Jan. 9, 2018
WHO: Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0 ACC) at Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-1 ACC)
WHAT: Second of a two game ACC road swing
WHERE: McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia
WHEN: Wednesday, January 10, 7:00 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
ESPNU national broadcast with Anish Shroff (play-by-play) and Dino Gaudio (analyst). Also available on the Watch ESPN app.
Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Zach Hillesland (analyst). Available locally on WSBT-AM960/FM 96.1, via network affiliates (listed on page 8 of the notes package) and at WatchND.tv.
Here are Five Things to Know about the Notre Dame – Georgia Tech match up –
IRISH CONTINUE ACC ROAD SWING AT GEORGIA TECH
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (13-3, 3-0 ACC) continues its two-game road swing at Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-1 ACC) on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU). The Irish and Yellow Jackets are meeting for the second time in 11 days after the 68-59 Notre Dame victory on December 30, 2017 at Purcell Pavilion.
QUICK HITS
- Notre Dame is 1-3 at McCamish Pavilion in ACC play, with all three losses coming by a total of 8 points (2.7 ppg) – that includes last-second losses to the Yellow Jackets in the last two visits to Atlanta.
- Freshman D.J. Harvey has made his first two career starts in the past two games, he scored a career-best 17 points in his first start (victory over NC State) and followed up with a career-best nine rebounds at Syracuse.
- Notre Dame leads the NCAA in personal fouls committed per game, averaging just 12.9 per contest.
- The Irish have out-rebounded their first three ACC opponents by double-digits, the first time Notre Dame has achieved that against conference foes in ACC play and the first time since the 2012-13 season (vs. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Marquette).
GIBBS NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs has immediately and emphatically stepped up in the loss of both Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson to injury and was rewarded with the first ACC Player of the Week award of his career on Monday, January 8, 2018.
Gibbs averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in Notre Dame’s victories over NC State and at Syracuse – leading the Irish to their first victory in the Carrier Dome since 2007.
IRISH ON A REBOUNDING TEAR
During Notre Dame’s five-game win streak entering the Georgia Tech game, the Irish have been outrebounding their opponents by an average of 7.4 rebounds per game. Taking a closer look at the past four games, the Irish have posted 40-or-more team rebounds in all four contests and have out-rebounded their last three opponents (all in the ACC) by double-digits.
WIN STREAK REBOUNDS
|
Opponent |
ND Total Rebounds |
Rebound Margin |
|
vs. Dartmouth |
35 |
+10 |
|
vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
47 |
+4 |
|
vs. Georgia Tech |
45 |
+11 |
|
vs. NC State |
41 |
+11 |
|
at Syracuse |
42 |
+15 |
PFLUEGER IN A GROOVE
After a forgettable peformance against Indiana in the 2017 Crossroads Classic on December 16, junior Rex Pflueger has stepped up his game during Notre Dame’s five-game win streak.
Over the past five games, all Notre Dame wins, Pflueger is averaging 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
|
Date |
Opponent |
FG |
3FG |
FT |
O-D-R |
F |
PTS |
AST |
TO |
BLK |
STL |
MIN |
|
12/19 |
Dartmouth |
5-9 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
2-4-6 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
39 |
|
12/21 |
SE Louisiana |
5-10 |
3-6 |
4-4 |
0-5-5 |
2 |
17 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
33 |
|
12/30 |
Georgia Tech |
3-6 |
2-4 |
3-4 |
0-7-7 |
4 |
11 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
34 |
|
1/3 |
NC State |
5-9 |
2-5 |
4-6 |
1-3-4 |
2 |
16 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
31 |
|
1/8 |
at Syracuse |
4-9 |
2-4 |
2-2 |
3-4-7 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
40 |
|
Totals |
22-43 |
9-21 |
16-19 |
6-23-29 |
10 |
69 |
15 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
177 |
|
|
Average |
.512 |
.429 |
.842 |
5.8 |
13.8 |
3.0 |
1.2 |
35.4 |
IRISH vs. YELLOW JACKETS – BY THE NUMBERS
|
3 |
Notre Dame has begun an ACC season 3-0 for the second consecutive year and third time in five seasons of ACC competition. The Irish are the only ACC team to begin the 2016-17 and 2017-18 conference slates with a 3-0 record. |
|
4 |
Mike Brey is the fourth-longest tenured head coach among power five conference teams – now in his 18th season at Notre Dame. Jim Boeheim (42), Mike Krzyzewski (38) and Tom Izzo (23) are the only other power five conference head coaches with a longer tenure at their current institution. |
|
5 |
Sophomore T.J. Gibbs has scored 20-or-more points five times this season, including a game-high 22 in the victory over NC State. |
|
8 |
Weeks of game action expected to be missed by senior Bonzie Colson after fracturing a bone in his foot on Friday, December 29. Colson was averaging 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and over two steals and two blocks per game – the only college player to hit those averages this year and the only player to hit those averages since Sports Reference started tracking statistics in the 1992-93 season. |
|
13.8 |
Points-per-game average for junior Rex Pflueger over Notre Dame’s last four victories, while also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals. |
|
21 |
Offensive rebounds pulled down by the Irish in the win over Syracuse on Jan. 6, 2018. It marked the most in an ACC game for the program and the most overall since Notre Dame grabbed 20 offensive boards against North Carolina on Feb. 6, 2016. |
|
23 |
The four-year Notre Dame senior class (Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben and Matt Gregory) has won 23 ACC home games over the past four seasons – the fourth-best total in the conference over that stretch. |
|
27 |
Rebounds gathered by senior forward Martinas Geben in the last two games. Geben is averaing 7.3 rebounds per game this season, up from a career average of 3.2 |
|
37.3 |
Points-per-game average combined for Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell, who are both sidelined for the Georgia Tech game with injuries. |
|
40 |
ACC victories over the past three-plus seasons for Notre Dame, currently the tied for the second-most in the conference. Virginia (43) and North Carolina (40) make up the ACC top two in wins over the past three-plus years. |
|
175 |
Notre Dame has pulled down 175 team rebounds over the past four games, the most in a four-game stretch since the first four games of the 2010-11 season (183). |