Dec. 17, 2015
Notre Dame (7-2, 0-0) vs. Indiana (8-3, 0-0)
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2015
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, Ind. (18,165)
Game Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV/Internet: ESPN2
Talent: Dave Flemming (play-by-play); Dan Dakich (analyst)
Radio: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network; WatchND
Talent: Jack Nolan (Play-By-Play); Torrian Jones (Analyst)
NOTRE DAME AND INDIANA MEET IN ANNUAL CROSSROADS CLASSIC
- The Notre Dame men’s basketball team is back in action following a six-day break for final exams as the Irish travel to Indianapolis, Indiana for the fifth annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. (ET) to play Indiana. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and mark the third time the two schools have played each other in the annual event.
- Notre Dame, winners of three straight following a victory over Loyola Chicago last Sunday (Dec. 13) at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, will be looking to secure its longest win streak of the season with a victory over the Hoosiers.
- It will be a quick turnaround for the Irish following the contest Saturday as Notre Dame returns to the hardwood Monday, Dec. 21 when the Irish play host to Youngstown State at 7 p.m. (ET). It will be the squad’s final game before the Christmas break.
- The contest against Indiana will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming (play-by-play) and Dan Dakich (analyst) calling the action.
- A free audio broadcast will be available courtesy of WatchND. Jack Nolan will handle play-by-play duties, while Torrian Jones will serve as analyst. The matchup is also available on Sirius and XM channel 81.
FIGHTING IRISH AT THE CROSSROADS CLASSIC
- The Fighting Irish have won three straight in the Crossroads Classic and are 3-1 overall in the four matchups (1-1 vs. Indiana and 2-0 vs. Purdue).
- Notre Dame topped Purdue 94-63 in 2014 and 81-68 in 2012. The Irish beat Indiana 79-72 in 2013 after dropping a 69-58 decision in the inaugural event in 2011.
- Notre Dame and Butler are both 3-1 in the four games each has played in the Crossroads Classic, while Indiana is 2-2 and Purdue is 0-4.
- Notre Dame’s three-game win streak in the event is the longest of the four teams.
FIGHTING IRISH IN INDY
- Under Mike Brey, Notre Dame owns a 7-4 record in Indianapolis, including a 5-3 mark in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
- Brey’s third victory as head coach at Notre Dame was a 69-51 triumph over No. 14/15 Cincinnati on Nov. 25, 2000, inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
THE MATCHUP
- Notre Dame (7-2) has been impressive in its last two outings. Notre Dame recorded a 20-point victory (81-61) last Sunday afternoon (Dec. 13) against Loyola Chicago. Five days prior to the win over the Ramblers, the Irish handed Stony Brook an 86-61 setback on Dec. 8.
- Indiana enters the contest with an 8-3 record and coming off of a 105-60 win over McNeese State. The Hoosiers have topped the 100-point mark on three occasions this season.
- Indiana leads the all-time series 48-22, but the Irish have won three of the last four meetings.
- The Hoosiers’ last win (69-58) in the series was on Dec. 17, 2011 in the inaugural Crossroads Classic.
- Notre Dame ended an eight-game losing streak to the Hoosiers on Dec. 8, 2004 with a 55-45 win in Bloomington. The Irish followed it up four years later at the Maui Invitational, as Notre Dame handed the Hoosiers an 88-50 setback.
IRISH VERSUS THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
- Notre Dame is playing its third Big Ten foe this season. The Irish have won both matchups against the Big Ten programs they have faced. The first win for the Irish came at the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Florida with a 68-62 victory over Iowa on Nov. 27.
- Five days later, Notre Dame traveled to Illinois for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Champaign on Dec. 2 and came away with a come-from-behind 84-79 victory over the Fighting Illini.
- Notre Dame is 268-232-1 all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference.
- Entering game Saturday against Indiana, Notre Dame has won four straight over Big Ten foes.
LOYOLA CHICAGO REWIND
- Coming off an 86-61 victory over Stony Brook on Dec. 8, Notre Dame put together another complete outing as the Irish registered an 81-61 victory against Loyola Chicago on Dec. 13.
- Five Irish players scored in double figures in the contest, as Notre Dame was led by sophomore Bonzie Colson and freshman Matt Ryan with each securing 14 points in the game.
- Ryan connected on 5-8 shots from the field and was 4-6 from three-point range in 19 minutes off the bench. He also grabbed a career-high in rebounds, as he reached double digits in scoring for the second time in his career.
- Colson netted double figures for the sixth time this season and 11th time in his career, finishing 4-5 from the field. Colson also grabbed seven rebounds and matched his career high with four assists.
