Dec. 3, 2001
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IRISH ITEMS FOR INDIANA GAME – Notre Dame (7-0) will look to extend its seven-game win steak this evening – its longest since the 1978-80 campaign – as the Irish visit Indiana (4-2) this evening in the 65th meeting between the two teams. Coach Mike Brey’s squad is coming off a 27-point win (82-55) over DePaul on Saturday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. It was the third straight game in which Notre Dame’s margin of victory was 27-plus points. In each of its past two wins prior to the DePaul game, the Irish had defeated both Monmouth (85-48) and Army (86-49) by 37 points. Indiana is coming off a 72-60 at Southern Illinois on Saturday. Today’s game is the second of five straight road games for the Irish who will only play one game throughout the entire month of December (Dec. 30 vs. Colgate is the next Irish home game). Notre Dame, which snapped a four-game losing streak in the series, never trailed against the Blue Demons as the Irish held a 15-point halftime advantage (41-26). The Irish held DePaul to 29.6 percent shooting from the field, the second straight game in which Brey’s squad held its opponents to under 30.0 percent from the field. Notre Dame led by as many as 32 points in the contest. Ryan Humphrey recorded his second double-double of the season as he scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 16 boards. Harold Swangan registered his second double-double of the 2001-02 campaign with 16 points and 11 rebounds. David Graves also was in double figures with 14 points, while Chris Thomas added 12 points as the fourth Irish player with 10-plus points. Notre Dame’s 7-0 start equals the third best in school history. The 1945-46 Irish squad began the season with 13 wins en route to a 17-4 final record, while the 1973-74 squad won its first 12 before finishing with a 26-3 mark. Notre Dame also was 7-0 to start the 1976-77 and 1979-80 campaigns before finishing with 22-7 and 22-6 final records, respectively. Notre Dame’s margin of victory is +32.3 points through the first six games of the season. Five of the Irish’s seven wins have been by 27 or more points, four of those victories have been decided by 37 or more points. Brey’s squad is averaging 88.7 points per game and has limited its opponents to just 56.4 points per contest. The Irish are shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame opponents have shot just 34.3 percent and 29.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Irish own a +8.5 rebounding advantage and have outrebounded their opponents in all but one game (UT-Chattanooga). Notre Dame also has forced an average 20.2 turnovers per game. Four of Notre Dame’s five starters are averaging double figures with Humphrey leading the team with a career best 23.4 points per game. He also leads the team with an 8.6 rebounding average. Graves owns a 16.4 scoring average and 5.1 rebounding average, while Thomas is averaging 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists. Matt Carroll is the fourth player averaging double figures with a 12.9 scoring average. In addition, he is averaging 4.9 rebounds per game. Indiana owns a 45-19 advantage in the series as the Hoosiers have won six straight. Notre Dame’s last win in the series was on Nov. 29, 1994 as the Irish claimed an 80-79 overtime victory at the Joyce Center. The Irish are 6-18 all-time in games played in Bloomington. Notre Dame’s last win on Indiana’s homecourt was on Dec. 11, 1973 (73-67). The Irish are winless in their last 12 appearances in Bloomington.
RECAP OF DEPAUL GAME – Notre Dame snapped a four-game losing streak to the Blue Demons with an 82-55 victory in the Dell Classic 4 Kids. The win was the first for the Irish over DePaul since 1992. Ryan Humphrey led all scorers and rebounders with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds (his second double-double of the season). He was named MVP of the game and was the recipient of the Wendell Smith Award, which was established in 1973 and presented to the outstanding player in the Notre Dame-DePaul game. Harold Swanagan finished with his second double-double of the season as he had 16 points amd 11. David Graves finished in double figures for the seventh time this season as he had 14 points, while Chris Thomas had 12 points, five assists and five steals. Notre Dame shot 45.1 percent from the field, just the second time this season it shot below 50.0 percent. The Irish also limited DePaul to just 29.6 percent accuracy from the field, the second straight game they held an opponent to under 30 percent.
HEAD COACH MIKE BREY – Mike Brey is in his second year as the Notre Dame head coach and seventh in the collegiate ranks. He 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 where he led the Blue Hens to an overall record of 99-52. In his first season with the Irish, he guided Notre Dame to a 20-10 record and 11-5 BIG EAST mark in claiming the league’s West divisional championship, the first conference title in school history. In addition, he helped Notre Dame earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in 11 seasons as the Irish advanced to the second round for the first time since 1989. Brey has an overall record of 126-62 (.670) as a head coach and is 27-10 (.730) at Notre Dame. He earned his first victory as Irish head coach on Nov. 18 with a 104-58 triumph over Sacred Heart, which also marked the 100th of his coaching career and came in the 152nd game as a head coach. While at Delaware, Brey guided the Blue Hens to 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). 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.
FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS FOR BREY – Notre Dame’s 19 wins during the regular season under Mike Brey represented the most wins by an Irish coach in his first season. He also became just the second coach in school history to take his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first year as a head coach and the only first-year coach to lead his team to a first-round victory. John Dee also made the tournament in his first season in 1964-65, but lost in the first round to finish 15-12.
THE CAPTAINS – Seniors David Graves, Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan will serve as Notre Dame’s tri-captains for the 2001-02 campaign. Both natives of the state of Kentucky, Graves and Swanagan hail from Lexington and Hopkinsville, respectively, Graves averaged 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, while Swanagan netted 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. Humphrey was the second-leading scorer and rebounder for the Irish a year ago with averages of 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds.
SERIES RECORD – Notre Dame trails 45-19 in the series as the Hoosiers have won the last six meetings between the two teams. The Irish are 0-12 in the last 12 games they have played in Bloomington and 6-18 overall. Notre Dame’s last win in Bloomington was a 73-67 decision on Dec. 11, 1973.
TURNING THE TABLES – Notre Dame’s has had little success of late against DePaul, Indiana and Miami of Ohio. Prior to its victory over the Blue Demons on Saturday, the Irish were winless in the last four meetings between the two schools. Notre Dame will be looking for that same success in its next two outings as the Irish are 0-6 in recent matchups with the Hoosiers and 0-3 versus the RedHawks in cosecutive meetings in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
OFF TO A QUICK START – Notre Dame has won its first seven games of the season for the first time since the 1979-80 season when the Irish were undefeated in their first seven games to achieve a No. 3 ranking before losing 86-80 on the road against second-ranked Kentucky. That squad finished the season with a 22-6 mark.
7-0 START IS THIRD BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY – Notre Dame’s current 7-0 start equals the third best start in school history. The Irish also were 7-0 in 1976-77 and 1979-80. The two best starts by Notre Dame teams were in 1945-46 (13-0) and 1973-74 (12-0). Those Irish squads finished 17-4 and 26-3, respectively.
IRISH CONTINUE FIVE-GAME ROAD STRETCH – This evening’s game against Indiana is the second of a a five-game road stretch for the Irish who do not play at home again at the Joyce Center until Dec. 30 versus Colgate. Notre Dame faces Indiana on Dec. 4 and then plays Miami of Ohio (Dec. 8), Canisius (Dec. 22) and Alabama (Dec. 27).
A PERFECT NOVEMBER – With its win against Army on November 28, Notre Dame finished the first month of season with a perfect 6-0 slate. It’s the most wins ever by an Irish team in the month of November and the second time in the program’s history that Notre Dame has played six games during that month. The Irish played six games in the month of November during both the 1999-2000 and 1998-99 campaigns and finished with 4-2 and 2-4 marks, respectively.
WINNING BIG – The Irish have won their first seven games by an average of 32.3 points, including a 42-point victory over New Hampshire, a 40-point win over Hawaii Pacific and 37-point margins against Monmouth and Army. Notre Dame has beaten six teams by 27-plus points and every team by 10-plus points. Its closest margin of victory was a 13-point win over Tennessee-Chattanooga in a second-round matchup in the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS – Notre Dame’s Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic title marked the fourth time the Irish have captured the championship of an in-season tournament and the first in 10 years. Previously Notre Dame won the title of the Sugar Bowl Tournament in 1954, 1955 and 1992.
77 AND COUNTING – Heading into tonight’s game against Indiana, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 77 straight games, which dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time the Irish did not make a three-pointer was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut in the Hartford Civic Center as Notre Dame finished 0-7 in the contest from three-point range.
BOMBS AWAY – Matt Carroll was six-of-six from three-point range against Tennessee-Chattanooga, matching the school record for three-point field goal percentage. Previously David Rivers and Martin Ingelsby each went five-for-five from three-point range. Carroll is the first Irish player to hit all six of his attempts in a game from downtown.
HOT STUFF – Ryan Humphrey has been nearly unstoppable from the field as he has made 68.6.5 percent of his shots and missed 22 of his shot attempts (48-70). In three of the five games he has played, he has shot 80.0 percent from the field. Humphrey was 12-of-15 from the field against Army and Hawaii-Pacific and eight-of-10 from the field versus Monmouth. Against Tennessee-Chattanooga, he hit eight-of-13 from the field for 61.5 percent.
