Jan. 7, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

2011-12 Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame 67, #11/10 Louisville 65 (2OT)
January 7, 2012
KFC Yum! Center o Louisville, Ky.

Post-Game Notes

• Today was the 28th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Louisville. The Cardinals lead the series 17-11. The Irish are 4-5 against the Cardinals since Louisville joined the BIG EAST in 2005. Irish head coach Mike Brey is 4-5 all-time against Louisville. Notre Dame is 2-9 all-time against the Cardinals in Louisville. This was Notre Dame’s first win against the Cardinals in Louisville since a 61-53 decision on Dec. 20, 1958.
• This was the fourth straight Notre Dame-Louisville contest that was decided in overtime (two have gone to double-overtime). The Irish are 2-2 in those games. Five of the last six Notre Dame-Louisville showdowns have gone to overtime. Six of the nine contests between Notre Dame and Louisville since the Cardinals joined the BIG EAST in 2005 have been settled in overtime. The last three games between the Irish and Cardinals in Louisville have gone to overtime, including consecutive double-overtime affairs.
• Today was Notre Dame’s first overtime game since falling to Louisville, 83-77, in the semifinals of last season’s BIG EAST Championship (March 11, 2011). It was the first double-overtime game since the Irish bested Georgia, 89-83, last season in the Old Spice Classic (Nov. 25, 2010). This was Notre Dame’s first win in overtime since topping Louisville, 89-79, last season (Feb. 9, 2011). The Irish are 8-8 in overtime games under head coach Mike Brey (12 seasons).
• Today’s win snapped Notre Dame’s 16-game losing streak in the state of Kentucky. The Irish had been 0-7 versus Louisville during that stretch and 0-9 against Kentucky during that time. Prior to today, Notre Dame’s last win in the Bluegrass State was a 67-61 triumph of Kentucky on Dec. 27, 1980 in Louisville’s Freedom Hall.
• The Fighting Irish are 2-3 against ranked opponents this season and 40-62 in the Mike Brey era (12 seasons). The #11/10 Cardinals were the highest-ranked opponent the Irish have defeated since winning at #2/2 Pittsburgh last season (Jan. 24, 2011). Today was Notre Dame’s first win on an opponent’s home court since a 70-67 win at #16/16 Connecticut in last season’s regular-season finale (March 5, 2011).
• Notre Dame is off to a 2-1 start in BIG EAST play for the sixth straight season.
• Eric Atkins (So./G), Jack Cooley (Jr./F), Alex Dragicevich (So./G), Jerian Grant (So./G) and Scott Martin (Sr./G) started today’s contest. It was the fifth straight game – and fifth time overall this season – that quintet has started. It is the most-used starting lineup for the Irish this season. Notre Dame is 3-2 when that quintet starts. Grant and Martin both have a team-high 15 starts this season.
• Junior forward Jack Cooley notched his second straight double-double (18 pts, 10 rebs). He is the first Notre Dame player to record back-to-back double-doubles since Carleton Scott did so last season against USF and West Virginia (Feb. 12 & Feb. 19, 2011).
• Prior to today’s double-doubles from Jack Cooley and Scott Martin, the last time two Notre Dame players had double-doubles in the same game was last season against Villanova (Feb. 28, 2011) when Ben Hansbrough and Tyrone Nash accomplished the feat.
• Today was Notre Dame’s first road/neutral site win of the season. Notre Dame is 9-0 at home and 1-6 in road/neutral site contests this season.
• Notre Dame trailed 28-24 at halftime. The Irish are 3-6 this season when trailing at the intermission.
• Four Notre Dame players established career-high minute totals … Eric Atkins (50), Scott Martin (48), Jerian Grant (47) and Jack Cooley (43)
• A Jerian Grant three-pointer early in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 424.

Eric Atkins (So./G)

• Pulled down a career-high eight rebounds … the previous high was seven last season versus Gonzaga (Dec. 11, 2010)
• Scored in double-figures (15 points) for the 10th time this season

Jack Cooley (Jr./F)

• Notched his second straight double-double with a game-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He has a team-best four double-doubles this season. It’s the first time in his career that he’s registered back-to-back double-doubles.
• Scored in double-figures for the sixth time in the last seven games and for the seventh time overall this season
• Led the Irish in points for the third time this season
• Today was his third straight double-digit rebounding effort and his team-best sixth overall of the season

Jerian Grant (So./G)

• Scored in double-figures (17 points) for the 13th time this season, which is a team-high total … currently has a career-best five-game double-figure scoring streak
• Tied a career-high total with three made three-pointers … has knocked down three treys in a game five times this season

Scott Martin (Sr./G)

• Registered his first double-double of the season (second career double-double) with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds … previous rebound high was 11 against Marquette last season (Jan. 10, 2011)
• Scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season