Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Gamenotes in PDF Format
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Date: Saturday, February 12, 2005
Place: Peterson Events Center (12,508)
Time: 12:00 p.m. (EST)
TV: ESPN — Dan Shulman (play-by-play analyst) and Len Elmore (color analyst)
Radio: Notre Dame Sports Properties (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WZOW 97.7 FM and 102.3 FM (South Bend, Ind./Michiana Region); ESPN 1000 AM (Chicagoland area); ESPN 950 AM (Indianapolis, Ind.); WGL 1250 (Fort Wayne, Ind. and Northeast Indiana); WEFM 95.9 (Michigan City and Gary, Ind.), WLUV 96.7 FM and 1520 AM (Rockford and DeKalb, Ill. and Beloit and Janesville, Wis.); ESPN 1480 AM-WRSW (Warsaw, Ind.) and WAMW 107.9 FM and 1580 AM in Washington, Ind.). Radio broadcasts also can be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com. and SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics are available for all home games, via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).
Today’s Game: Notre Dame (14-6, 6-4) faces its fourth straight ranked opponent in this afternoon’s matchup against #18/15 Pittsburgh (16-4, 6-3) … Today’s game is the fifth road test for the Irish in their last seven games … Notre Dame is coming off of Tuesday night’s 68-65 victory at the Joyce Center over fourth-ranked and previously unbeaten Boston College … The victory over the Eagles was the first for an Irish team over a top-five opponent since February 9, 2003 when Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh (ranked fourth at the time of the game) 66-64 … The Irish are 2-2 versus ranked opponents this season … The last time a Notre Dame team beat back-to-back ranked opponents was during the 2002-03 campaign with wins over #10 Marquette (92-71), #8 Maryland (79-67) and #2 Texas (98-92) … Notre Dame’s six losses this season have been by a combined total of 30 points and its four BIG EAST defeats have totalled 18 points … Four games have been decided by a single point and the Irish are 2-2 in those contests …The Irish began BIG EAST play with a 4-1 record — the second-best start in school history … The Irish began 6-1 in 2002-03 before finishing the conference regular season with a 10-6 mark … Following today’s game, the Notre Dame will close out the regular season by playing four of its final six games at home.
Celebrating 100 Seasons: The 2004-05 season marks the 100th season for the Notre Dame men’s basketball program … Notre Dame is one of 13 Division I schools celebrating its 100th season of basketball this year … The others include: Dayton, Delaware, Duke, Georgia, Howard, Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern, Oregon, Virginia, William and Mary and Wyoming. Notre Dame played its first varsity game on January 29, 1898 (a 64-8 loss to First Regiment) … The Irish played two other games that season and finished with a 1-2 record … The following year, they played two games in 1899 and then did not field a team again until the 1907-08 campaign.
Brey Approaching 100 Wins At Notre Dame: A win over Pittsburgh this afternoon would give Irish head coach Mike Brey his 100th at Notre Dame … In four-plus seasons and 149 games, he owns a 99-50 ledger (.664) … With a victory today, he would become the second Notre Dame coach to reach the 100th-mark in 150 games . Coach Games Coached Until 100th Win George Keogan (1923-43) 100 John Jordan (1951-64) 151 Johnny Dee (1964-71) 173 Digger Phelps (1971-91) 155
Another Unbeaten Falls At The Joyce Center: Notre Dame’s 68-65 win over fourth-ranked and previously unbeaten Boston College (20-0) marked the third time in 25 years that an unbeaten team with 20-plus wins suffered a defeat at the Joyce Center … Prior to Wednesday’s game, the last time Notre Dame knocked off an undefeated team with 20 or more wins was on February 27, 1980 when No. DePaul brought an unblemished 25-0 record into the Joyce Center … On that day, the Irish defeated the Blue Demons 76-74 in double overtime … That game came three years after No. 1 ranked San Francisco come into the Joyce Center on March 1, 1977 with a 29-0 record and left with its first loss of the season (a 93-82 Irish victory).
Ranked Foes Continue Today’s game against Pittsburgh marks the fourth straight ranked foe the Irish have faced in the last two weeks … Notre Dame is currently 2-1 in this current stretch … The last time a Notre Dame team faced four consecutive ranked opponents was during the 1977-78 campaign when that Irish team played five ranked foes during the `78 NCAA Tournament … That squad was 3-2 in those contests and advanced to the Final Four.
Starting The Season Ranked: For the second consecutive year and 24th time in the program’s history, Notre Dame began the season ranked — 20th in the Associated Press and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today preseason rankings … This marks the third time a Notre Dame team under head coach Mike Brey has been ranked … His first Irish team, the 2000-01 squad, started the year tied for 15th in the AP Poll and were 17th in the ESPN/USA Today ranking … Last season’s 2003-04 squad was 21st and tied for 19th, respectively in the two polls at the start of the year … Notre Dame has been out of the polls for 10 weeks after climbing to 20th in the AP and 19th in the ESPN/USA Today rankings.
