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No. 10 Men's Basketball Returns Home To Take On West Virginia

Jan. 28, 2003

Notre Dame, Ind. –

Notre Dame-West Virginia Game Notes in PDF Format
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SCOUTING THE IRISH – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (16-3, 4-1) returns home to the Joyce Center for the first time in 15 days in Tuesday’s BIG EAST West divisional matchup against West Virginia (11-6, 2-3). The Irish completed a three-game road swing in which they finished with a 2-1 record. Notre Dame is coming off a 101-96 overtime win at Boston College on Saturday, January 25 – its second straight road win in four days following a 71-65 victory at Providence on January 21.

The Irish are ranked 11th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 10th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Notre Dame moved up five spots in the AP ranking and two positions in the latter poll.

The current 16-3 record marks the best start since the 1980-81 campaign when that Irish squad compiled a 16-3 record through the first 19 games of the season. A win against the Mountaineers tonight would mark the first time since the 1978-79 season that a Notre Dame team was 17-3 in its first 20 games. That Irish team posted a 22-3 record before suffering its fourth loss in the 26th game of the season en route to a final 24-6 mark. In terms of calendar date, this is the earliest an Irish team has ever produced 16 wins in 97-plus years of basketball at the University.

Notre Dame’s 4-1 record in BIG EAST play marks its best start ever in league play since becoming a conference member in 1995-96.

After losing its first two true road games of the season (to Pittsburgh and Kentucky), the Irish have won their last two road games. Notre Dame is 2-2 on the road this season and owns a 4-1 mark in neutral site contests.

Tonight’s contest is the first of two consecutive home games for the Irish who play host to Georgetown on Saturday, February 1 at noon.

Coach Mike Brey’s squad owns a perfect 10-0 mark at home and has won 12 straight at the Joyce Center dating back to the final two games of the 2001-02 campaign. The last time an Irish team won its first 10 games at home was during the 1994-95 season. The current 12-game home win streak is the longest since the 1985-86 campaign.

The Irish have faced five opponents ranked in the top 25 this season and own a 3-2 mark in those games. This week’s AP poll features eight opponents on the Irish schedule, while seven Notre Dame foes appear in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

West Virginia is coming off of an 86-75 victory over Rutgers, which marked its second league win of the season. The Mountaineers earned a 69-63 victory over Miami in their BIG EAST opener, but dropped three straight to Georgetown (84-82 in overtime), Pittsburgh (80-61) and Boston College (75-70).

Tonight’s contest marks the 25th meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame leads the series 17-7 and has won five straight against the Mountaineers. The Irish have swept the regular-season series against West Virginia in each of the last two seasons. Since both teams began BIG EAST competition in 1995-96, Notre Dame is 8-3 in the 11 games played. The Irish are 11-2 against the Mountaineers at the Joyce Center.

Notre Dame has played four top 10 opponents and owns three wins over those teams – No. 10 Marquette (92-71), No. 8 Maryland (79-67) and No. 2 Texas (98-91). The Irish earned those victories in consecutive outings over a six-day stretch (Dec. 2-8). It marked the first time that an Irish team had beaten three straight top 10 opponents in the program’s history. Prior to the victory over the Golden Eagles on December 2, Notre Dame had not beaten a top 10 team since Brey’s first season when that Irish squad defeated Boston College (10th in AP and 9th in ESPN/USA Today polls). The win over the Longhorns was Notre Dame’s first win over a top five opponent since January 5, 2000 versus No. 2 Connecticut (75-70) at the Hartford Civic Center.

The victory over Texas marked the fourth time in history that a Notre Dame team had beaten at least three top 10 opponents in a single season. The most top 10 wins by an Irish team in the same season is four – that was accomplished by the 1977-78 squad which advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Notre Dame is averaging 79.7 points and has scored 90-plus points in six games this season and has topped the century mark twice. The Irish are yielding 66.0 points per contest and have held their opponents to 65 points and under on 10 occasions. Notre Dame was averaging 85.6 points through the first 11 games of the season, but in the last eight contests has been held to 71.6 points. The Irish defense in the first 11 games yielded 63.3 points and 69.8 through the last eight contests.