PICKING UP THE HAWAIIAN HARDWARE – Ryan Humphrey was named the Most Valuable Player of the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic. He averaged 24.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 73.7 percent from the field in helping the Irish to three wins and the tournament title. Humphrey registered a career-high 31 points against Hawaii Pacific in his first game of the season. Also earning all-tournament honors for the Irish were David Graves, Matt Carroll and Chris Thomas. Graves averaged 15.0 points per game, including nine three-point goals, and registered his fourth career double double against Tennessee-Chattanooga (13 points, 10 rebounds). Carroll averaged 16.7 points and hit 12 three-pointers, including a six-for-six performance against the Mocs. Carroll set a career-high and became the first Irish player in school history to hit six three-point goals in a game without a miss. Thomas averaged 10.3 points and 8.0 assists, including a career-high 13 in the Hawaii Pacific game.
FROM DOWNTOWN – The Irish are 57-of-136 (.419) from three-point range this season for an average of 8.1 three-point goals per game. The school record for three-pointers in a season is 287, set in 1999-2000, an average of 7.8 per game.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL – Notre Dame has done well taking care of the ball this season. The team has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.70 (153 assists to 90 turnovers). In addition, its assist-to-basket ratio is 1.54. Point guard Chris Thomas has turned the ball over only 11 times in seven games and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.00. He is averaging a turnover every 20.7 minutes played. Thomas went two games (Cornell and Hawaii Pacific) without turning the ball over and finished with a total of 19 assists. He dished off a personal best 13 assists against the Sea Warriors, the second 10-plus assist performance of his career.
MINUTEMAN – Heading into this season, Harold Swanagan had averaged just 18.3 minutes per game in the 97 career contests he had played in during his first three season. This season, Swanagan is playing an average of 25.1 minutes (a career best) – 6.8 more minutes than the average of his first three campaigns. His average would probably be higher had it not been for an injury in the season opener against New Hampshire which limited his playing time to just nine minutes in the contest.
TERRIFIC TORRIAN – Sophomore Torrian Jones certainly ranks as Notre Dame’s most improved player of the year and has proven to be a real spark for the Irish in the lineup. The second-year player currently is averaging 3.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. In the Irish’s two outings against Monouth and Army, he grabbed 16 rebounds in 36 minutes for an average of 2.3 rebounds per minute. Against Monmouth, Jones tied his career-high (established against Hawaii-Pacific) with seven points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE – Harold Swanagan registered his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career when he had 16 points and 111 rebounds against DePaul. Swanagan’s first double-double of the of the season was against UT-Chattanooga as he had 19 points and 10 boards. Ryan Humphrey also posted his second double-double of the season against the Blue Demons as he finished with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. His other this season came against Hawaii Pacific as he tallied 31 points and grabbed 10 boards. David Graves also has a double-double to his credit as he had 13 points and 10 rebounds versus UT-Chattanooga.
CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTORS – Ryan Humphrey was named BIG EAST player of the week on for the week of November 26 and Chris Thomas earned rookie-of-the-week honors for the week of November 19. It marked the first time since the Irish joined the conference that two players have combined to win the two weekly awards in the same season.
MAKING THE EARLY COMPARISONS – While it is early in his rookie season, Chris Thomas already has a couple of noteworthy accomplishments to his credit. With his 24-point effort against New Hampshire and 22-point performance in the Cornell game, he became the first Irish freshman to score 20-plus points in each of his first two games. He is also just the second Notre Dame player to record two consecutive 20-point outings in the first two games of his career. Only Austin Carr, who finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,560 career points, recorded back-to-back 20-point games in the first two games of his career. As a sophomore in his first season (1968-69), Carr opened up his career with point totals of 20 vs. Kings College, 26 vs. UCLA, 22 vs. Wisconsin and 30 vs. St. Louis in his first four games.
TRIPLE THE PLEASURE – It only took one game for freshman point guard Chris Thomas to do what no other Irish player had done previously in the program’s 96-plus year history – a triple double. Thomas scored 24 points, dished off 11 assists and made a school and Joyce Center record 11 steals against New Hampshire. The Irish rookie shot nine-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from three-point range in 34 minutes of action.
