Dec. 10, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Notre Dame-DePaul Gamenotes in PDF Format
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Date: Saturday, December 11, 2004
Place: Joyce Center (11,418)
Time: 5:00 p.m. (EST)
Television: ESPN2 — Brad Nessler (play-by-play analyst) and Rick Majerus (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).
Tonight’s Game: Notre Dame (4-1) plays its third game in seven days when the Irish play host to DePaul (4-2) … Coach Mike Brey’s Irish will be looking for their fourth straight win against the Blue Devils … Today’s matchup marks the fourth consecutive year the two teams have played … Notre Dame leads the series 50-41 and owns a 31-13 advantage at the Joyce Center … Next year, DePaul becomes a member of the BIG EAST Conference … This evening’s game begins a five-game homestand for the Irish who wrapped up a two-game Big Ten road swing on Wednesday night … Notre Dame dropped a one-point decision (61-60) at Michigan a week ago on December 4 and then rebounded with a 55-45 victory at Indiana on December 8 … The win snapped an eight-game skid for the Irish against the Hoosiers and marked the first win for a Notre Dame basketball team in Bloomington, Ind., since Decemeber 11, 1973 … The games against Michigan and Indiana will mark the only road contests for the Irish in their first 10 games … Following tonight’s game, Notre Dame will not be in action again until December 19 at the Joyce Center when it entertains Army at 1:00 p.m. … Notre Dame will not play another road game until the BIG EAST opener on January 5 when they travel to Seton Hall.
Celebrating 100 Seasons: The 2004-05 season marks the 100th season for the Notre Dame men’s basketball program … A special logo has been designed and there will be events throughout the season commemorating the occasion … 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.
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 2003-04 squad was 21st and tied for 19th, respectively in the two polls at the start of the year … Notre Dame dropped out of the polls this week after being ranked 20th in the AP and 19th in the ESPN/USA Today polls.
Irish Roll Under Brey In November: Under head coach Mike Brey, the Irish are 19-1 (.950) all-time in games played during the month of November … The lone November loss was to Creighton 80-75 in the championship game of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 26, 2002.
Irish Find Success In December As Well: Irish teams have also played well under head coach Mike Brey during the month of December, compiling 20-8 (.714) record … The December record by year under Brey — 2000-01 (5-2), 2001-02 (4-2), 2002-03 (6-0), 2003-04 (4-3) and 2004-05 (1-1).
Road Warriors: In Mike Brey’s four seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 40-27 (.597) … That includes a 22-19 (.568) in true road games and a 15-8 (.652) in neutral site contests.
The Captains: For the second time in school history and for the second consecutive year, Notre Dame will have four captains … Seniors Chris Thomas and Jordan Cornette will once again serve as captains and are joined this year by juniors Torin Francis and Chris Quinn.
On This Date: Notre Dame owns a 17-7 record (.708) when playing on December 11.
Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame is coming off another stellar defensive performance in its 55-45 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night … It marked the third time in five games that the Irish have held an opponent to 45 points and under and the third fewest points allowed under head coach Mike Brey … Notre Dame opponents are averaging just 49.6 ppg. and shooting just 37.8 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from three-point range … The Irish offense also has struggled to get on track averaging just 61.6 ppg., and shooting just 40.2 percent from field and 31.5 percent from three-point range … Notre Dame owned a 41-32 rebounding advantage against the Hoosiers and a 37.0 to 33.0 margin overall this season … The Irish have three players in double figures, led by Chris Quinn’s 14.2 scoring average … Quinn led the Irish in scoring in their first three games and also tied Chris Thomas for game-high scoring honors with his 13-point performance against Indiana … Chris Thomas rebounded from scoring a career-low two points (spanning 103 games) against Michigan last Saturday as he finished with 13 points against Indiana … He is averaging 11.4 points, 7.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals … Thomas leads the team in both assists and steals … Dennis Latimore has scored in double figures in three games and is averaging 10.8 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds … After a career-best 18-point performance against Michigan last Saturday, Latimore followed that with a 12-point effort against Indiana which marked the first time in his career with back-to-back double-figure outings … Torin Francis is averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds after his first double-double of the season (11 points and 13 rebounds against Indiana) and 18th of his career … Colin Falls continues to be one of Notre Dame’s top three-point shooting threats … He is averaging 5.2 points with all eight of his field goals (an all 20 of his attempts) coming from three-point range … Jordan Cornette is averaging 4.6 points and 4.0 rebound, while Rick Cornett owns a 3.6 scoring average and 2.8 rebounding mark.
