Notre Dame at Michigan State - 10 Things To Know

Nov. 28, 2017

NDMBB at MSU Notes

WHO: No. 5/5 Notre Dame (6-0) vs. No. 3/3 Michigan State (5-1)

WHAT: The final game of the 2017 ACC/Big Ten Challenge

WHERE: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Michigan

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 30, 7:00 p.m. ET

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

ESPN national broadcast with Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Seth Greenburg (sideline).

Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Zach Hillesland (analyst).

Here are 10 Things To Know about the Notre Dame – Michigan State game…

NOTRE DAME – MICHIGAN STATE SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame and Michigan State will be meeting for the 97th time on Thursday evening, but just the second time since the 1979 season. The Irish and Spartans series dates back to 1908 and remained a fixture on both teams’ yearly schedules through the mid-1970s.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 60-36 and 25-22 on the road at Michigan State – but Thursday will mark Notre Dame’s first game at the Breslin Center.

A quick review of the Notre Dame – Michigan State series (full history available on page 9 of the notes package):

Last meeting: Notre Dame 79, No. 19/18 Michigan State 78 (OT), Dec. 3, 2014

Last top-five ranked meeting: No. 4/5 Notre Dame 68, No. 3/4 Michigan State 80, March 18, 1979, NCAA Tournament Regional Final, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana

Last meeting in East Lansing: Nov. 3/3 Notre Dame 91, Michigan State 89, Feb. 7, 1974, Jenison Fieldhouse

ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE HISTORY

Notre Dame is in its fifth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and will be taking part in its fifth ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Michigan State. The Irish are 3-1 all-time in the event and have won their last three games – including a 79-78 overtime victory over Michigan State in 2014.

IRISH ASCEND TO NO. 5 IN NATIONAL POLLS

A 6-0 start to the season and the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Championship, including a 67-66 victory over No. 6/6 Wichita State, has propelled Notre Dame to the fifth spot in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls this week.

The No. 5 spot marks the highest the Irish have been in the AP poll since the final release during the 2014-15 sesason when they entered the 2015 NCAA tournament eighth. In the final USA Today/Coaches poll, released after the 2015 NCAA tournament, the Irish finished fifth.

The last time the Irish were No. 5 in the AP before this week was the end of the 2010-11 season, when the team entered the NCAA tournament No. 5/4.

The last time the Irish were ranked higher than No. 5 was the week prior, when Notre Dame entered the 2011 BIG EAST Championship ranked No. 4/4.

BACK-TO-BACK IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT MVPS FOR FARRELL

Safe to say that senior guard Matt Farrell embraces the competition of in-season tournaments. The Bridgewater, N.J., native enjoyed his break out performances at the 2016 Legends Classic in the Barclays Center, earning tournament MVP honors.

He stepped up another level at the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, leading the Irish through three victories – including a career-high 27 points against Chaminade and the play of the game in the rally over No. 6/6 Wichita State, stealing an in-bounds pass with less than a minute remaining and finding Bonzie Colson to cut the Shocker lead to one point.

In the past two in-season tournaments, Farrell is averaging 19.4 ppg, shooting .482 from 3FG and averaging 5.4 apg.

GEBEN’S BIG MOMENT

Senior forward Martinas Geben has been playing his best basketball at Notre Dame early this season and stepped up in a clutch situation at the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

With the Irish trailing by a point and three seconds remaning, Geben was fouled on an in-bounds play and sent to the foul line. A consistent free throw shooter in practice, Geben has not seen many opportunities in his career (he was 53-70, .750 percentage, before the two attempts against Wichita State) but stepped up to convert both free throw attempts and provide the game-winning points.

Geben’s final two games in Maui, 10 pts vs. LSU and a career-high matching 12 against Wichita State, mark the first time in his career he has posted back-to-back double-digit scoring games. He also is shooting .800 from the floor this year (20-25).

The single-season record for field goal percentage (minimum of 150 attempts) is .656 by Bruce Flowers in 1978-79.

IRISH OFF TO A GREAT SEASON START – AGAIN

Notre Dame has begun the season 6-0 for the second consecutive year in 2017-18, following up on the 6-0 start from the 2016-17 campaign. The Irish eventually set a new standard for Mike Brey-era starts last year with nine consecutive wins to begin the year.

Here are the best starts of the Mike Brey era (2000-01):

IRISH POST HISTORICAL WIN NUMBERS VS. LSU

The 39-point victory over LSU in the semifinals of the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational was the largest margin of victory away from home for Notre Dame against a Division I team since the 126-73 win over Miami (FL) in Miami on Feb. 22, 1986.

The last time Notre Dame defeated an opponent away from home by 39 points also occurred in Hawaii, a 98-58 win vs. Division II Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 23, 2001.

Finally, the 39-point win over a Southeastern Conference school is the most since a 111-62 season-opening win over Mississippi on Nov. 26, 1977 – the same season the Irish advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

A SEASON OF MILESTONES AHEAD FOR Mike Brey

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey is poised to reach three key milestones in his coaching career this season.

• Brey is six wins away from becoming the all-time wins leader at Notre Dame (388 current, 393 is the record).
• Brey is 12 wins away from 400 at Notre Dame, which would make him the 13th active coach to have 400 wins at his current school.
• Brey is 13 wins away from 500 in his coaching career, on pace to become the 31st active coach to reach 500 career wins.

Should Brey reach the 500-win barrier, he will join Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams, Greg Kampe, Tony Shaver, Tom Izzo, Fran Dunphy, Bob McKillop, Jay Wright and Mark Few as the only current coaches to win 500 or more games while coaching at just one or two schools.

See pages 10 and 11 of this notes package for more historical and background information on Mike Brey.

Counting up to the record-breaking 394th win, Purcell Pavilion has unveiled a banner hanging from the arena catwalk. It will be updated with Coach Brey’s win total throughout #BreysChase.

WINNINGEST CLASS AT NOTRE DAME?

The 2016-17 senior class of Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and graduate student Patrick Mazza matched the school record for wins over a four-year stretch last season, joining the 2012-13 group of Joey Brooks, Mike Broghammer, Jack Cooley and Scott Martin with 97 wins.

The 2017-18 senior class of Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben, Matt Gregory and graduate student Austin Torres are already on pace to surpass that school record this season.

MOST WINS – FOUR YEAR SPAN:

BY THE NUMBERS – NOTRE DAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE