| Game 17: Notre Dame (11-5, 1-2) at #13/15 North Carolina (12-4, 2-1) | |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Dean E. Smith Center | Chapel Hill, NC |
| Tickets | Limited Amounts Available |
| Event | Second ACC road game of the season for Notre Dame |
| TV | ESPN with Rece Davis, LaPhonso Ellis (Notre Dame ’92) and Brooke Weisbrod |
| Radio | Notre Dame Basketball Network with Jack Nolan and Zach Hillesland (Notre Dame ’09) Also available on the Notre Dame app |
| Live Stats | Notre Dame Athletics StatBroadcast Home Page |
| Where to Watch/Listen | More Information On Where To Watch/Listen To The Irish |
| 2018-19 Stats | Notre Dame | North Carolina |
| Shop | Online Store |
| Social Media | @NDMBB | @FightingIrish | @ndmbb  | NDmbb on Facebook |
IRISH HEAD TO CHAPEL HILL TO FACE TAR HEELS
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (11-5, 1-2 ACC) hits the road for the second time in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Tuesday evening with an ESPN nationally-televised contest at North Carolina (12-4, 2-1 ACC).
NOTRE DAME VERSUS NORTH CAROLINA
- Notre Dame and North Carolina will be meeting for the 31st time on Tuesday evening, with the Tar Heels ahead in the series 23-7.
- Tuesday night’s game is a match up between two of the winningest programs in college basketball history, as North Carolina ranks third in all-time wins (2,232) and Notre Dame eighth (1,866) entering the 2018-19 season.
- The Notre Dame – North Carolina series is riddled with key post season and special event moments since the Irish joined the ACC –
- March 13, 2015 – Notre Dame claims the ACC Championship with a win over North Carolina in Greensboro 90-82.
- January 5, 2015 – In its second visit as an ACC opponent, Notre Dame knocks off UNC 71-70.
- February 6, 2016 – The Irish knock off No. 2/1 North Carolina 80-76 in Purcell Pavilion.
- January 13, 2018 – A last-second tip attempt by then-sophomore T.J. Gibbs rims out at the buzzer and the Tar Heels escape with a 69-68 victory.
- March 27, 2016 – North Carolina ends Notre Dame’s run in the NCAA tournament 88-74 in the Elite Eight in Philadelphia.
- See page 8 of this notes package for a complete list of each game that makes up the Notre Dame – North Carolina series.
IRISH POST NOTABLE SIX-PLAYER VICTORY OVER BOSTON COLLEGE
The Irish knew the bench would be limited in the game with Boston College (1/12/19) – junior Juwan Durham would be resting his injured ankle, Rex Pflueger and Robby Carmody are out for the year with injuries and freshman Chris Doherty hopes to retain a year of eligibility this season.
But 20 minutes before the game tipped off, the Irish found out that junior T.J. Gibbs would not be available due to a sudden illness – and suddenly the Irish would enter the game with six scholarship players available.
Not only did the Irish hold strong to earn their first ACC victory of the year – they became the first Division I team to win a game this season playing only six players. It marks the second time a Mike Brey team has won a game playing six – as the Irish defeated American 78-74 on December 21, 2003.
FRESHMAN STARTING TRIO IS A BREY-ERA FIRST
Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski became the first trio of true freshman to start at game for a Notre Dame Mike Brey-coached team against Boston College (1/12/19) – and became the first such trio to post a victory in such a contest since LaPhonso Ellis (who will be the ESPN analyst on Tuesday night), Elmer Bennett and Keith Tower claimed an defeated Portland 80-58 on January 9, 1989.
The most recent occurrence of three true freshmen in the starting lineup came in the 1999-2000 season under then-head coach Matt Doherty, when Matt Carroll, Ivan Kartelo and Jere Macura took the court against Miami (FL), suffering a 63-49 setback.
A three-freshman starting lineup is a rarity at Notre Dame, as prior to the aforementioned 1989 contest, the previous games with three freshman in the starting lineup occurred in the 1982-83 season, when Tim Kempton, Ken Barlow, Joe Price and Jim Dolan combined through various different iterations to start 14 games (though the Irish never reached a point where all four started the same contest).