The 98 points scored by the Irish against Texas were the most scored by an Irish team over a ranked opponent since a 101-98 victory over Syracuse (ranked 10th at the time) on Feb. 15, 1992 at the Carrier Dome. The 21-point margin of victory against Marquette was the largest over a ranked opponent since a 98-67 win over then third-ranked Missouri on March 3, 1990.

Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) continues to lead the Irish in scoring with a 20.5 scoring average overall and 22.8 average in five conference games. He has scored 20-plus points in four of the last six games, including a BIG EAST career-high 31-point performance in the loss at Pittsburgh on January 6. Carroll has been the only Irish player who has scored in double figures in all 19 games and has topped the 20-point mark in seven of the last 11 games and in nine contests overall. He heads into tonight’s game with West Virginia having scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games.

Carroll is approaching two Irish records. He currently stands second all-time in career three-pointers made (253) and needs just seven to break the mark of 259 held by former teammate David Graves (1998-2002). He also stands third all-time in career games started with 110, needing just seven to break David Rivers’ (1984-88) mark of 116.

Chris Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) has averaged 25.5 points in Notre Dame’s last two games and has a 17.7 scoring average overall and 19.4 average in BIG EAST play. He leads the team in assists (7.1) and steals (1.8). He has registered three double doubles this season and has dished off 10-plus assists in four games. He had a season-high 13 assists against Canisius, which also matched his career best. Thomas topped the 20-point mark for the eighth time in Saturday’s outing against Boston College as he finished with a team-high 28 points.

Dan Miller (Mt. Holly, N.J.) is third on the Irish scoring list with a 14.1 average and is the team’s second-leading rebounder at 5.8 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in all but five games (Creighton, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Rutgers and Providence) and has scored 20 or more points on five occasions. He is coming off of a BIG EAST career-best 16-point outing against Boston College on Saturday.

Torin Francis (Roslindale, Mass.) is averaging 10.6 points and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds, in addition to leading the team with seven double doubles. He posted his most recent double double of the season against Valparaiso on January 4 as he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Francis has started all 19 games and has reached double figures in 12 contests and grabbed 10-plus rebounds in seven games. He had averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in his homecoming to the New England area in last week’s action against Providence and Boston College.

Jordan Cornette (Cincinnati, Ohio), who started the first six games of the season, has been in the Notre Dame starting lineup for each of the last five games. He played a career-high 33 minutes in the win over Rutgers (January 14), scoring eight points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking eight shots. Cornette has had a real impact for the Irish on the defensive end of the floor. He is averaging 2.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, in addition to 2.6 blocked shots. In the Belmont game, Cornette registered his first career double double with an unlikely combination of 13 rebounds and a Notre Dame and Joyce Center record 11 blocked shots. His 50 blocked shots this season are 34 more than he blocked all of last season. Cornette grabbed 11 rebounds against Boston College on Saturday, his second double figures rebounding effort of the season.

No Notre Dame player has been as important off the bench than junior swingman Torrian Jones (Fairless Hills, Pa.). He scored a season-high 13 points on six-for-eight shooting from the field against Bucknell and is averaging 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds. Jones had one of his best all-around efforts in an Irish uniform against Vanderbilt on December 30 as he scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished off two assists and had a block and a steal in playing a career-high 29 minutes. Jones, who is averaging a career-best 19.0 minutes off the bench, has scored in double figures in three games. He has played 20-plus minutes in four consecutive games and in nine contests overall.

Chris Quinn (Dublin, Ohio) is averaging significant minutes off the bench at 16.3 minutes per game and has played 20-plus minutes in eight contests. He scored a career-high 12 points versus Marquette and is averaging 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. Quinn, along with Francis, is the only rookie who has played in all 19 games. He connected on 29 field goals with 20 coming from three-point range. He was a key in the first half against Boston College on Saturday as he scored 10 points in 12 minutes of action.

Tom Timmermans (Driehuis, Netherlands) had started eight straight games before the Seton Hall game on January 12. He made his first career start in the victory over Marquette on December 1 and is averaging 13.1 minutes of playing time. He played a career-high 25 minutes against Vanderbilt, had a personal best nine points in the DePaul game and a career-best seven rebounds versus Canisius. Timmermans is averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds.