- Notre Dame held a 40-34 halftime advantage and then outscored the Ramblers 41-27 in the second-half stanza.
- The Irish shot 58.0 percent (29-50) for the game and 59.3 percent (16-27) in the second half.
- Notre Dame owned a 36-23 rebounding advantage on the boards. The Irish only have been outrebounded in two games this season.
- Junior V.J. Beachem had another consistent outing, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. It marked the sixth double-figuring scoring effort of the season for Beachem and the 17th of his career.
- Juniors Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia continued their streaks as the only two Irish players who have scored in double figures in all nine games this season.
- Vasturia continued his string of 12 consecutive contests in double figures, the longest active streak on the team.
NOTRE DAME REACHES 1800-WIN MILESTONE
- Notre Dame’s 84-79 victory at Illinois on Dec. 2 night marked the 1800th win in program history.
- The Fighting Irish are 1802-974 (.649) all-time in 111-plus seasons.
- Notre Dame is one of just nine Division I institutions with 1800 wins. The other eight are Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Temple, Syracuse, UCLA and St. John’s.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE
- Senior forward Zach Auguste has registered a double-double in six of nine games for the Irish this season. He is averaging career-bests of 14.4 points and 10.4 rebounds this season.
- His most recent double-double outing was against Stony Brook on Dec. 8, as he led all scorers with a season-high 23 points and 11 rebounds.
- Auguste has scored in double figures in seven of nine games this season and grabbed 10-plus rebounds on seven occasions.
- Auguste had 16 points and matched his career high of 14 rebounds in Notre Dame’s previous outing against Illinois. He also had 14 rebounds in the season opener versus St. Francis (Pa.).
- Auguste has reached double figures in scoring 46 times during his career and finished with 20-plus points in six career contests. He also has 11 career double-doubles to his credit and finished with 10 or more rebounds on 13 occasions.
- Prior to the Loyola Chicago game, Auguste had registered a double-double in three consecutive games (Alabama, Illinois and Stony Brook), the longest streak of his career.
JACKSON DOUBLING IT UP
- Junior guard Demetrius Jackson posted his first career double-double in Notre Dame’s win over Stony Brook as he tallied 19 points and dished off a career-high 10 assists. He leads the Irish in scoring at 17.8 point per game and tops the team with 45 assists (5.0 aspg.).
- He and teammate Steve Vasturia are the only two players who have scored in double figures in all eight games.
- Jackson has topped the 20-plus point mark on four occasions this season
- Jackson has scored in double figures on 46 occasions and netted 20-plus points mark eight times.
- He began the season by scoring 20-plus points in each of Notre Dame’s first two contests. Jackson scored a career-high 27 points in the season opener against St. Francis (Pa.) as he connected on 10-14 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range. He followed that up with a 20-point effort versus Milwaukee that marked the first time in his career that he netted 20-plus points in back-to-back contests.
- Jackson also finished 20 points in the loss to Monmouth for the seventh 20-plus point effort of his career.
BEACHEM CONTINUES TO BE A FORCE FOR THE IRISH
- Junior forward V.J. Beachem is averaging career bests of 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds while starting all nine games for the Irish. He has scored in double figures in six contests this season.
- He registered double figures in all three of Notre Dame’s games at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando. Beachem tallied 14 points and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds versus Monmouth, scored 16 points and hauled in five rebounds against Iowa and finished with 13 points and five rebounds against Alabama.
- Beachem has netted double figures 17 times during his career. His three-game double-figure scoring streak in Orlando matched the longest of his career.
CALL HIM MR. CONSISTENT
- Junior guard Steve Vasturia has scored in double figures in all nine games this season as he is averaging a career-best 13.0 points per game.
- Vasturia ended the 2014-15 campaign by netting double figures in each of Notre Dame’s last three games. His current 12-game double-figure scoring streak is the longest of his career and the longest active streak for any member of the Irish squad.
- Vasturia has netted double figures in 34 career outings and topped the 20-plus point mark twice during his career.
BONZIE IS ROLLING
- Sophomore forward Bonzie Colson has started all nine games for the Irish this season and is averaging career bests of 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds.
- Colson has registered double figures in scoring in six contests in 2015-16 and in 11 games overall during his career.
- His 14-point effort against Loyola Chicago six days marked a career high in points.
- He registered his first career double-double with 10 points and personal-best 12 rebounds versus Monmouth.
YOUNG GUN
- Freshman Matt Ryan had the best outing of his career in Notre Dame’s win over Loyola Chicago as he posted career highs of 14 points and five rebounds.
- Ryan connected on 5-8 shots from the field and was 4-6 from three-point range.
- Ryan also scored 11 points in Notre Dame’s win against Iowa.
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