Thomas Reaches 2,000-Point Milestone: With his 16-point performance against West Virginia on January 19, Chris Thomas became the sixth player in Notre Dame history to score 2,000 points … Thomas has 2,062 career points in 119 career outings and is fourth (with Troy Murphy) on the all-time scoring list … He ranks behind Austin Carr (2,560), Adrian Dantley (2,223) and Pat Garrity (2,085), and aheadh of David Rivers (2,058) and Troy Murphy (2,011).
BIG EAST 1,000: With his 19-point performance against Boston College, Chris Thomas become the second Notre Dame player player in Notre Dame history and 25th player overall to score 1,000 points in BIG EAST play (regular-season games only) … In 58 career BIG EAST games, he has scored 1,014 points for a 17.5 career average … The only other player to score 1,000 points in league play was Pat Garrity who scored 1,107 points in 54 league contests from 1995-98 for a 20.5 scoring average.
Thomas In The Record Books Chris Thomas has made a record 119 consecutive starts and has not missed a game during his Irish career … When he sat out the first eight minutes of the second half against St. John’s on January 15 with a concussion sustained in the first half, it marked the first time in his career that he missed any part of a game due to injury … The consecutive games started mark was formerly held by Pat Garrity (1994-98) who started all 111 contests of his career … Thomas also holds career record for assists (768) and steals (230).
The Captains: For the second time in school history and for the second consecutive year, Notre Dame has four captains … Seniors Chris Thomas and Jordan Cornette are captains again along with juniors Torin Francis and Chris Quinn.
Road Warriors: In Mike Brey’s four-plus seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 42-30 (.583) … That includes a 27-22 (.551) in true road games and a 15-8 (.652) in neutral site contests.
On This Date: Notre Dame owns an 11-10 record (.647) when playing on February 12 .
Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame’s six losses have been by a combined 27 points and its four BIG EAST losses have totalled 18 points … Four of the 18 games have been decided by a single point (three BIG EAST games) … Notre Dame is 2-2 in those contests and 2-1 in conference games decided by one point … Nine of the BIG EAST contests the Irish have played have been decided by less than 10 points … The only double-digit decision was a 70-57 win at West Virginia … Notre Dame is 11-2 at the Joyce Center this season … Defensively, the Irish are allowing 60.5 points per game and have held eight of their opponents to 57 points and under … It’s the fewest points ever allowed by the Irish during the Mike Brey era … Only five opponents — DePaul (84), Marist (73), Villanova (72), Syracuse (70) and Connecticut (74) — have scored more than 70 points this season … Notre Dame is averaging 66.7 points, the lowest total during Brey’s tenure … Three players are averaging double figures — Chris Thomas (14.7), Chris Quinn (12.3), Colin Falls (12.1), while Torin Francis is averaging 9.1 ppg. and Dennis Latimore 8.6 ppg. … Francis leads the team in rebounding with 7.9 rebounds …Thomas also leads the team in both assists (6.5) and steals (2.3), while Jordan Cornette is the team leader in blocks (34) and second in steals (29) … Francis has registered double-doubles in two of the last four games and has scored in double figures three of the last four outings … Chris Quinn owns the current longest double-figures scoring streak for the Irish with nine, which matches a career-best.
Irish In The National Statistics: Chris Thomas stands 23rd in assists (6.4 aspg.), while the Irish 24th in both three-point field goals made per game (8.3) and 19th in scoring defense (60.3 ppg.).
Series Record Vs Pittsburgh: Today’s game is the 49th meeting between the two schools with Notre Dame owning a 25-23 advantage in the series … The Irish are 0-2 playing at the Petersen Events Center … Notre Dame lost both regular-season meetings last year, suffering a 74-71 setback on the road and a 66-58 loss at the Joyce Center … The Panthers have won three of the last four meetings … Notre Dame’s last victory at Pittsburgh was in Fitzgerald Fieldhouse on January 12, 2002 (56-53) … The last win for the Irish against the Panters was at the Joyce Center on February 9, 2003 (66-64).
The Irish All-Time: In 99-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1562-857 mark (.646).
Thomas Nominated For Senior Class Award: Chris Thomas is one of 30 candidates for the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award … The award is presented annually to the nation’s senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball … Irish women’s basketball player Jacqueline Batteast is also one of 30 finalists on the women’s side.
Special Company: Chris Thomas is approaching a milestone that only two players in NCAA history have accomplished … With 2,062 points and 768 points to his credit, Thomas needs just 32 assists to become the third player in NCAA history with 2,000 points and 800 assists … Sherman Douglas (Syracuse – 1985-89) finished his career with 2,060 points and 960 assists, while Gary Payton (Oregon State – 1986-90) had 2,172 points and 939 assists.