MOONEY LEADS ACC IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Junior forward John Mooney has raised his level of play to an all-conference level in 2018-19 and currently stands second in the ACC in rebounding (9.8 per game) and leads the league in double-doubles (eight in 16 games played).
Close to averaging a double-double this season (13.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Mooney entered the season with 4.5 ppg and 3.3 rpg averages.
MOONEY DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 2018-19
|
Opponent |
Date |
Points |
Rebounds |
|
Radford |
11/14/18 |
24 |
12 |
|
William & Mary |
11/17/18 |
13 |
11 |
|
Duquesne |
11/20/18 |
16 |
10 |
|
vs. Oklahoma |
12/4/18 |
15 |
14 |
|
at UCLA |
12/8/18 |
12 |
11 |
|
Binghamton |
12/18/18 |
12 |
12 |
|
Syracuse |
1/5/19 |
14 |
14 |
|
Boston College |
1/12/19 |
27 |
12 |
NOTRE DAME AT NORTH CAROLINA – BY THE NUMBERS
|
1 |
Notre Dame is the only team in NCAA Division this season to win a game playing just six players after the 69-66 victory over Boston College on January 12, 2019. |
|
2 |
Junior guard T.J. Gibbs ranks second in the ACC for assist/turnover ratio (3.41), joining freshman backcourt mate Prentiss Hubb (5th, 2.12) in the top 10. The Irish are the only team in the league with two players in the top 10 for assist/turnover ratio. |
|
3 |
Dane Goodwin, Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski became the first trio of true freshman to start a game for Notre Dame during the Mike Brey (2000-01 to present) in the victory over Boston College (1/12/19) – and the first trio to earn a win in that game since the 1988-89 season when Tuesday night ESPN analyst LaPhonso Ellis, Elmer Bennett and Keith Tower defeated Portland (see page 3 for more details). |
|
4 |
Junior Juwan Durham leads the ACC in blocked shots per game with a 3.29 average (46 total in 14 games played). That number puts him fourth in the country entering this week’s college basketball action. |
|
6 |
Though Notre Dame and North Carolina have met 30 times previous to Tuesday night’s game, it will only be the sixth visit to Chapel Hill for the Irish. Notre Dame is 1-4 in the Smith Center and 1-3 as an ACC member. |
|
7 |
Bolstered by Juwan Durham’s 3.29 average, Notre Dame ranks seventh in the country in blocked shots per game (5.88). |
|
8 |
Junior John Mooney leads the ACC in double-doubles (8) and has nine in his career. Mooney also paces the ACC in 10-rebound performances with 10. |
|
9.13 |
The Irish rank second in the ACC in three-point field goals made per game, averaging 9.13 per contest. Notre Dame has connected on nine or more 3FGs in a game eight of 15 contests this season. |
|
9.4 |
With a 9.4 average, Notre Dame ranks third in the country in turnovers per game, trailing Virginia and St. Joseph’s. |
|
13.4 |
Notre Dame, on average, is committing just 13.4 personal fouls per game – which is tied with Dayton for the NCAA lead in that statistical category. |
|
15 |
Juwan Durham has 18 blocked shots in his last four Notre Dame games and has already moved into the top 20 on the single-season block list at Notre Dame (15th, see sidebar on Page 8 for the complete list). |
|
87 |
T.J. Gibbs missed the first game of his Notre Dame career on Saturday against Boston College due to a sudden illness that struck during pregame warm ups. Gibbs had appeared in 87 consecutive games for the Irish. |
|
513 |
With 513 career wins, Mike Brey is the 11th active coach to reach 500 wins coaching at just one or two institutions. |
|
941 |
T.J. Gibbs is just 59 points away from reaching 1,000 in his career at Notre Dame and will become the 63rd Irish player to reach that career scoring plateau. Notre Dame is tied for fifth in NCAA history for 1,000-point scorers (see page 4 for more details). |
|
4,121 |
Wins combined by North Carolina (2,244, third) and Notre Dame (1,877, eighth) who both rank in the top 10 in NCAA Divsion I history. |