Jan. 7, 2001

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IRISH ITEMS FOR THE SETON HALL GAME: Notre Dame plays its second game in less than 48 hours against a team from the state of New Jersey as the Irish (9-3, 1-1) face Seton Hall (10-3, 1-1) at the Continental Airlines Arena. Tonight’s contest is the second BIG EAST road game in three conference matchups for the Irish.

This evening’s game also marks the third appearance on ESPN for head coach Mike Brey’s squad in 2000-01. Notre Dame’s first appearance on the network came on Dec. 5 at home against Indiana, and then just six days ago on ESPN, the Irish opened up BIG EAST play at Syracuse. Notre Dame is scheduled to make three other ESPN appearances during the regular season.

Notre Dame is in the midst of a tough three-game stretch. The Irish will take a hiatus from BIG EAST play this weekend as the Brey’s squad faces its eighth and final non-conference foe of the campaign when it travels to Lexington, Ky., on Sat., Jan. 13 for a 2:00 p.m. contest with the Kentucky Wildcats. That game will be televised by CBS Sports.

Notre Dame has won three of the last four meetings betwen the two teams, including last year’s 76-64 decision in East Rutherford. The Irish, who are facing their third ranked opponents of the seson, lead the all-time series 6-4.

Notre Dame was ranked 21st in the Associated Press and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today polls when they were released last Monday (Jan. 1). At the time, the Irish were ranked in both polls for the ninth consecutive time since the start of the preseason. Brey’s squad is enjoying its first stint in the rankings since the 1989-90 campaign when they began that campaign as a ranked team (19th in the first AP ranking before dropping from that poll the following week). The Irish started the preseason tied for 15th in the preseason AP poll and were 17th in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. Notre Dame was ranked as high as 10th in both polls on Dec. 4, but dropped from the top 10 after suffering back-to-back setbacks to Indiana and Miami (Ohio).

RECAP OF RUTGERS: Notre Dame shot better than 60.0 percent from the field for the second time this season as the Irish rebounded from their loss at Syracuse in posting an 87-80 victory over Rutgers in their BIG EAST home opener.

Troy Murphy scored a career-high 37 points in the contest as he connected on 13-of-18 shots from the field and was eight-for-eight from the free-throw line. It marked the third 30-point performance of the season for the Irish forward this and the 14th of his career. Murphy, who established his previous personal best of 35 against both St. Francis (Pa.) and Seton Hall last season, was one of three Irish players in double figures. In addition to his 37 points, he grabbed seven rebounds in the game. He also scored 10 of the team’s final 13 points in the last six minutes of the game.

Ryan Humphrey added 17 points and finished with six rebounds and five blocked shots, while David Graves added 16 points.

For the second straight game, Martin Ingelsby played the entire 40 minutes. He finished with four points, a career-high 13 assists and just one turnover.

Notre Dame was outrebounded for the first time in six games and fifth time this season as the Scarlet Knights owned a 33-25 rebounding advantage.

The Irish, who had struggled from the free-throw line in their last six outings, converted 85.0 (17-20) from the charity stripe.

POLL POSITION: In the rankings released on Jan. 1, Notre Dame stood 21st in this week’s Associated Press Poll, moving up one spot from the previous poll, but moved down two spots from 23rd to 25th in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. Notre Dame was ranked 10th in both polls during the week of Dec. 4, but fell out of the top 10 after back-to-back home losses to Indiana and Miami (Ohio).

HEAD COACH MIKE BREY: Mike Brey was named the 17th head coach in the program?s history on July 14, 2000 following five seasons (1995-2000) as head coach at the University of Delaware. Brey earned his first victory as Irish head coach on Nov. 18 with a 104-58 triumph over Sacred Heart. The win marked the 100th of his coaching career and came in the 152nd game of his coaching career. He has an overall record of 108-55 for a .663 winning percentage. He guided the Blue Hens to a 99-52 record during his tenure while earning berths in three postseason tournaments. Under Brey, Delaware appeared in two NCAA tournaments (?98 and ?99) and played in the National Invitation Tournament in his final season (2000). His .663 winning percentage among Division I coaches with five years as a head coach stands second only to Tom Izzo of Michigan State (.733). Prior to his arrival in Newark, Del., he spent eight seasons (1987-95) on the Duke sidelines along Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and before that stint was an assistant coach at DeMatha High School under legendary coach Morgan Wootten from 1982-87.