Home Sweet Home: Since the inaugural season (1968-69) at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 442 -133 record all-time for a .769 winning percentage … The Irish are 57-18 (.760) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s four-plus seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 105-35 mark for a .750 winning percentage … Notre Dame’s 11-2 mark at home already this season marks the seventh time in eight years that the Irish have won 10 or more home games.
Toughest Ticket in Town: Notre Dame’s success on the hardwood has paid dividends at the box office … For the fourth consecutive year, the number of season ticket holders increased, and already this season, five games have sold out — DePaul, Syracuse, St. John’s, Connecticut and Boston College … In addition, upcoming home games against Georgetown, UCLA and Pittsburgh are already advance sellouts … Notre Dame students also showed their support for the Irish as the student allotment of 3,000 was a complete sellout in less than three hours.
Irish Medical Update: Since March of 2004, five Irish players have had some type of surgical procedure … Forward Torin Francis had back surgery on March 8 to repair a herniated disc … He returned to the basketball court in June and was able to play with the team during its summer off-season conditioning program … Point guard Chris Thomas underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 9 for a tear on his left kneecap … He was cleared to return to the court in August … Rick Cornett had surgery for a stress fracture (broken left foot) on July 23 … Rob Kurz had surgery on September 14 for a fractured jaw and walk-on Greg Bosl had surgery to remove a screw in his foot after suffering a break in August.
BIG EAST Distinction: Although Notre Dame fell one game short of recording its fourth straight 10-win season in league, the Irish own the distinction, along with Syracuse, as being the only two schools to post winning conference records each of the last four seasons … Notre Dame has gone 11-5 (2000-01), 10-6 (2001-02), 10-6 (2002-03) and 9-7 (2003-04), while Syracuse has posted marks of 10-6 (2001-01), 9-7(2001-02), 13-3 (2002-03) and 11-5 (2003-04).
BIG EAST Season No. 10 for Irish: The 2004-05 campaign marks Notre Dame’s 10th year as a member of the BIG EAST Conference … In nine-plus seasons as a conference member, Notre Dame owns a 81 -81 record all-time in conference regular-season play for a .500 winning percentage … In their first five years, Irish teams were 35-53 (.398), but since Mike Brey took over the program, Notre Dame has compiled a 46-28 (.622) mark in regular-season play.
BIG EAST Formula For Success Under Brey: Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led Notre Dame to a 46-28 (.622) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 2-4 mark in tournament play for an overall of 48-32 (.600) against league foes … In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the BIG EAST West Division title with an 11-5 mark … Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record since joining the league in 1995-96.
BIG EAST Honor Roll: At BIG EAST Media Day on October 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Notre Dame was tabbed to finish fourth behind Syracuse, Connecticut and Pittsburgh in the regular-season race on a vote by the league’s head coaches … Chris Thomas was a preseason first-team all-BIG EAST selection, the only Irish player named to one of the preseason teams.
Over The Century Mark: Notre Dame has scored 100-plus points five times during the Mike Brey era … The last 100-point effort by an Irish team was in a 101-96 overtime decision at Boston College on January 25, 2003.
Shuffling The Lineup: Irish coach Mike Brey has used three different starting lineups this season … In 2003-04, injuries forced Brey into seven different starting rotations … Below is list of the three different starting lineups that have been used and Notre Dame’s record when starting those five players… • Torin Francis, Jordan Cornette, Dennis Latimore, Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn (used this starting lineup through first seven games) — 5-2 • Jordan Cornette, Torin Francis, Chris Thomas, Chris Quinn and Colin Falls (Marist, St. John’s, WVU, Georgetown, Villanova, UConn, Syracuse and BC games) — 5-3 • Torin Francis, Dennis Latimore, Chris Thomas, Chris Quinn and Colin Falls (Western Illinois, Samford, Seton Hall, Villanova and Syracuse games) — 4-1
In Sharp Contrast: Notre Dame’s victory over Boston College on Wednesday night gave the Irish their 14th victory of the season … Last season, Notre Dame did not record its 14th until February 28 with an 75-60 win at UCLA.
Heart and Soul Chris Thomas has long been regarded as the heart and soul of the Irish team by his teammates … Thomas’ performance in the win against St. John’s on January 15 proved that … Thomas suffered a concussion after colliding with a Red Storm player at the end of the first half and missed the first eight minutes of the second half … It marked the first time that he had ever missed any portion of a game for injury … Returning to the lineup, he played the final 12 minutes … Thomas hit 3-4 from the free-throw line and then hit the game-winning shot — a three-pointer with six seconds remaining — that marked his only field goal attempt of the second half.