Series Record vs. DePaul: Today’s game will mark the 92nd meeting between the two schools with Notre Dame holding a 50-41 advantage in the series … The Irish have won three straight, including last season’s 82-69 victory at the Allstate Arena … Notre Dame is 31-13 all-time in home games and has won 12 of the 19 meetings that have taken place at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame Vs. Conference USA: Notre Dame is 172-104 all-time against Conference USA foes.
The Irish All-Time: In 99-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1553-851 mark (.646).
Irish Set For Five Repeat Games In BIG EAST Play: Notre Dame will play Connecticut, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Villanova twice (both home and away) as part of its BIG EAST Conference regular-season 16-game slate during the 2004-05 campaign … Playing under a straight divisional format with 12 teams this year, each school will play each other at least once … In addition to its home-and-home series with the Huskies, Hoyas, Panthers, Orange and Wildcats, Notre Dame will face Boston College, Rutgers and St. John’s at home … The Irish are scheduled for road games at Providence, Seton Hall and West Virginia.
Thomas, Francis On Wooden And Naismith Honor Rolls: For the second consecutive year, Chris Thomas and Torin Francis are among 50 candidates for both the John R. Wooden All-America Team and Naismith Trophy award … The Irish duo are among seven BIG EAST players named to the Wooden All-America Team, which also included five other conference players — Ryan Gomes (Providence), Carl Krauser (Pittsburgh), Gerry McNamara (Syracuse), Craig Smith (Boston College) and Hakim Warrick (Syracuse) … All but Smith was named one of the 50 finalists for the the Naismith trophy.
Home Sweet Home: Since the inaugural season (1968-69) at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 434-131 record all-time for a .768 winning percentage … The Irish are 49-16 (.754) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s four-plus seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own an 98-33 mark for a .748 winning percentage … Notre Dame was 14-2 at home in 2002-03, winning 10-plus games for the sixth time in seven years.
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, six games are sold out (DePaul, Syracuse, St. John’s, Connecticut, UCLA and Pittsburgh) … 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, 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 has been 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 sometime 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 recently 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 seasons as a conference member, Notre Dame owns a 75-77 record all-time in conference regular-season play for a .493 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 40-24 (.625) 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 40-24 (.625) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and 2-4 mark in tournament play for an overall of 42-28 (.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.
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.
Stingy Defense: Irish opponents are averaging just 49.6 points per game … Notre Dame has held each of its opponents to 61 points and under in its first five games with three of those opponents scoring 45 points or less … In the two wins prior to the loss at Michigan (60-61), the Irish held IPFW 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 45 points scored by IPFW and Indiana were the third-fewest allowed under Brey.
Thomas In Elite Scoring Company: Chris Thomas has a career scoring average of 17.7 points per game as he stands seventh on the all-time Notre Dame career scoring list with 1,840 career points in 104 career outings … Only four other players have scored more points in the first three seasons of their career — 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) … Heading into this season, Thomas had scored 1,783 points in 99 career outings.
Ironman: Chris Thomas has played and started in all 104 games at Notre Dame … He ranks second all-time in consecutive games started … Thomas should eclipse Pat Garrity’s (1994-98) career mark of 111 consecutive starts … 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 104 games having played 3911 of a possible 4195 minutes.
Scoring Streak Snapped: Chris Thomas’ two-point performance against Michigan last Saturday 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 89 of 104 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 284 minutes … Thomas has played 30-plus minutes in 101 career contests and 40-plus minutes 35 games 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 in 2001-02, 236 in 2002-03 and 150 in 2003-04) … Currently the school’s career assist leader with 674, 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 … The 11 assists he dished off against IPFW marked the 16th time in his career with 10-plus assists.