HEAD COACH MIKE BREY – Mike Brey is in his third year as the Notre Dame head coach and eighth 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. Brey owns a 58-24 mark (.707) with the Irish and earned his 50th victory at Notre Dame with the win over Texas in the championship game of the BB&T Classic. He is the first coach in Notre Dame history to lead his teams to consecutive 20-win campaigns and NCAA tournament appearances in his first two seasons. Last year, he led his team to a 22-11 record and 10-6 mark in BIG EAST play after guiding the 2000-01 Irish to the 2000-01 BIG EAST West Division crown with an 11-5 record and finishing with a 20-10 overall record. Five of his eight teams have advanced to postseason competition (four NCAA and one NIT appearances). Since his arrival, he has led Notre Dame to a 25-12 mark in BIG EAST play during the regular season for a .676 winning percentage. In the two-year period from 2000-02, the Irish’s BIG EAST wins are matched only by Boston College and Connecticut. His 21 wins after two seasons ranked as the third-best total in conference history. Only four other BIG EAST coaches, including St. John’s mentor Mike Jarvis, have ever posted a better winning percentage in their first two seasons in the league. Among active BIG EAST coaches, Brey’s 26-14 record (including regular season and championship contests) for a .650 winning percentage ranks him fourth behind Jarvis, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun, and sixth all-time. Brey has an overall record of 157-76 (.674) as a head coach. His 150th career win came on December 14, 2002 with Notre Dame’s 102-71 victory over DePaul (the 224th game of his coaching career).

BREY VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS – As a head coach at both Notre Dame and Delaware, Mike Brey has coached in 27 games against ranked opponents. The Irish were 3-6 and 4-3 during the 2001-02 and 2000-01 campaigns, respectively. This year, Brey is 3-2 versus ranked foes. Overall, in his seven-plus seasons as a head coach, he owns an 10-17 record all-time against ranked opponents.

BREY HAS THE FORMULA FOR BIG EAST SUCCESS AT NOTRE DAME – Since his arrival to Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led Notre Dame to a 25-12 record in BIG EAST regular-season games for a 67.6 winning percentage and 1-2 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 26-14 (.650) against league foes. The Irish won the BIG EAST West Division title in 2001 by fashioning an 11-5 record (the most conference wins in its six-year tenure in the league). Under Brey, Notre Dame is the only BIG EAST school to win 10-plus league games each of the past two seasons and the only school who has earned a first round bye in the BIG EAST tournament. Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (39.8 percent) regular-season record in its conference games since 1995-96.

IRISH IN BIG EAST OPENERS – Notre Dame’s BIG EAST opener on the road at Pittsburgh on January 6 marked the seventh time in eight seasons (since joining the league in 1995-96) that the Irish opened up league play on the road. Notre Dame owns a 3-5 mark in conference openers. The only time an Irish team opened up BIG EAST play at the Joyce Center was last season as they dropped a 74-72 decision to Villanova. Irish teams have posted a 3-4 mark in its seven league openers on the road.

BREY AND THE IRISH IN OVERTIME GAMES – Notre Dame is 2-0 in overtime games (both on the road) under head coach Mike Brey. The Irish did not play an overtime game in Brey’s first season. The first overtime came played by Notre Dame under Brey was last season’s four-overtime epic matchup against Georgetown in which the Irish defeated the Hoyas 116-111 at the MCI Center. The Irish’s other extra session win was Saturday’s 101-96 victory at Boston College.

OVER THE CENTURY MARK – Notre Dame’s 101-96 overtime victory against Boston College on Saturday marked the second this season the Irish went over the century mark. The Irish also reached the century mark in their 102-71 victory over DePaul on January 14. Notre Dame has scored 100 points or more points during Mike Brey’s tenure with the Irish.

THOMAS TABBED AS BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Chris Thomas was named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week along with Darius Rice of Miami this week. The sophomore point guard earns the honor for the first time in his career after being named the league’s rookie-of-the week six times during the 2001-02 campaign. Thomas averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds in Notre Dame’s two wins last week over Providence and Boston College. He is the fourth Irish player to earn one of the league’s two top weekly honors this season; the other honorees have been Matt Carroll, Torin Francis and Dan Miller.

