Harvey 12/20/18

Irish Start ACC Home Season Against Syracuse

Game 15: Notre Dame (10-4, 0-1) vs. Syracuse (9-4, 0-0)
Date Saturday, January 5, 2019 | 12:00 p.m. ET
Location Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, IN
Tickets und.com/buytickets
Event         The 2018-19 Atlantic Coast Conference Home Opener
TV Raycom Network with Bob Rathbun and Mike Gminski. 
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IRISH START ACC HOME SEASON AGAINST SYRACUSE

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (10-4, 0-1 ACC) will defend Purcell Pavilion in Atlantic Coast Conference play for the first time this season on Saturday against Syracuse (9-4, 0-0). The Irish and Orange will meet at noon ET on the Raycom Network (available locally on WMYS/MyTV).   

NOTRE DAME VERSUS SYRACUSE

  • Notre Dame and Syracuse will be meeting for the 50th time Saturday afternoon with the Orange holding a 28-21 advantage in the series.
  • The Irish are riding a two-game win streak against the Orange, claiming both ACC regular-season victories in 2017 (84-66) and 2018 (51-49). 
  • The dramatic victory at the Carrier Dome last season, highlighted by current senior Rex Pflueger’s game-winning tip-in, broke a five-game losing streak at Syracuse for Notre Dame. 
  • Notre Dame is 2-3 against Syracuse as ACC members and 8-22 against the Orange as part of the BIG EAST. 
  • Saturday’s contest will mark just the second game in the series since 1997 (29 meetings) that neither team will be ranked in the top 25 of either national poll.   

GIBBS APPROACHING A PROLIFIC NOTRE DAME SCORING MILESTONE 

Junior T.J. Gibbs enters the Syracuse game with 923 career points and seeks to become the 63rd Notre Dame player to reach that scoring milestone – which is tied for fifth all-time in NCAA history. 

Break the number down further during the Mike Brey era and the 1,000-point scorers tell the story of player development at the Univeristy of Notre Dame.

Since 2000-01, Notre Dame is tied with four other programs in the nation with 23 players reaching 1,000 points entering 2018-19. Since joining the ACC, Notre Dame has had six 1,000-point scorers. That total matches North Carolina for the best in the conference. 

In a further breakdown, Notre Dame’s 13 1,000-point scorers since 2008-09 match Villanova for the national lead.  

1,000-POINT SCORERS SINCE 2000-01

Number

School

23

NOTRE DAME

23

Florida

23 

North Carolina

23

Villanova

22

Duke

21

Gonzaga

21

Kansas

21

Syracuse

21

Pittsburgh

21

Michigan State

1,000-POINT SCORERS – ALL-TIME

Number

School

76

North Carolina

68

Louisville

67

Duke

64

Villanova

62

NOTRE DMAE

62

Syracuse

60

Kentucky

60

Kansas

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 third in the ACC in rebounding (9.4 per game) and leads the league in double-doubles (six in 14 games played). 

Close to averaging a double-double this season (12.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg), Mooney entered the season with 4.5 ppg and 3.3 rpg averages. 

MOONEY DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 2018-19

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

DURHAM SHOT BLOCKING MAKES EARLY IMPRESSION

Even though Juwan Durham is listed as a junior on the Notre Dame roster, he is really just experiencing the first significant minutes in a series of collegiate games this season. Durham saw limited minutes in his freshman season at UConn (2016-17) after sitting out his senior year of high school to recover from an ACL tear in his right knee. He also had wrist surgery while sitting out during his transfer season last year with the Irish. 

In his first game in a Notre Dame uniform against UIC (11/6/18) he became the first Notre Dame player since 2012 to block six shots in a game. Durham also sparked the Irish with 10 points and five blocks in the second half of a victory over Illinois (11/27/18) and has 43 blocks in his first 13 games (has one DNP-CD this year) at Notre Dame. 

During the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – present) only six other players have blocked five or more shots multiple times, putting the Tampa, Florida, native – with two full years of eligibility remaining after this season – among some notetworthy Irish players early in his career. 