GRAVES IN THE GROOVE – With classmates Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan not in the game against New Hampshire, tri-captain David Graves had one of the top performances of his career as he tossed in a game-high 26 points (third highest point total of his career), grabbed five rebounds and made a career-high seven steals all in just 27 minutes of action on the court. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and was three-of-six from three-point range. Graves is averaging 16.4 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.
MACURA FINDS HIS MATCH – Irish head coach Mike Brey made the decision at the start of the preseason to have forward Jere Macura become more of an inside player, which has seemed to benefit the junior’s play as he has registered back-to-back career-high outings in his first two games. Macura made the most of his two starts in the first two games of the season. Against New Hampshire, he had a then career-high 14 points, while also grabbing six rebounds in 26 minutes of action as he connected on six-of-nine shots from the field in the contest. Macura then followed that up with a career-high 16-point outing against Cornell. In addition, he also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest. Last season, Macura had just one double-figure game (10 points at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.) after scoring in double figures five times as a freshman. Currently, he is averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds.
STEALING THE SHOW – Notre Dame had a school record and Joyce Center record 26 steals against New Hampshire, bettering the old mark of 22 set against Vermont on Dec. 21, 1976. Chris Thomas led the Irish with 11 (a school record), while David Graves had a career-high seven steals which would have tied the old mark set by Ray Martin in 1974. Notre Dame already has 34 more steals than their opponents (74-40).
JORDAN GETS INTO THE ACT – While freshman Chris Thomas certainly made his mark in his first even games, Notre Dame’s other rookie, Jordan Cornette, also has played well. The 6-9 forward logged 29 minutes against New Hampshire in the season opener and had eight points, six rebounds and three assists. His playing time increased when Harold Swanagan went out of the game with a knee injury, which left the Irish with just two frontline players – Macura and Cornette. Against Cornell, he started in place of Swanagan and played 29 minutes while scoring three points and grabbing six rebounds. Cornette is averaging 16.4 minutes per game.
WING-ING IT – The perimeter play of outside shooters David Graves and Matt Carroll give the Irish a deadly three-point shooting arsenal. The duo made 127 (57.9 percent) of Notre Dame’s 219 three-point field goals last season and attempted 323 of team’s 570 shots from beyond the arc. Carroll shot 40.9 percent from three-point range, while Graves made 37.8 percent of his attempts. Graves has made 20 of his 41 attempts this season (48.8 percent), while Carroll is 15-of-33 (45.5 percent). Add freshman Chris Thomas to the mix because the Irish rookie is shooting 40.5 percent from behind the arc (15-37). Of the 57 three-pointers the Irish have made this season, the three have combined for 50 of those from beyond the arc (87.7 percent). Ryan Humphrey is a perfect three-for-three from long range.
IRONMEN – David Graves and Harold Swanagan have played in all 104 contests during their Irish careers – neither one has missed a game. They saw action in 30 games as freshmen and juniors and played in 37 contests in their sophomore season. Graves has earned 85 starting appearances during his three seasons, while Swanagan has made 55 starts.
BLOCK PARTY – Notre Dame set the single-season team record for blocked shots last season with 178 in 30 games for an average of 5.93 blocks per game. The previous mark of 145 was set by the 1991-92 Irish team. Notre Dame had 110 blocks during the 1999-2000 campaign. Ryan Humphrey led the Irish with 79 blocks, the second-highest individual single-season mark in school history and ranked 18th in the nationally with 2.7 blocks per game. Humphrey is averaging 3.00 blocks per game this season. As a team, Notre Dame has blocked 42 shots (6.00 per game).
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS – Notre Dame ranked 10th nationally in field goal percentage defense last season as Irish opponents shot just 39.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range. Only one opponent, Indiana, shot above 50.0 percent from the field against the Irish. Notre Dame’s field goal percentage defense has been impressive again this season as the Irish have held six of their seven opponents to under 37 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame has held four opponents to under 32 percent – New Hampshire (31.5), Monmouth (31.7), Army (29.5) and DePaul (29.6).
DEFENSE, DEFENSE — Notre Dame’s defense has limited its opponents to just 56.4 points per game with only two opponents – Tennessee-Chattanooga and Monmouth – scoring more than 60 points. The Irish are outscoring their opponents by 32.3 points per game. The Irish played their first two games of the 2001-02 campaign at home and came away with convincing victories over New Hampshire (95-53) and Cornell (78-48). The 103-point opponent point total in the two games is the lowest by an Irish team to start the season since the 1985-96 campaign when Notre Dame allowed 105 points in wins over St. Joseph’s of Indiana (79-49) and Butler (87-56). The Irish defense has yielded an average of 50.7 points in its last three games.