SERIES RECORD VS. WEST VIRGINIA – Notre Dame and West Virginia will be meeting for the 25th time with the Irish holding a 17-7 advantage in the series. Notre Dame has won six straight over the Mountaineers, which have included series sweeps each of the past two seasons. The Irish own an 11-2 advantage in the series in games played at the Joyce Center. West Virginia’s last victory against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center was a 57-55 decision on January 17, 1987. The Mountaineer’s last win (85-80) against the Irish was on February 14, 1999 in Morgantown, W. Va.

REMEMBER NOVEMBER – For the second straight year, Notre Dame played six games during the month of November and finished up the first month of the season with a 5-1 record. Last year, the Irish completed the first month of the season with a perfect 6-0 slate. It marked the most wins ever by a Notre Dame team in the month of November and the third time in the program’s history that the Irish played six games during that month. Notre Dame also 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. Under Irish head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame owns a 14-1 mark in November.

A PERFECT DECEMBER – With its win over Vanderbilt on December 30, Notre Dame finished the month of December with an unblemished 6-0 mark. The last time an Irish team went undefeated during December was during the 1980-81 campaign as that Notre Dame squad also posted a perfect 6-0 mark.

A JANUARY JUMP – Notre Dame is 5-2 in its seven games thus far during the month of January. Two years ago, Notre Dame compiled a 5-3 record in eight games during the first month of the New Year. Last season, Notre Dame was 4-4 in its eight January contests. Overall, the Irish are 14-9 (.609) under Brey during the month of January.

ON A ROLL – Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 14 games. The Irish had their eight-game win streak snapped when they lost to Pittsburgh (72-55) on January 6. That marked the longest win streak for a Notre Dame team since 2000-01 campaign (Brey’s first season), when that Irish squad put together eight consecutive victories midway through the season.

HOME SWEET HOME – Since the inaugural season (1968-69) playing in the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 416-122 record all-time for a .773 winning percentage. The Irish are 31-8 (.795) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s two-plus seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 81-27 mark for a .758 winning percentage.

THE IRISH ALL-TIME – The 2002-03 campaign marks the 98th season of men’s basketball at Notre Dame. Irish teams have posted 1521-831 record all-time for a .647 winning percentage.

NOTRE DAME ALL-TIME IN THE BIG EAST – In seven-plus seasons as a member of the BIG EAST Conference, Notre Dame owns a 60-65 record all-time in conference regular-season play for a 48.0 winning percentage. In its first five years, Irish teams were 35-53 (.398), but since Mike Brey took over the program, the Irish have compiled a 25-12 (.676) mark in regular-season play.

THE HOME ADVANTAGE – Notre Dame has an unblemished 10-0 record at home this season and has won 12 straight at the Joyce Center dating back to last season when the Irish won the their final two home games of the regular season. The last loss at the Joyce Center for Notre Dame was against Syracuse (68-65) on February 17, 2002. The current 12-game win streak is the longest since 1985-86 season when that Irish squad finished with a perfect 15-0 mark at home.

IRISH FIND SUCCESS AT THE MCI CENTER – Notre Dame is 5-1 all-time in games played at the MCI Center following wins against Maryland and Texas in early December. Since dropping a 76-56 decision the first time a Notre Dame squad took the floor of the MCI Center against Georgetown on February 7, 1998, Irish teams have won five straight with three wins coming against the Hoyas. Certainly one of the most memorable was the epic four-overtime contest as the Irish prevailed 60 minutes later with a 116-111 victory.

HISTORY MADE – Wins over No. 10 Marquette, No. 8 Maryland and No. 2 Texas in consecutive outings proved historic as the 2002-03 Irish squad became the first team in school history to beat three consecutive top 10 foes. The victory against the Longhorns marked just the third time a Notre Dame team has beaten three top 10 teams in the same season. It also marked the fourth time in the history of the program that an Irish team has faced three consecutive top 10 opponents. The most top 10 wins in a single season is four set in 1977-78 when Notre Dame defeated No. 5 UCLA (69-66) on December 10, 1977, No. 3 UCLA (75-73) on January 22, 1978, No. 1 Marquette (65-59) on February 26, 1978 and No. 3 DePaul (84-64) on March 19, 1978.