MULTIPLE GAMES WITH FIVE OR MORE BLOCKED SHOTS

Players

Years

Games

Ryan Humphrey

2000-2002

7

Juwan Durham

2018-present

4

Jordan Cornette

2001-2005

4

Torin Francis

2002-2006

4

Bonzie Colson

2014-2018

2

Luke Harangody

2006-2010

2

DURHAM AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN BLOCKED SHOTS

Piling up 15 blocked shots in the last three Notre Dame games, junior Juwan Durham has moved up the list in national leaders for blocks-per-game and is currently sitting for fourth in the country (as of January 3, 2019). He joins Oregon State’s Kylor Kelley as the only power-five conference player in the nation’s top seven in the statistical category. 

National Rank

Players

Statistic

Blocks

Games

1.

Kylor Kelley

Oregon State

4.08

12

2. 

Brandon Gilbeck

Western Illinois

3.73

15

3.

Jakeenan Gant

UL-Lafayette

3.42

12

4.

JUWAN DURHAM

NOTRE DAME

3.31

13

Tacko Fall

UCF

3.31

13

6.

Dominic Robb

Niagara

3.15

13

7

Brandon Clarke

Gonzaga

3.13

15

NOTRE DAME vs. SYRACUSE – BY THE NUMBERS

2

Junior guard T.J. Gibbs ranks second in the ACC for assist/turnover ratio (3.31), joining freshman backcourt mate Prentiss Hubb (6th, 2.19) in the top 10. 

3.31

Junior Juwan Durham leads the ACC in blocked shots per game with a 3.31 average (43 total in 13 games played).  Entering the weekend, he is tied for fourth in the NCAA for blocks per game.    

4

With a 9.3 average, Notre Dame ranks fourth in the country in turnovers per game, trailing Virginia, St. Joseph’s and Wisconsin. 

5

Only five major conference teams have completed a season with a free throw percentage over .742 six or more times since the start of the Mike Brey era. Villanova (10) and Arizona (9) lead the way, followed by Notre Dame, Michigan and Oregon with six seasons each. The Irish are .750 from the charity stripe this season. 

6

Junior John Mooney leads the ACC in double-doubles (6) and has seven his career. Mooney also paces the ACC in 10-rebound performances with eight.  

9.14

The Irish rank second in the ACC in three-point field goals made per game, averaging 9.14 per contest. Notre Dame has connected on nine or more 3FGs in a game seven times in 14 games this season. 

10

Bolstered by Juwan Durham’s 3.31 average, Notre Dame ranks 10th in the country in blocked shots per game (5.86). 

13.4

Notre Dame, on average, is committing just 13.4 personal fouls per game – ranked third in the nation behind Furman (13.3) and Michigan (13.3).  

15

Juwan Durham has 15 blocked shots in the last three Notre Dame games (5 vs. Jacksonville, 6 vs. Coppin State and 4 at No. 10/10 Virginia Tech) has already moved into the top 20 on the single-season block list at Notre Dame (17th, see sidebar on Page 8 for the complete list).  

50

Notre Dame and Syracuse will be meeting for the 50th time on Saturday afternoon. The Orange lead the all-time series 28-21. The Irish have a two-game win streak against Syracuse, the best for the team since a three-game run from 2006-07 through 2007-08. 

57.9

Three-point field goal percentage (11-for-18) over the last four games for freshman Nate Laszewski (1-for-3 vs. Binghamton, 4-for-6 vs. Jacksonville, 2-for-2 vs. Coppin State and 4-for-8 at No. 10/10 Virginia Tech). 

73.1

Since the start of the Mike Brey era (2000-01) Notre Dame is third among major-conference schools in team free throw percentage at .731. Villanova ranks first (.744), followed by Arizona (.731). 

512

With 512 career wins, Mike Brey is the 11th active coach to reach 500 wins coaching at just one or two institutions. 

923

T.J. Gibbs is now just 77 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 with Saturday afternoon’s opponent Syracuse (see page 3 for more details).