BREY AND MENTOR KRZYZEWSKI REACH MILESTONES ONE DAY APART: First-year head coach Mike Brey earned his 100th career victory (in 152 games as a head coach) against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18. That win came just one day after his former mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, earned his 500th win at Duke on Nov. 17. Brey was an assistant under Krzyzewski at Duke from 1987-95.

FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS: Mike Brey was the first Notre Dame head coach since Moose Krause in 1943-44 to lead his team to eight victories in his first 10 games as head coach. Two other Irish coaches achieved similar success in their first seasons. Jesse Harper, who coached Notre Dame from 1913-18, was 8-2 through the first 10 games of his first season, while William Nelson, whose only season as a head coach was in 1912-13, was 11-2 in his first 13 games.

NOTRE DAME vs. SETON HALL: Notre Dame owns a 6-4 advantage in the series and has won three of the last four meetings between the two schools. The Irish will be making their sixth appearance at the Continental Airlines Arena where they are 2-3. Notre Dame, which was unsuccessful the first three times it played in East Rutherford, N.J., heads into tonight’s game with a two-game win streak in the building on the Pirates home floor. David Graves’ buzzer-beater last February lifted the Irish to a 76-74 victory and two years ago, in 1999, the Irish earned a 76-60 victory.

MURPHY AND THE WOODEN WATCH: Troy Murphy is among the top 30 candidates and one of four BIG EAST players named to the midseason list for the 2001 John R. Wooden Award. Murphy, a member of the 2000 John R. Wooden All-America team, was one of the top 25 vote-getters on the Preseason List of 50 which was announced in the fall. He and Duke senior Shane Battier are the only two previous candidates among the current list of 30. The 10-member Wooden Award All-America team announced on March 27, 2001. From that squad, one member will receive the Wooden Award Trophy as the nation?s ?Most Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Player.? The announcement will be made on April 6, 2001, and will be shown on a one-hour telecast on Fox Sports Net. The three other BIG EAST on the list of 30 include Albert Mouring of Connecticut, Eddie Griffin of Seton Hall and Preston Shumpert of Syracuse.

MURPHY IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Certainly Troy Murphy can stake claim to being the most publicized men’s collegiate basketball player in the last couple of weeks. Feature articles appeared in three major sports publications on the junior All-American. Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl profiled Murphy in a piece entitled Troy Story, which appeared in the Dec. 25 issue of the magazine, while Mike DeCoursey wrote an article entitled Getting a Slight Edge for The Sporting News which hit the newsstands before the Christmas holiday. Curry Kirkpatrick has a piece entitled Murphy’s Law in this week’s bi-weekly edition of ESPN Magazine.

NAISMITH WATCH: Troy Murphy is listed as the second-leading vote-getter among 30 preseason candidates announced for the 2000-01 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The preseason candidates including Murphy are: Shane Battier (Duke), Lonny Baxter (Maryland), Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Carlos Boozer (Duke), Cory Bradford (Illinois), Eric Chenowith (Kansas), Jarron Collins (Stanford), Juan Dixon (Maryland), Joe Forte (North Carolina), Jason Gardner (Arizona), Tony Harris (Tennessee), Udonis Haslem (Florida), Brendan Haywood (North Carolina), Casey Jacobson (Stanford), Richard Jefferson (Arizona), Joe Johnson (Arkansas), Ken Johnson (Ohio State), Kaspars Kambala (UNLV), Jason Kapono (UCLA), Mike Kelley (Wisconsin), Terence Morris (Maryland), Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky), Kenny Satterfield (Cincinnati), Brian Scalabrine (Southern California), Jamaal Tinsley (Iowa State), Jason Williams (Duke), Loren Woods (Arizona), Michael Wright (Arizona) and Vincent Yarbrough (Tennessee).

MAKING THE GRADE: While Irish head coach Mike Brey is pleased with his team’s play on the court, he can be equally proud of his squad’s performance in the classroom. The team earned an overall grade-point average of 3.027 for the fall semester, the highest combined average since 1992 (when records were first kept). It was the first semester above a 3.00 for any Notre Dame men’s basketball team in 17 semesters. Seven of the 13 players earned a grade-point average of 3.178 and higher with four players earning Dean’s List recognition. The four players named to the Dean’s List were: seniors marketing majors Martin Ingelsby (3.405) and Hans Rasmussen (3.467), junior Charles Thomas (3.256), a science business major, and freshman Chris Markwood (3.400), enrolled in the First Year of Studies.