A HISTORIC LEAP – Notre Dame’s rise from being unranked to No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll on December 9th marked the third highest jump since the ranking began including 25 teams. Kansas went from unranked to 4th on November 27 1989, while Arizona made its debut at No. 8 on November 20, 2001.

HOT SHOTS – Notre Dame connected on a combined 58.2 percent of its shots from the field in back-to-back wins against DePaul and Canisius. The Irish shot 60.0 percent from the field against the Blue Demons as they made 30-50 shots. It marked the best shooting performance by an Irish team since November 22, 2000 when Notre Dame converted 36-56 field goals (64.3 percent) against Loyola (Chicago). It also was the second time a Brey-coached team shot 60 percent or better in a game. The Irish were 34-60 (.567) from the field against Canisius. Overall, Notre Dame is shooting 45.5 percent from the field this season and has shot 50.0 percent or better on five occasions.

‘CARROLL’-ING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS – Senior guard Matt Carroll is within reach of three Irish milestones. He needs just seven three-point field goals to become the school’s career leader in that category. Currently, he ranks second on the career list with 253. Carroll is looking to eclipse the mark of 259 established by former teammate David Graves (1998-2002) last season. In 118 career games played, Carroll has averaged 2.14 three-pointers per game. With 110 career starts to his credit, he is seven games away from breaking the mark for career games started (116) held by former Irish point guard David Rivers (1984-88). Carroll also is likely to break Graves’ career mark of 130 games played.

WHERE CHARITY BEGINS – Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 331-204 from the free throw line this season and has attempted 132 more free throws (437-305). The Irish have made 75.7 percent of their free throw attempts, while their opponents are converting on just 66.9 percent. In 16 games, Notre Dame has made more free throws than its opponent and hit on better than 75.0 percent on 12 occasions. In the last four games, the Irish are a combined 119-147 (.810) from the line compared to 60-79 (.759) for their opponents.

SECOND HALF BLUES – In seven of the last eight games, Notre Dame has struggled offensively during the second half, averaging just 25.8 points and shooting just 25.8 percent (30-110) from the field. Here’s a breakdown of the Irish’s last four games in both the first and second halves.

1st Half Second Half (including overtime)
Vanderbilt 17-30 (.567) – 45 pts. 8-29 (.276) – 31 pts.
Valparaiso 14-25 (.560) – 36 pts. 6-21 (.286) – 19 pts.
Pittsburgh 13-32 (.406) – 30 pts. 7-31 (.226) – 25 pts.
Seton Hall 14-26 (.538) – 46 pts. 9-29 (.310) – 28 pts.
Rutgers 11-23 (.478) – 35 pts. 8-20 (.400) – 33 pts.
Kentucky 11-33 (.333) – 30 pts. 11-31 (.355) – 43 pts.
Providence 12-31 (.387) – 33 pts. 11-23 (.478) – 38 pts.
Boston College 15-29 (.517) – 47 pts. 15-43 (.349) – 54 pts.
Totals 107-229 (.467) – 302 pts. (37.8 pts.) 75-227 (.330) – 271 pts. (33.9 pts.)

RECORDS FALL AGAINST BELMONT – Notre Dame’s win over Belmont in the season opener, produced several new Irish records.

* The 19 blocked shots the Irish had as a team set the school and Joyce Center mark, eclipsing the old mark of 12. The team total ties for third all-time on the NCAA blocked shots list with Seton Hall (November of 2000).

* Jordan Cornette’s 11 blocked shots broke the school record of eight set by LaPhonso Ellis in 1992 in an NIT game versus Kansas State. He also established a new Joyce Center record, breaking the record of 10 set by UCLA’s Bill Walton on January 27, 1973.

IRISH SPELL SUCCESS – D-E-F-E-N-S-E – Notre Dame’s strong defensive showing in its 19 games has resulted in 16 wins as the Irish have held opponents to 66.0 points per game and a combined shooting percentage of 38.4. Notre Dame’s defense has held six of its opponents to 55 points and under.