Finally…Victory In Bloomington: Notre Dame’s win against Indiana was about as good as it gets for the Irish, who had not beaten the Hoosiers in 31 years in Bloomington … The last time a Notre Dame team defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall was on December 11, 1973 … The win snapped a 13-game skid in Bloomington and also ended an eight-game losing streak (the longest in the series history) … Notre Dame had not beaten Indiana since November 29, 1994, and heading into the contest, had lost 13 of the previous 14 matchups … The 45 points allowed by Notre Dame were the fewest in the series since December 12, 1931 (a 23-12 Indiana victory) spanning 58 games … Irish head coach Mike Brey remarked after the game that the last time Notre Dame defeated Indiana in Bloomington, he was 14 years old and listening to the Bee Gees.
Down To The Wire: Four of Notre Dame’s 19 games have been decided by a single point … Notre Dame is 2-2 in those contests … Irish teams are 8-4 overall during Mike Brey’s tenure in one point games … Nine of Notre Dame’s last 10 games (all BIG EAST contests), have been decided by less than 10 points.
Late-Game Heroics: Notre Dame has used late-game heroics to pull out three of its BIG EAST wins … Nine of the last 10 games have been decided by less than 10 points … vs. Seton Hall – Colin Falls hits game-winning three-pointer with four seconds remaining after Pirates had taken a 65-63 lead with 20 seconds remaining for the 66-65 victory. vs. Villanova – With the game tied at 70-70 with 1:45 remaining, Dennis Latimore gives the Irish a 72-70 advantage on two free throws … Following a missed Villanova shot, Chris Thomas gives the Irish a four-point lead (74-70) with a jumper along the baseline as the shot clock is about to expire … Villanova pulled to within two with 41 seconds and then Colin Falls and Thomas sealed the win with two free throws each in the final 38 seconds of the game. vs. St. John’s – Chris Thomas’ three-pointer with six seconds remaining — his only shot attempt of the second half — gives the Irish a 67-66 victory over St. John’s … Jordan Cornette blocks Daryll Hill’s drive to the basket as time expires … It marked the first game-winning shot of Thomas’ career.
On The Short End: While Notre Dame has pulled out two one-point victories, they have also suffered two losses by one point … vs. Michigan – Michigan converts a three-point play with 20 seconds remaining to take a 61-60 lead … After the Wolverines miss the front end of a one-and-one with four seconds remaining, Notre Dame’s three-point attempt is blocked. vs. Georgetown – Notre Dame takes a 54-53 lead on Colin Falls three-pointer with six seconds remaining, but the Hoyas defeat the Irish 55-54 on Roy Hibbert’s dunk at the buzzer.
Nothing But Net: Notre Dame’s 19-19 performance from the free-throw line against Villanova was the best ever for an Irish team at the Joyce Center … Prior to that game, the record for highest free-throw percentage for an Irish team in a game at the Joyce Center was .944 on two occasions – vs. Butler (17-18) on February 14, 1977 and vs. Loyola (17-18) on February 27, 1992.
All About The Threes: In its victory over West Virginia, Notre Dame recorded a season-high 13 three-pointers for the second straight game and finished 13-25 (.520) … The Irish shot a season-best 55.0 percent from three-point range against Boston College, hitting 11-20, inlcuding 5-8 (.625) in the second half … Over the last 10 games, the Irish are 103-256 as they have connected on 40.2 percent of their three-point attempts and have made 38.4 percent overall (168-437) … As a team, Notre Dame is averaging 8.4 three-point field goals made per game … Of the 168 three-point field goals made, Chris Thomas (36), Chris Quinn (45) and Colin Falls (62) have combined for 81.1 percent of those three-pointers.
Stingy Defense: Irish opponents are averaging 60.5 points per game … Notre Dame held its first five opponents to 61 points and under with three of those opponents scoring 45 points or less … Overall, the Irish have limited their opponents to 45 points and under on four occasions … In the two wins prior to the loss at Michigan (60-61), the Irish held IPFW (73-45) and Charleston Southern (54-38) to under 50 points … The last time time that occurred was during the 2002-03 season when the Irish held their first three opponents — Belmont (76-48), IUPUI (89-45) and Bucknell (73-42) — to under 50 points … The 38 points scored by Charleston Southern in Notre Dame’s win on November 26 were the fewest allowed by an Irish team under head coach Mike Brey and the second fewest ever scored by an Irish opponent since the opening of the Joyce Center for the 1968-69 season … The 44 points scored by Samford were the third-fewest allowed under Brey.
Where Was The “D” Against DePaul: The 84 points that the Irish yielded against DePaul were the most since Arizona scored 88 in the Wildcats 88-71 victory on March 27, 2003 in the West Regional semifinals … Prior to the DePaul game, Notre Dame had not allowed that many points in 37 previous outings … DePaul shot 59.5 percent from the field, the third-best shooting performance by an opponent during Mike Brey’s four-plus seasons … In 149 games during Brey’s tenure, only 13 teams have shot better than 50 percent or better from the field (and only two better than 60 percent).