PRODUCTIVE FORWARDS SHOW SCORING VERSATILITY: Notre Dame’s trio of Troy Murphy, Ryan Humphrey and David Graves continue to put up impressive numbers with Murphy leading the Irish in scoring with 23.9 points per game. Humphrey and Graves are second and third in the scoring with averages of 17.5 and 15.7, respectively. The trio is responsible for 66.5 percent of the team’s offensive scoring (685 of 1030 points). The three scored 20-plus points each in back-to-back games against Canisius and Vermont on Dec. 19 and 21, respectively. In the victory over the Catamounts, Murphy and Graves each had 21 points in the win, while Humphrey added 20. In the previous outing against Canisius, just 48 hours prior to the win over the Catamounts on Dec. 21, Murphy had 29 points, Graves 23 and Humphrey 20. That game marked the first time since the 1991-92 season that three players contributed 20 or more points in a game. The last time it happened was in Notre Dame’s 101-98 victory over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on February 15, 1992 when LaPhonso Ellis, Daimon Sweet and Elmer Bennett had 28, 24 and 22 points, respectively.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Against Canisius all five starters scored in double figures. That’s the second time that has occurred this season. In the loss to Indiana on Dec. 5, all five starters reached double figures for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign when all five starters scored 10-plus points three different times during the season against Stetson, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Boston College.

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR: All 12 players who played in the game against Long Island on Dec. 29 in the final game of 2000 contributed points in the final 97-point outing ? Troy Murphy (24), Ryan Humphrey (20), David Graves (14), Matt Carroll (14), Jere Macura (7), Harold Swanagan (3), Ivan Kartelo (4), Charles Thomas (3), Martin Ingelsby (2), Torrian Jones (2), Hans Rasmussen (2), Tom Timmermans (2).

LOGGING THE MINUTES: Four of Notre Dame’s five starters Troy Murphy, David Graves, Matt Carroll and Martin Ingelsby are averaging 30-plus minutes per game. Ingelsby is averaging 36.0 minutes per game and Murphy 33.7, with Graves and Carroll averaging 32.5 and 30.3, respectively. Only Harold Swanagan (11.7) is averaging more than 10 minutes per game. In the loss to Indiana, no reserve played more than nine minutes as the starters averaged 36.4 in the contest, and against Miami (Ohio), Torrian Jones, Swanagan and Ivan Kartelo combined for just 19 minutes. Ingelsby has played 376 of 400 minutes in Notre Dame’s 10 games. He played 39 minutes in both the Cincinnati and Indiana contests, while playing all 40 minutes against Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio), Syracuse and Rutgers. In both the Tennessee Tech and Canisius games, he played 38 minutes in those contests. Inglesby played just 26 minutes against Long Island, which equalled his shortest stint of the season (he also played just 26 minutes in win over Loyola back on Nov. 22).

Overall, Notre Dame’s starters (which includes Murphy despite the fact that he did not start against Miami) have played 1,672 of the 2,000 minutes in the last 10 games for an average of 33.4 minutes per starter.

OVER THE 100-POINT PLATEAU: The Irish went over the 100-point mark in its first two games of the season posting victories over Sacred Heart (104-58) and Loyola (107-68). It marked the first time since the 1985-86 campaign that a Notre Dame team registered back-to-back 100-point contests. It also was the first time in school history that an Irish team began the season scoring 100-plus points in its first two contests.

POINTS A PLENTY: Notre Dame is averaging 85.8 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 15.6 points per game. The Irish have scored 90-plus points in three consecutive games ? Canisius (99-91), Vermont (96-86) and Long Island (97-49). Brey’s squad has topped the 90-point mark five times overall this season.

WORTH NOTING FROM THE LOYOLA GAME: Notre Dame’s strong outing against the Ramblers on Nov. 22 produced some noteworthy numbers in the contest:

• Set school record for three-point field goals made (16) and three-point field goal percentage (.727 – 16 of 22).
• Tied the school record for blocked shots (12).
• Matt Carroll had a career-high nine assists and tied his personal best with 22 points.
• Second time since 1985-86 that the Irish recorded back-to-back outings 100-point outings (vs. Manhattan – 102-47 and vs. Miami (Fla.) – 126-73).
• Martin Ingelsby had 10-plus assists for the fifth time in his career when he dished off 11 assists in the game. It was the first time since his freshman season in 1997-98 that had had 10 or more assists. During that season, he posted 10-plus assists in four games. (Since then, he established a new career mark with 13 against Seton Hall).