DEFENDING THE SHOT – Irish opponents are shooting 38.4 percent from the field overall and 32.2 percent from three-point range. On 13 occasions this season, Notre Dame has limited teams to 40 percent and under. In seven of the the last 10 games, the Irish have held their opponents to 40 percent and under and limited them to just 40.6 percent shooting from the field (267-658). Only three teams have shot better than 50.0 percent against the Irish this season – Kentucky (52.3), Pittsburgh (52.7) and Creighton (62.0).

KEEPING IT CLOSE – Notre Dame’s 17-point loss (72-55) to Pittsburgh on January 6 marked the worst loss for an Irish team under head coach Mike Brey (spanning 82 games total). Prior to the contest, Notre Dame’s worst loss was a 16-point setback to Connecticut during Brey’s first season, the 2000-01 campaign. The Irish’s 11 losses last season were by a combined total of 49 points for an average margin of defeat of 4.45 points. Only one loss (versus Georgetown – 83-73) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five points or less. In the 24 losses the Irish have suffered under Brey over the course of the last two-plus seasons, only six have been by a double-digit margin. In his first season (2001-01), Brey’s squad lost 10 games by a combined 85 points with its biggest loss coming against Connecticut.

IRISH HAVE FACED DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 31 TIMES – The Irish’s matchup against Maryland on December 7 marked the 31st time an Irish team had played a team that had won the national title the previous year. With its win over the Terrapins, Notre Dame now owns an 8-23 mark, but has been victorious three of the last four times it has gone up against a team which had won the national championship the previous season. Notre Dame’s 1999-00 squad beat Connecticut twice – 75-70 at the Harford Civic Center and 68-66 at the Joyce Center – the season after the Huskies claimed the ’99 NCAA title.

THOMAS NAMED TO WOODEN AND NAISMITH LISTS – Sophomore point guard Chris Thomas is one of 50 preseason candidates for the 2003 John R. Wooden Award, which is annually presented to the nation’s top men’s basketball player. He also was named as a preseason candidate (one of 30) for the 2002-03 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Thomas is among five sophomores chosen to the Wooden Award list and is one of five BIG EAST players selected to the Naismith List.

HE’S IRISH NOW – Notre Dame forward Dan Miller played his first three seasons at Maryland before tranferring in June of 2001. He faced his former team in the first round of the BB&T Classic on December 7 and had 17 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Prior to that contest, the last time the Irish and Terrapins played each other in the consolation of the Preseason NIT, Miller was wearing a Terrapin uniform. Miller started the game and played 32 minutes, while finishing with 12 points and four rebounds. Current Irish players Matt Carroll and Jere Macura played in the game. Maryland won the game 72-67 to claim third-place in the tournament.

THERE’S NO SLOWING HIM DOWN – Matt Carroll ended the 2001-02 campaign by scoring 20 points in Notre Dame’s two BIG EAST and two NCAA tournament games. Carroll has continued that streak by scoring 20-plus points in nine of the 19 contests of the season. He has netted 20-plus points in four of the last six games. Carroll had a BIG EAST career best 31-point outing against Pittsburgh, his second 30-point performance of the season and third of his career. Carroll scored a career-high 33 points against DePaul on December 14. His other 20-plus point outings include: IUPUI (26 pts.), Creighton (20 pts.), Texas (20 pts.), Canisius (25 pts.), Rutgers (25 pts.), Kentucky (29 pts.) and Providence (21 pts.). Carroll has recorded 13 20-point efforts in his last 23 games in an Irish uniform and owns 19 20-plus point games during his career. He is the only Notre Dame player who has scored in double figures in all 19 games this season and has netted double figures in 25 straight contests.

MILLER TIME – After sitting out the 2001-02 campaign following his transfer to Notre Dame in the summer of 2001, Dan Miller is averaging 14.1 points (third best scoring total on the team) and 5.8 rebounds. He recorded double doubles in the first two games of the season against Belmont and IUPUI and has scored in double figures in all but five contests (Creighton, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Rutgers and Providence). Miller also has registered 20-point outing