Thomas In Elite Scoring Company: Chris Thomas has a career scoring average of 17.3 points per game and is fourth on the all-time Notre Dame career scoring list with 2,062 career points in 119 career outings … Heading into this season, Thomas had scored 1,783 points in 99 career outings … Only four other players scored more points in the first three seasons of their careers — Austin Carr (2,560 points in 75 games), Adrian Dantley (2,223 points in 86 games), Troy Murphy (2,011 points in 94 games) and Tom Hawkins (1,820 points in 79 games) .
Ironman: Chris Thomas has started in a Notre Dame record 119 consecutive games and has never missed a game during his career … His 112th consecutive start on January 10 against Syracuse set the record for consecutive games started … The record of 111 was formerly held by Pat Garrity (1994-98) … John Paxson (1979-83) stands third all-time with 85 consecutive starts (86 total during his career) … Paxson started every game in his final three seasons … Thomas has never missed a game during his Irish career and has averaged 37.6 minutes per game in those contests and been on the court 93.2 percent of the time in those 119 games having played 4,471 of a possible 4,795 minutes.
No Doubting Thomas: In games against Marist (Dec. 22) and Western Illinois (Dec. 30), Chris Thomas flirted with recording his second and third career triple-doubles … Against Marist, he finished with 18 points, nine assists and eights rebounds before following that up with 21 points, nine assists (all in the first half) and nine rebounds in the win over the Leathernecks … He has played 40 minutes in six of the last 10 games … Thomas has converted 58 of his last 63 free-throw attempts that included a recent string of 33 straight before missing a free throw against St. John’s … It marked his first miss in a game since December 19 versus Army … He did, however, miss all three of his free-throw attempts against Syracuse a week ago, but connected on all four in Wednesday night’s win against Boston College.
Scoring Streak Snapped: Chris Thomas’ two-point performance against Michigan snapped a 19-game double-figure scoring streak for the Irish guard and also marked his lowest scoring output in the 103 games he had played at the time … Thomas has netted double figures in 101 of 118 career contests.
He Keeps Going And Going And Going….: Chris Thomas has been on the court an amazing 93.2 percent of the time during his career and has played all but 324 minutes … Thomas has played 30-plus minutes in 115 career contests and 40-plus minutes on 42 occasions in three-plus seasons.
Lending The Assist: Chris Thomas has led the Irish in assists in each of his three seasons (a single-season school record 252 in 2001-02, 236 in 2002-03 and 150 in 2003-04) … Currently the school’s career assist leader with 768, he will look to become just the third player in Notre Dame history to lead the Irish in assists during all four of his seasons … Rich Branning was the first player to do so as he led Notre Dame from 1976-80 and finished his career with 466 (currently sixth on the all-time list) … David Rivers (1984-88) also led the Irish during all four of his seasons … Rivers finished as the school’s all-time career assist leader with 586 and held that record until last season, when it was eclipsed by Thomas in February of 2004.
Thomas Registers 13th Career Double-Double: Chris Thomas’ 10 points and 11 assists in the win over IPFW marked the 16th double-double of his career, but the first time he registered double figures in both points and assists since his sophomore season when he scored 21 points and dished off 13 assists against Virginia Tech on February 22, 2003 … Thomas’ lone double-double last season was a 23-point and 11-rebound effort in a loss to Providence on February 24, 2004 … He has dished 10-plus assists in 17 games during his career.
Francis Posts 21st Double-Double: Torin Francis posted his fourth double-double of the season and 21st of his career in the loss at Syracuse as he scored 15 points and grabbed 11 boards … Francis’ three other double doubles were in wins at Indiana (11 points/13 rebounds) and Seton Hall (15 points/10 rebounds) and in a loss at Villanova (19 points/13 rebounds).
Cornette Eyes Block Record: In three-plus seasons spanning 117 career games, Jordan Cornette has 189 career blocked shots to rank second all-time in that category … He needs 13 blocks to break LaPhonso Ellis’ (1988-2002) career mark of 200 … Cornette’s four blocks against Western Illinois moved him past Ryan Humphrey (2000-02) in Notre Dame history … Humphrey stands third on the all-time list with 166 blocked shots … Cornette stands third all-time with a 1.6 blocked shots average.
Transfer Of Influence: Dennis Latimore is the third transfer to play under head coach Mike Brey … He transferred to Notre Dame in the summer of 2003 after two seasons at the University of Arizona … Ryan Humphrey was the first transfer to play for the Irish … He played his first two seasons at the University of Oklahoma … During his two-year career from 2000-02, he played in 60 games and averaged 16.6 points (997), 9.95 rebounds (597) and 2.8 blocked shots (166) … Humphrey was a first-team all-BIG EAST selection in his senior season and earned second-team All-America honors from Basketball Times … Dan Miller played one year (2002-03) after transferring from the University of Maryland and averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.