500TH GAME AT JOYCE CENTER: Notre Dame played its 500th game at the Joyce Center on Nov. 18 against Sacred Heart. The Irish are 392-116 all-time at the Joyce Center for a .772 winning percentage since it began play in the inaugural 1968-69 season. The Irish were 16-4 (.800) at home in 1999-2000, marking the third time in school history they had 16 victories (the most at the Joyce Center). Notre Dame also recorded 16 wins at the Joyce during the 1976-77 and 1982-83 campaigns.

GRAVES JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB: Junior David Graves joined Notre Dame’s 1,000-point club and became the 41st player in Irish basketball history to reach that mark. Graves tallied his 1,000th point in the win over Vermont on Dec. 21. He notched his 1,000th point in the second half on a free throw with 16:58 remaining in the contest. He has 1,046 points in 79 career games for a 13.2 career scoring average heading into tonight’s game and currently ranks 38th on the all-time Notre Dame scoring list.

A 1,000-POINT CLASS ACT: With David Graves reaching the 1,000-point mark, he joined Troy Murphy (1,645 career points) as the second member of Notre Dame’s class of 2002 to reach that plateau. It marks the first time that a class has produced at least two 1,000-point scorers since the trio of LaPhonso Ellis. Elmer Bennett and Daimon Sweet. The three combined for 4,403 points from 1988-92 with Ellis scoring 1,505 points, Bennett 1488 points and Sweet 1,410 points. Graves and Murphy have combined for 2,691 points in two-plus seasons.

LEADER OF THE PACK: The consistency of Troy Murphy as both a scorer and rebounder is remarkable when considering these numbers. Of the 76 career games he has played (he missed three games his freshman year because of a sprained ankle), Murphy has led or tied for team-high scoring and rebounding honors on 61 and 52 occasions, respectively. Below is the breakdown year-to-year of how he has led the Irish in both categories during his career.

Some other noteworthy statistics include: 75 of 76 games in double figure scoring, 37 career double-doubles, 14 career games with 30-plus points and 44 contests with 20-plus points.

MURPHY GETS 100TH BLOCK: Troy Murphy blocked his 100th career shot against Long Island on Fri., Dec. 29 and currently second on the Notre Dame all-time career shot-blocking list with 105. LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) is the Irish all-time leader in this category with 200.

INGLESBY MOVES TO SIXTH ON CAREER ASSIST LIST WITH 400TH ASSIST: Senior Martin Ingelsby dished off his 400th career assist against Vermont on Dec. 21. He currently has 427 career assists, good for fifth on the all-time career assist list. Ingelsby passed Irish great John Paxson (1979-83) who finished his career with 411 assists. Heading into tonight’s game, he needs 40 to move ahead of Rich Branning and into four on the career assist list. Branning, who played for the Irish from 1976-80 finished with 466 assists. Ingelsby owns a 4.07 assist average in 105 career games.

FOLLOWING TROY ON THE WEB: Follow All-American Troy Murphy on the world wide web at www.und.com/troymurphy. The site includes biographical information, statistics, pictures, a weekly diary, a listing of awards and honors and links to articles on the web which have been written on this Irish junior. For more information on the site, contact the Notre Dame Sports Information Office at (219) 631-7516.

MURPHY GOES HAWAIIAN: Troy Murphy’s travels took him twice to Hawaii within a two-week span in August and early September. The Irish junior participated in the Pete Newell Big Man Camp just before returning to campus for the start of the school year and met up with former Notre Dame standout and 1997 BIG EAST Player of the Year Pat Garrity. Murphy made a second trip across the mainland when he played for the USA Men?s Select Team on Sept. 2 in Honolulu against the USA Basketball Men?s Senior National Team. The game was televised by NBC and Murphy finished with four points and three rebounds.