Francis Posts 18th Double-Double: Torin Francis posted his first double-double of the season and 18th of his career in Wednesday night’s victory at Indiana as he 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds … It marked his first double-double in 10 games and was his first since a 22-point and 16-rebound performarnce against Virginia Tech (January 20, 2004) in Blacksburg.
Cornette Eyes Block Record: In three-plus seasons spanning 100 career games, Jordan Cornette has 159 career blocked shots to rank third all-time in that category … He needs 42 blocks to break LaPhonso Ellis’ (1988-2002) career mark of 200 … Ryan Humphrey (2000-02) stands second on the all-time list with 166 blocked shots … Cornette stands fourth all-time in blocked shots average (1.6).
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 Back-To-Back Double-Digit Scoring Efforts: The last two games against Michigan and Indiana have produced back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts for Dennis Latimore … Against Michigan, Latimore scored a career-high 18 points in 35 minutes (then a personal high) … He followed that performrance with a 12-point outing against Indiana … 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 three games.
Latimore Posts First Career Double-Double: In his second game in an Irish uniform, Dennis Latimore registered 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 104 games he has directed Mike Brey’s teams, Thomas has helped the Irish compile a 69-35 record for a .663 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 career-best 7.2 assists after dishing off just 4.7 a year ago.
Latimore Debut: The season opener against Harvard on November 19 marked the debut for Dennis Latimore in an Irish uniform … He played a then career-high 30 minutes in starting against the Crimson … Latimore finished with six points and grabbed eight rebounds … His previous personal best in minutes played was 28 (vs. Oregon on January 3, 2002) … Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he played 20-plus minutes in just eight career outings … Against IPFW, Latimore played 28 minutes … In the Charleston Southern game, he played a personal best 31 minutes, scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds.
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 his first regular-season game back, he scored seven points and grabbed nine rebounds in 32 minutes of action … In the IPFW game, Francis played 28 mintues and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds … It marked his first double-digit scoring game since a 23-point performance against Virginia Tech on January 20, 2004 … In the three games prior to being sidelined with his back injury, he scored six points versus Boston College (29 minutes), four points against Pittsburgh (nine minutes) and did not score against Connecticut (seven minutes) … Francis reached double figures for the second time this season when he scored 12 points against Michigan as he finished 5-6 from the floor and 2-4 from the charity stripe … He also had six rebounds in 17 minutes of action … Francis has started all 58 games of his Irish career.
The Mighty Quinn: Chris Quinn leads the Irish in scoring with a 14.2 scoring average … He achieved a first in his career by leading Notre Dame in scoring in his first three games… Quinn also shared game-high scoring honors with Chris Thomas against Indiana on Wednesday as the duo netted 13 points each … 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 … Quinn scored a team-high 20 points against Harvard which marked the sixth time 20-point performance of his career … He played 38 minutes in the game against the Crimson and did not turn the ball over once … Against IPFW, he scored 15 points and dished off three assists, while turning the ball over just once … He finished with 17 points and no turnovers in 38 minutes against Charleston Southern … While averaging 35.4 minutes per game (in 177 minutes played), Quinn has turned the ball over just five … 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: Prior to the Michigan game, Notre Dame’s backcourt tandem of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn have only turned the ball over a combined four times in the first three games … Against the Wolverines, each had three turnovers in the contest … Thomas has played 184 minutes for an average of 36.8 minutes per game … His is averaging a turnover every 16.7 minutes… Quinn has turned the ball over five times in 177 minutes while averaging 35.4 minutes per game … Neither of the two turned the ball over against Charleston Southern with Quinn playing 38 minutes and Thomas playing 37 minutes … Quinn’s only turnover prior to Michigan was in the IPFW game … Thomas’ last game without a turnover before IPFW was in Notre Dame’s second-round NIT matchup against Saint Louis last March. Threes The Key For Falls: All eight field goals that Colin Falls has made this season have 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 … All 20 of his attempts this season, have come from three-point range … During his freshman season, Falls’ favorite shot was from beyond the arc … 45 of his 55 career field goals made (.818) have come from three-point range, while 114 of his 135 attempts (.844) have been from the three-point line or beyond.