Latimore Nets Double Figures In Three Straight Games: Dennis Latimore’s three consecutive double-figure outings against Army (15), Marist (10) and Western Illinois (18), marked the first time in his career that he has scored in double figures in three straight contests … Latimore also has been in double figures in each of the last three games versus Connecticut (12), Syracuse (10) and Boston College (10) … Outings at Michigan and Indiana earlier this season produced back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts for the first time in his career … Heading into the season, Latimore, had only scored in double figures twice in 57 games at Arizona … Already this season, he has registered 10-plus points in 11 games and played 30-plus minutes in five contests … Latimore is averaging 24.5 mpg. … At Arizona, he averaged 10.9 and 12.0 minutes during his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.
Latimore Posts Second Career Double-Double: Dennis Latimore registered his second career double-double and first in a BIG EAST game in the win over Villanova as he scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds … He posted his first career double-double, scoring 12 points (tying a career-high) and grabbing a personal best 11 rebounds … In two seasons at Arizona, where he played 57 games, he only twice scored in double figures (22 versus California and 10 against Arizona State) and never had 10-plus rebounds in a game.
In The Spirit Of Giving: Chris Thomas’ unselfish play is one of the reasons why the Irish have been successful while he has been in the Notre Dame backcourt … In the 119 games he has directed Mike Brey’s teams, Thomas has helped the Irish compile a 79-40 record for a .664 winning percentage … As a freshman, he averaged 7.64 assists to rank fifth nationally … Thomas then dished off 6.9 assists (eighth in the nation) as a sophomore … He is the only player in Notre Dame history to record 200-plus assists in consecutive seasons … Thomas has distributed 10-plus assists in 17 games during his career … This season, he is averaging a 6.5 assists, after dishing off just 4.7 during the 2003-04 campaign.
Francis Returns: Torin Francis was back in the lineup for the first time since the Connecticut game (February 9, 2004) last year in the season opener against Harvard … Francis missed the final 12 games of the ’03-’04 campaign with a herniated disc … In the three games prior to being sidelined with his back injury last season, he scored six points versus Boston College (29 minutes), four points against Pittsburgh (nine minutes) and did not score against Connecticut (seven minutes) … Francis has scored in double figures in nine games overall this season, including season-high 19-point performances against Villanova and Connecticut … He has started all 74 games of his Irish career and has grabbed nine or more rebounds in 10 games this season … Francis has registered double-doubles in two of the last four games and reached double figures in four games overall … He has his three-game double-figure scoring streak snapped against Boston College .
The Mighty Quinn: Chris Quinn is second on the team with an 12.3 scoring average and has led or shared team-high scoring honors on six occasions … He achieved a first in his career by leading Notre Dame in scoring in his first three games… Quinn has scored 20-plus points in two games, a 21-point performance against Marist (seventh 20-point performance of his career) in which he finished 7-8 from the field and connected on all four of his three-point field goal attempts and a 20-point effort in the season opener against Harvard … Last season, Quinn led the Irish in scoring on three occasions — in the Quinnipiac (25 points), Boston College (25 points) and Purdue (21 points) games … While averaging 36.5 minutes per game (in 729 minutes played), Quinn has turned the ball over just 22 times … In 11 games in 2003-04 (spanning 390 minutes), Quinn did not commit a turnover … Last season he committed just 37 turnovers and dished off 104 assists and owned a BIG EAST best 2.81 assist-to-turnover ratio … Also during the season, Quinn had a stretch of 159:00 minutes on the floor without a turnover.
Taking Care Of The Ball: The backcourt of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn had just one turnover in the Boston College game on Wednesday night when Quinn turned the ball over with 25 seconds remaining in the contest … It marked the second time this season that Thomas did not commit a turnover (he also went did not have a turnover in the third game of the season against Charleston Southern … Thomas has played 744 minutes for an average of 37.2 minutes per game … He is averaging a turnover every 12.4 minutes… Quinn has turned the ball over 22 times in 729 minutes while averaging 36.5 minutes per game as he averages a turnover every 33.1 minutes … Neither of the two turned the ball over against Charleston Southern with Quinn playing 38 minutes and Thomas playing 37 minutes … Quinn has had four games this season in which he did not commit a turnover — Harvard, Charleston Southern, Seton Hall and Georgetown.
Hot Shot: Colin Falls matched his career-high with a 23-point outing against Boston College on Wednesday night when he connected on 8-14 shots from the field and was 7-12 from three-point range (his seven three-pointers were a career best) … Falls also scored 23 points against St. John’s as he connected on 7-16 from the field and 6-13 from beyond the arc … Falls has been in double figures in seven of the last nine games and in 10 contests overall … Before a three-point performance against Villanova on January 26, he had scored in double figures in the six previous outings (the first time that he had scored in double figures in six straight games ) … Earlier this season in contests against DePaul and Army, Falls shot 63.2 percent from the field (12-19) and 57.1 percent from three-point range (8-14) … He also averaged 18.0 points, scoring a career-high 20 against DePaul and 16 versus Army … Against DePaul, he connected on 7-10 shots from the field and 5-7 from three-point range, and followed that up by shooting 5-9 from the field and 3-7 from beyond the arc against Army … In Notre Dame’s defeat of Western Illinois, Falls knocked down 5-9 shots from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points, and he scored a team-high 19 on 3-6 shooting from downtown in the BIG EAST-opening victory at Seton Hall … He buried three shots from beyond the arc en route to 16 points in the Villanova contest.