DOUBLE-TAKE FOR HUMPHREY: Just 12 games into his Notre Dame career, Ryan Humphrey has already posted five double-doubles in an Irish uniform. His most recent came against Syracuse on Jan. 2 as he scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He has registered double-doubles in four of the last six games and in back-to-back contests against Tennessee Tech (10 points, 12 rebounds) on Dec. 17 and Canisius (20 points, 11 rebounds) on Dec. 21. Humphrey, who has 15 career double-doubles (10 in two seasons at Oklahoma), registered his first double-double at Notre Dame in the win over Cincinnati on Nov. 25 as he scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He also has had 10 or more rebounds in 21 games during his career and scored 10-plus points on 48 occasions. Humphrey also has scored 20-plus points in seven games throughout his career.

GRAVES PRODUCES BACK-TO-BACK-TO BACK 20-POINT OUTINGS: David Graves has had the hot hand for Notre Dame of late as the Irish junior has scored 20-plus points in three of the last six games. He had three consecutive outings (a first in his career) in which he scored 20-plus points against Tennessee Tech (20 points), Canisius (season-high 23 points) and Vermont (21 points). Graves averaged 21.3 points in those victories. He has scored 20-plus points eight times during his career, which includes a 33-point effort against Vanderbilt during the 1999-2000 campaign.

MURPHY WITH FIFTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Troy Murphy registered his fifth double-double of the season, and 37th of his career (in 76 career games), against Long Island on Dec. 29. It was his third double-double in as many games as he scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He registered his fourth double-double against Vermont with 21 points and 13 rebounds, which came just two days after he scored 29 points and grabbed a season-best 15 rebounds in the win over Canisius. His 10 rebounds against Long Island marked the 38th time he has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in a game.

CARROLL LIGHTS IT UP FROM THREE: Sophomore Matt Carroll’s 59.2 three-point field goal percentage leads the Irish. Carroll, who has made 29 of his 49 three-point field goal attempts, was four-of-five from three-point range in Notre Dame’s victory against Tennessee Tech in scoring 16 points on Dec. 17 and four-of-six against last Tuesday night.

DOMINANCE ON THE GLASS: Notre Dame has grabbed 45-plus rebounds in four of the last six outings and has outrebounded its opponents 273-217. Even more remarkable is that in the last 220 minutes the Irish have played, Notre Dame has outrebounded its opponents 248-187.

GETTING TO THE BOARDS: Heading into Notre Dame’s game with Canisius on Dec. 19, the Irish were being outrebounded 40.3 to 39.6 by its opponents and had been outrebounded in four of its first seven games. Against the Golden Griffins, Brey’s squad had their most dominating performance on the boards this season with a 54-32 (+22) advantage. Notre Dame has reversed that trend of late and has outrebounded its opponents in five of the last six games. The Irish prior to Saturday night’s Rutgers game had outrebounded their opponents in each of the last five games, but they had that string snapped as the Scarlet Knights held a 33-25 advantage on the boards. Overall, the Irish have grabbed more rebounds than their opponents in seven of 12 games. Notre Dame has been on the plus side of the rebounding column in contests against Sacred Heart (+15), Cincinnati (+13), Tennessee Tech (+12), Canisius (+22), Vermont (+7), Long Island (+19) and Syracuse (+4). Prior to the Tennessee Tech game, the Irish had been outrebounded in its previous three outings, including a differential of 18 against Miami of Ohio (44-26). In the first half of the Tennessee Tech contest, Notre Dame was being outrebounded 30-24 by the Golden Eagles, but in the second half, the Irish took control of the boards and had their most dominating half of the season as they outrebounded Tennessee Tech 31-13.

FREE THROW WOES: Hopefully, Notre Dame may have solved their free throw problems as the Irish had their best night from the line this season hitting 17-of-20 attempts for an 85.0 percent accuracy. In the previous outing against Syracuse, the Irish were just 8-21 from the charity stripe (38.1 percent). Brey’s squad converted just 1-for-10 from the field in the first half (after making their first free throw attempt, the Irish missed their next 10). The Irish have shot below 65.0 percent in five of the last seven games. Heading into the Tennessee Tech game on Dec. 17, Notre Dame had converted 75.3 percent of its free-throw chances, but in the last six games (76-140 for 54.3 percent) has dropped the percentage to 65.0.