Rookie Roll Call: Sophomore Omari Isreal has seen action in all five games, while freshman Rob Kurz has played in four games (did not play against Michigan) … Isreal, who missed all of last season while recovering from the ACL surgery he had in February of 2003, played seven minutes and finished with three points (connecting on a three-pointer in the first half) and a rebound against Harvard … He then played 14 minutes in the win over IPFW, scoring two points and followed that effort with four points and three rebounds versus Charleston Southern … Kurz played five minutes and had a rebound in against the Crimson in his first collegiate outing … He played 12 minutes aginst IPFW and finished with two points and four rebounds and played five minutes against Charleston Southern.
Keeping It Close: In the 45 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s four seasons, only 12 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 330 points for an average of 7.5 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 should provide many shot-blocking opportunities this season with an opportunity to break the single-season record … 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 18 blocked shots in their first four games.
184 And Counting: Heading into tonight’s game against DePaul, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 184 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 128 of the team’s 308 points (.416) and dished off 44 of its 62 assists (.710).
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: Notre Dame had its best semester ever in the classroom during the spring of 2004, combining for a 3.115 cumulative grade point average … Seven players were named to the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team — Greg Bosl, John Carlson, Rick Cornett, Jordan Cornette, Torrian Jones, Chris Thomas and Tom Timmermans … To be eligible, student-athletes must have maintained a cumulative 3.0 grade point average during the school year.
Notre Dame Basketball On The Big Screen: For the second consecutive year, Notre Dame will play a record 13 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 29 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 2000-02 are the most since the 1983-87 seasons.
Notre Dame Basketball Radio Show Returns To Logan’s Roadhouse: Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant in Mishawaka will once again be the site of the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Show during the 2004-05 season … The 30-minute radio show will be broadcast live on Monday nights on 92.9-FM (U93 in South Bend) 10 times during the year beginning at 7:00 p.m. … The dates of the show will be December 6, December 13, December 20, January 3, January 17, January 24, January 31, February 7, February 14 and February 28.
The Kevin White Radio Show: A weekly half-hour talk show featuring Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White airs once again this year on Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000 (1000 AM, www.espnradio1000.com) … Now in its fifth season, “The Kevin White Radio Show” welcomes a series of guests and prominent figures associated with college athletics, including administrators, coaches and media members.
Notre Dame Athletics Debut On Sirius Satellite Radio: Notre Dame has increased its radio footprint when it announced an agreeement on August 31 with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to become the official radio partner for Notre Dame athletics … SIRIUS will broadcast selected Irish men’s and women’s basketball games during the upcoming season, in addition to football and other sporting events … In addition, SIRIUS will aid in the development of marketing initiatives with the University’s athletic department as a member of ” Team Notre Dame” … Notre Dame’s agreement with SIRIUS is one of the cornerstones in the formation of SIRIUS College Sports Radio, a partnership between SIRIUS and College Sports Television (CSTV) that includes 23 major universities around the country … SIRIUS radios for the car and home start at $149 and are available at major retailers nationwide … For more, visit www.sirius.com.
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.
Upcoming Game Promotions: Army (TBD) … Marist (2005 Basketball Calendars) … Western Illinois (Notre Dame folders) … Samford (Chick-Fil-A).
Leprechaun Legion The return of Irish basketball to national prominence has brought attention, enthusiasm and excitement back to the Joyce Center … The Notre Dame student body has been a big part of increasing the homecourt advantage … In the spring of of 2001, an organization known as the Leprechaun Legion was introduced … Members of the Unviersity’s student body formed the Leprechaun Legion to generate support at home basketball games … The Legion sits in the east end of the Joyce Center and is extremely visible underneath the basket as members of the organization don kelly green shirts during game … Its chief aim is to increase school spirit during games and act as a catalyst for the rest of the crowd … This season, every student who purchased a basketball student booklet, received the “2004-05 Leprechaun Legion” shirt … The shirts are also on sale at home games in the Notre Dame Bookstore and Varsity Shops … Proceeds from the sale of the shirt benefit Coaches vs. Cancer.