TIMMERMANS INJURY UPDATE – Tom Timmermans, who has missed the last three weeks with a sprained right knee, is expected to return to practice within the next couple of weeks. The Notre Dame coaching staff is hoping he will return to action on Dec. 22 against Canisius.
MR. INDIANA – Freshman point guard Chris Thomas is the first Mr. Basketball from Indiana to attend Notre Dame. He played in the McDonald’s All-American game and was a fourth team Parade All-American honoree. He led his Pike high school team to the Class 4-A state championship as a senior after averaging 23.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 steals. Thomas is the 12th McDonald’s All-American to attend Notre Dame.
MILLER TIME – Dan Miller, a 6-8, 223-pound guard/forward from Mt. Holly, N.J, has transferred to Notre Dame from the University of Maryland following three seasons. He has one year of eligibility remaining with the 2002-03 campaign. Miller was a former McDonald’s and Parade All-American at Rancocas Valley High School.
JERSEY #1 TO BE WORN FOR FIRST TIME AT NOTRE DAME – Freshman point guard Chris Thomas becomes the first player in the 96-year history of the Notre Dame men’s basketball program to wear jersey #1.
DANNY WHITE ADDED TO IRISH ROSTER – Head coach Mike Brey has added guard Danny White to the Irish roster for the 2001-02 season. White, the son of director of athletics Kevin White, played for Towson University, before transferring to Notre Dame in January of 2001. He will be eligible to play following final examinations for the ’01 fall semester.
IRISH INK THREE IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD – Notre Dame signed three players to national letters of intent on Nov. 14 – 6-3, 230-pound forward Rick Cornett (Country Club Hills, Ill./Homewood Academy), 6-10, 220-pound forward Torin Francis (Roslindale, Mass./Tabor Academy) and 6-1, 175-pound guard Chris Quinn (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman). Cornett averaged 17.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked per game in 2000-01 while leading his prep team to the Illinois Christian School state title for the second consecutive year. In addition, he was a member of the Illinois Warriors AAU team which captured the 17-and-under national crown in 2001. A two-year starter at Tabor Academy, Francis averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots last season as his squad captured its second straight New England Prep school championship. A member of the BABC AAU squad, he helped that team to a runner-up finish at the Nike Showcase in Orlando, Fla. Quinn averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds during his junior year. He set the single-season school assist record with 155 in 26 games while committing just 29 turnovers and was named the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division Player of the Year. All three have participated in the Nike All-America camps.
NOKIA SUGAR BOWL BASKETBALL CLASSIC – The 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La., on Thur., Dec. 27 features two BIG EAST Conference opponents – Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) – and two Southeastern Conference foes – squaring off against each other. Notre Dame will meet Alabama in the first game of the doubleheader at 7:00 p.m. (CST), while the matchup between Louisiana State and Miami will follow at 9:30 p.m. (CST). Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION – Notre Dame once again will receive tremendous exposure with seven nationally-televised games on CBS, ABC and ESPN. Four of those appearances will be at home at the Joyce Center. Last season, Notre Dame was featured nine times on national telecasts during the regular season, the most since the 1988-89 campaign. Notre Dame will play twice on CBS (both at home against Kentucky and Providence), once on ABC (vs. Syracuse) and four times on ESPN (at Indiana, at Syracuse, home versus Georgetown and at Rutgers).
KEVIN WHITE RADIO SHOW – A weekly half-hour talk show featuring first-year athletics director Kevin White debuted Aug. 27 on Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000. “The Kevin White Show” is scheduled to air from 11:00-11:30 p.m. for 30 consecutive Sundays on ESPN radio (1000 AM in Chago, www.espnradio1000.com). The show also can be heard in 35 states. White will welcome to the show a series of guests and prominent figures associated with college athletics, including administrators, coaches and media members.
MEN’S BASKETBALL LUNCHEON DATES SET – Three luncheons featuring Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey and his Irish players have been scheduled during the 2000-2001 season: Monday, Dec, 3, 2000 (the day before the Notre Dame-Indiana game), Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-Kentucky game) and Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-West Virginia game). All three luncheons, which begin at noon, will feature Brey, members of his squad, video presentations and other special guests. The Dec. 3 luncheon also will feature Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw. 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 219-631-5031.
SOLD-OUT – Notre Dame played its first home game to a sold-out Joyce Center (11,418) as the Irish played on a football weekend. The basketball contest was played following the pep rally.