IRISH HAVE PRODUCTIVE SECOND HALF AGAINST TENNESSEE TECH: Notre Dame had one of its most productive second halves of the season in the 82-68 win over Tennessee Tech. The Irish shot 61.3 percent (19-31) from the field, 50.0 percent (7-14) from three-point range and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 31-13. In the first half against Tennessee Tech, theY shot 37.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

STREAKING ALONG: Troy Murphy’s career-high 37 points against Rutgers extended Murphy’s streak of double figure scoring games to 63. The junior forward has netted double figures in 75 of 76 contests throughout his career. The only time he failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1995 when he scored just five points. In that game all of his points game from the free-throw line (5-6) as he was 0-11 from the field.

THIRTY SOMETHING: Troy Murphy has scored 30-plus points in three of Notre Dame’s 12 games this season. In addition to the Rutgers game, he netted 31 in the season opener against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18 and 30 vs. Cincinnati on Nov. 25. He scored 30 or more points in nine games last season and has 14 career 30-plus outings. He also has scored 20-plus points 44 times in 76 career games.

IRISH THREE-POINTERS EXTEND TO 62 STRAIGHT GAMES: Notre Dame has had at least one three-pointer in 62 consecutive games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time the Irish failed to connect on at least one three-pointer in a game was against Connecticut in a 101-70 loss in Hartford, Conn., on January 12, 1999. Notre Dame set the school single-game three-point mark when it nailed 16 three-pointers against Loyola.

ANSWERING THE CALL: In a recent addition of ESPN Magazine, ESPN analyst and former Duke basketball standout Jay Bilas highlights five point guards nationally who have played vital roles for their teams this season. Among the five mentioned is Irish senior Martin Inglesby, currently leading the BIG EAST with a 6.09 assist-to-turnover ratio. Here’s what Bilas had to say about Ingelsby’s play thus far in 2000-01:

“Last season, Matt Doherty benched Ingelsby in favor of Jimmy Dillon. Now Dillon and Doherty are gone and Mike Brey has put the ball back into Ingelsby’s hands. So what if he didn’t have much choice? Point is, the 6-0 senior has responded. In the second half of Notre Dame’s win over Cincinnati on Nov. 25, Ingelsby showed some onions by taking Kenny Satterfield off the dribble to ignite an Irish run. Through six games, he was averaging 7.2 points, hitting 48% on threes and had 41 assists vs. seven turnovers ? the kind of stats that soothe any coach.”

MY FAVORITE MARTIN: Senior Martin Ingelsby returned to his role as a starter this season after serving as Notre Dame’s starting point guard for both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 campaigns. A starter in his first two seasons, Ingelsby lost his starting job in the seventh game of the season a year ago and averaged just 14.8 minutes and 4.8 points per game in 1999-2000. Through the first 12 games this season, he leads the team in minutes played (36.0) and is averaging 6.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists. In Ingelsby’s first game back as a starter against Sacred Heart, he responded to his return with 15 points, nailing a career-high five three-pointers in the contest. He hit on all five of his three-point attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and finished with six assists and just one turnover in the contest. Against Loyola (Chicago) in the second game of the season, he had scored nine points (all from three-point range), dished off 11 assists and committed just one turnover.

DISHING IT OUT: Martin Ingelsby leads the Irish with 94 assists. Most impressive is the fact that he has committed just 17 turnovers in 12 games. In all but four games (Miami-Ohio, Canisius, Long Island and Syracuse), Ingelsby has had just one turnover. He had a career-high 13 assists against Rutgers, while commiting just one turnover. It marked the fourth time this season he had dished off 10-assists in a game. He dished off 11 assists in both the Loyola (Chicago) and Canisius contests, while also dishing off 10 assists in the win over Long Island. Ingelsby has had five games with 10-plus assists. His 13 assists in the Rutgers game was the eighth time in his career in which he had dished off 10-plus assists. For the season, Ingelsby is averaging 7.7 assists per game. He has played a total of 432 of a possible 480 minutes and is averaging a turnover every 25.2 minutes and just 1.42 turnovers per game. Ingelsby’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 5.53 leads the BIG EAST Conference.

CONSISTENT CARROLL: No Irish player has been as consistent throughout the preseason and in the first 12 games as sophomore Matt Carroll. He registered double figures for the 27th time in his career (and ninth time this season) against Syracuse as he scored 14 points. He is shooting 56.1 (55-98) percent from the field, 59.2 (29-49) from three-point range and 81.3 (13-16) from the charity stripe. Even more impressive is that he is second in the assist column with 55 (4.6 per game).