Threes The Key For Falls: Sixty-two of Colin Falls’ 68 field goals have come from three-point range … It wasn’t until the DePaul game that he connected on a two-point field goal … Prior to the contest, all eight of his field goals and all 20 of his attempts had come from three-point range … Falls connected on three three-pointers against IPFW and Michigan as he finished with nine points in both of those games … During his freshman season, Falls’ favorite shot was from beyond the arc … 99 of his 115 career field goals made (.861) have come from three-point range, while 234 of his 278 attempts (.842) have been from the three-point line or beyond.
In Select Company: When Jordan Cornette recorded his 100th career steal in the Army game, he joined former Irish standout Troy Murphy as the only two players in school history with 100 career blocks and 100 career steals … Cornette has 189 blocks and 119 steals in three-plus seasons, while Murphy ended his career with 126 and 113, respectively.
Counting On Colin: Colin Falls’ game-winning shot (from three-point range) against Seton Hall on January 5 with four seconds remaining, marked the second game-winning shot of his career (44 games) .. . In the first round of the BIG EAST Championship last year, Falls’ three-pointer with 15.8 seconds remaining lifted the Irish to a 65-64 victory over West Virginia.
Rookie Roll Call: Sophomore Omari Isreal has seen action in 13 games, while freshman Rob Kurz has played in 10 games … Isreal, who missed all of last season while recovering from the ACL surgery he had in February of 2003, had his best outing against Charleston Southern when he scored four points and grabbed three rebounds … He has played 10-plus minutes in three games … Kurz played a season-high 12 minutes against IPFW and a career-high three points against Marist.
Keeping It Close: In the 50 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s four seasons, only 13 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 352 points for an average of 7.04 points … Notre Dame’s biggest losses have been on the road at Pittsburgh (72-55 on January 6, 2003) and against Arizona (88-71 on March 27, 2003) in the West Regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif… Prior to those two setbacks, the worst defeat was a 16-point decision at Connecticut during Brey’s first season … Notre Dame’s 11 losses during the 2001-02 season were by a combined 49 points for an average margin of defeat of 4.5 points … Only one loss that season (versus Georgetown at the Joyce Center) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five or less points.
Block Party: The Irish frontcourt provides many shot-blocking opportunities … The 2002-03 team set the single-season mark with 189 blocked shots for a per game average of 5.59 … The former mark of 178 was set during the 2000-01 season in which Notre Dame averaged 5.93 blocks … The Irish finished the 2001-02 campaign with 163 blocks for an average of 4.94 per game … Last year, the Irish had 139 blocks for an average of 4.34 per game … Under head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame averaged 5.17 blocks per game in his first four seasons … The single-season totals each of the past four years are among the top five block totals in school history … The Irish have 86 blocked shots in 19 games (4.3).
199 And Counting: Heading into today’s game against Pittsburgh, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 199 straight games, a mark that dates back to the the 1998-99 campaign … The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on January 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in the game.
Steady As They Go: Notre Dame’s backcourt tandem of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn has combined for 524 of the team’s 1,333 points (.393) and dished off 192 of its 292 assists (.658).
Spark Off The Bench: Russell Carter has been a spark off the bench this season and has played in 17 games … Against Army, he played 12 minutes and grabbed a career-high five rebounds … In the win over Marist, he came off the bench to play a career-high 15 minutes and scored a personal-best seven points, while grabbing three rebounds … He notched four points and four boards versus Western Illinois in 15 minutes … His best career outing was against Samford as he registered career-bests of 11 points and seven assists, while playing a career-high 20 minutes … He chipped in five points in the conference-opening win over Seton Hall … Prior to playing just four minutes against Seton Hall, Carter had been averaging 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 12.3 minutes in the four previous outings … Against Syracuse in the loss at the Joyce Center, he had seven points in 10 minutes.
All In The Family: Freshman Rob Kurz’ younger sister Laura is a freshman on the Duke women’s basketball team. As a matter of fact, she played a regular-season contest on the Joyce Center floor 48 hours before her brother’s home opener. The Irish women’s basketball team hosted the Blue Devils in semifinal action of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament on November 17 … Notre Dame won the game 76-65.
