remaining and eventually getting the ball back after a Matt Farrell drive, taking a single dribble to his right to clear space and hitting the game-winning three point field goal with 2.5 seconds remaining.
In all, Vasturia scored 10 of Notre Dame’s final 12 points – and assisted on the other basket.
FARRELL EMBRACES THE CHALLENGE OF TOP COMPETITION:
Junior guard Matt Farrell, who entered the starting lineup in the NCAA Championship run last season, has saved some of his best performances for Notre Dame’s top competition. Nine of Farrell’s 18 career starts have come against college basketball power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big East, or Pac-12) and Farrell has responded with 14.2 ppg (18.3 this season), 5.3 apg and is shooting .511 from the floor and .500 from three-point field goal range.
CLOSING IN ON 700:
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has coaches 698 games at the Division I level, closing in on the 700-game milestone. Brey will become the 35th active Division I coach to reach the 700-win plateau against Clemson on Jan. 7.