UNSELFISH IRISH: The most telling statistic in Notre Dame’s 12 games ? the 268 assists (22.3 per game). Notre Dame has made a total of 371 field goals which translates into an assist for every 1.38 baskets. As a team, the Irish have committed just 172 turnovers, resulting in a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio and a turnover every 2.79 minutes. Last season, Notre Dame had more turnovers (656) than assists (643).

IRISH BACKCOURT STEADY AS THEY GO : Notre Dame’s backcourt duo of Martin Ingelsby and Matt Carroll has posted impressive numbers this season with their consistency. When combining the statistics of the two players, the tandem is shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 50.5 percent from three-point range, while averaging 9.8 points per game. They also have 149 of Notre Dame’s 268 assists and have committed just 45 turnovers overall for a 3.31 assist-to-turnover ratio.

IRISH SHOW TRIPLE THREAT AGAIN: Notre Dame’s three-point shooting appears to be alive and healthy again this season as the Irish have canned an average of 8.50 three-pointers (102-240) in 12 games. David Graves leads the way with 30, while Matt Carroll has made 29 and Martin Ingelsby 18. In the season opener against Sacred Heart, the Irish began the game by hitting eight of their first nine three-pointers. They also had a school-record 16 against Loyola on Nov. 22. Last season, the Irish averaged 7.8 three-pointers per game en route to establishing the single-season mark with 287. This year, Notre Dame is averaging 8.5 three-point field goals per game.

MURPHY MOVES INTO TOP 10 ON IRISH SCORING CHARTS: Troy Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 29, 2000 when the Irish defeated St. John?s. He started the season 16th on the all-time scoring list, but the 287 points he has scored in in his first 12 games have elevated him to eighth on the scoring list with 1,645 career points. Against Long Island, Murphy passed Bob Whitmore (1966-69) who scored 1,580 points during his career. He now needs 21 points to move into seventh on the all-time scoring list occupied by Bob Arnzen (1966-69) who finished his career with 1,665 points.

Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joined Dantley as the only Irish players to reach the 1,000-point mark in their sophomore seasons. He scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game ? the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame?s 39 previous 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 points.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR MURPHY: Among active Division I players through games of Jan. 3 according to STATS Inc., Troy Murphy is second with 37 career double-doubles. He has scored in double figures in 75 of 76 career games he has played and has registered double figures in 63 straight contests heading into this evening’s matchup with Vermont. The only time Murphy has failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1998. Kennedy Okafor of Maryland-Baltimore Country leads all active Division I players with 37 career double-doubles.

LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION: Notre Dame will make nine national television appearances during the 2000-01 season as the Irish will be featured three times on CBS and six times on ESPN. It is the most regular-season telecasts since the 1988-89 campaign when that Notre Dame squad also had nine of its games nationally televised. The national lineup is as follows: Indiana (Tues., Dec. 5 on ESPN), at Syracuse (Tues., Jan. 2 on ESPN), at Seton Hall (Mon., Jan. 8 on ESPN), at Kentucky (Sat., Jan. 13 on CBS), St. John’s (Mon., Feb. 5 on ESPN), at Rutgers (Wed., Feb. 14 on ESPN), Seton Hall (Sun., Feb. 18 on CBS), at Connecticut (Mon., Feb. 26 on ESPN) and Georgetown (Sun., Mar. 4 on CBS).

BASKETBALL LUNCHEONS SET: The second of three basketball luncheons will take place take place on Mon., Jan. 22, 2001 (the day before the Notre Dame-Syracuse) with the third and final one being held on Tues., Feb. 20, 2001 (the day before the Notre Dame-Boston College game).

The luncheons, which begin at noon, will feature Brey, members of his squad, video presentations and other special guests.

Tickets are $16 each. Tickets are available by mail by writing Athletics Business Office, 112 Joyce Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Checks should be made payable to University of Notre Dame. No telephone reservations will be accepted. For more information, call 219-631-7246.

TICKET DEMAND: Season-tickets for the 2000-01 Notre Dame men’s basketball season were sold-out prior to the start of the season. All 3,200 student season-tickets allotted for the upcoming campaign also have been sold, a figure that has doubled from the 1,600 sold for the 1999-2000 season.