Irish Add Four In Early Signing Period: Mike Brey signed four players to national letters of intent during the early signing period … Joining the Irish in the fall of 2005 will be Ryan Ayers (Blue Bell, Pa.), Zach Hillesland (Toledo, Ohio), Kyle McAlarney (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Luke Zeller (Washington, Ind.) … Ayers, a 6-7, 200-pound combination guard/forward, is the son of former Ohio State and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Randy Ayers … He averaged 16.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists during his junior year at Germantown Academy … Hillesland is a 6-8, 220-pound forward who averaged 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds in his junior season at St. John’s Jesuit … McAlarney, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, already ranks as the all-time leading scorer in Staten Island prep history with 1,662 career points and a 22.6 scoring average … His 35.6 scoring average and 907 points in 2003-04 for Moore Catholic set the Staten Island high school single-season marks … Zeller, a 6-11, 240-pound forward/center, is a candidate for the 2005 Mr. Indiana Basketball honors … A Streets and Smith’s All-America selection in his junior season, he netted 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds during his junior year at Washington.
Irish Find Success In The Classroom: For the second straight semester, Irish basketball players excelled in the classroom … Overall, the Irish earned a 3.056 semester average, the second-highest semester average since the fall semester of 1992, after earning a 3.115 cumulative grade point average following the 2004 spring semester … The team also boasts a 3.028 cumulative grade index, which also reflects the highest average since Notre Dame’s Office of Academic Services For Student-Athletes began keeping track of semester grade point averages at the start of the 1992-93 school year … Seven players — Greg Bosl, Rick Cornett, Dennis Latimore, Chris Murphy, Ben Nickol, Chris Quinn and Chris Thomas – earned semester grade point averages of better than 3.00.
Notre Dame Basketball On The Big Screen: Notre Dame will play a record 15 games on national television during the regular season …. Last year, the Irish also made 13 national appearances during the regular season and appeared on either CBS, ESPN or ESPN2 a total of 16 times … Since the 2000-01 season under head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame teams have appeared on national television during the regular and post-season a total of 52 times (average of 13 per year) – it’s the most television appearances in a four-year period in the program’s history.
Joyce Center Sellouts: Since the 2000-01 campaign, there have been 34 sellouts at the Joyce Center … Notre Dame enjoyed 10 sellouts during the 2002-03 campaign, the most since the 1985-86 season … The 29 sellouts from 2000-04 were the most in a four-year period since the 1983-87 campaigns.
Web Site (www.und.com): Notre Dame’s official athletic department web site can be found at www.und.com … The web site is created in partnership with College Sports Online of Carlsbad, Calif.
Tip-Off Times For Home Games Against Georgetown and Rutgers Changed: Home games against Georgetown (February 16) and Rutgers (March 2) have been moved to 8:00 p.m. start times … Both contests were originally scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. … In addition to the time change, both games also will be televised by ESPN Classic.
Notre Dame Rises To Top Spot In Directors’ Cup Standings: Notre Dame stands first in the final set of fall sports standings released in the 2004-05 United States Sports Academy Division I Directors’ Cup all-sports competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors’ Cup) … This marks the first time in the 12-year history of the all-sports program that Notre Dame has ranked number one … The previous highest ranking for the Irish was second in the 2004-05 second set of fall standings … Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 337 points based on their NCAA title in women’s soccer (100 points), their fourth-place finish in women’s cross country (80), 11th-place finish in men’s cross country (57) and second-round NCAA appearances in men’s soccer and volleyball (50 each) … Michigan (333 points) stands second, followed by Stanford (332), Duke (327) and UCLA (297) … The current standings include results from NCAA fall competition in volleyball, field hockey, men’s water polo, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s soccer and football … In previous years in which the Directors’ Cup competition has been held, Notre Dame has finished 11th in ’93-’94, 30th in ’94-’95, 11th in ’95-’96, 14th in ’96-’97, 31st in ’97-’98, 25th in ’98-99, 21st in ’99-’00, 11th in ’00-’01, 13th in ’01-02 and ’02-’03 and 19th in ’03-’04.
Notre Dame Basketball Honored As One of Greatest College Basketball Programs: The Notre Dame men’s basketball program was recognized by Street & Smith’s as one of the top 100 basketball programs of all-time … Notre Dame’s program was rated the 39th best of all-time … Kentucky topped the list, followed by UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Arkansas, Connecticut and Cincinnati.
Facing The Defending National Champions: Notre Dame’s 78-74 victory over Connecticut on Sunday marked the third straight year that the Irish faced a team which in the previous season had won the national championship … Notre Dame teams own a 10-24 record all-time versus teams which had won the NCAA crown in the previous season … Last year, the Irish knocked off Syracuse 84-72 on February 16, 2004 at the Carrier Dome and defeated Maryland 79-67 on December 7, 2002 in the first round of the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center … The 1999-2000 Irish squad beat Connecticut twice — 75-70 at the Hartford Civic Center and 68-66 at the Joyce Center — the season after the Huskies claimed the ’99 NCAA title.