Dec. 28, 2015

Notre Dame Notes Get Acrobat Reader

Notre Dame (8-3, 0-0) vs. Liberty (3-11, 0-2)
Date:
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015
Site: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
Game Time: 5 p.m. ET
TV/Internet: ESPNU
Talent: Jim Barbar (play-by-play); LaPhonso Ellis (analyst)
Radio: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network; WatchND; Sirius/XM 81
Talent: Jack Nolan (Play-By-Play); Jordan Cornette (Analyst)

NOTRE DAME CLOSES OUT NON-CONFERENCE CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIBERTY

  • The Notre Dame men’s basketball team returns to the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center hardwood for its final non-conference game of 2015 when it plays host to Liberty on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. (ET). The contest will be televised on ESPNU.
  • The matchup Tuesday will be the third meeting between the programs. The Irish have won each of the two previous contests.
  • Notre Dame is back in action for the first time in eight days. The Irish last played on Dec. 21, earning an 87-78 victory over Youngstown State.
  • The Irish have won four of their last five games. Notre Dame suffered its third loss of the season when it dropped an 80-73 decision to Indiana at the fifth annual Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis on Dec. 19.
  • Following the matchup with the Flames, Notre Dame will begin Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 to take on two-time defending regular-season champion, Virginia. In fact, Notre Dame will be on the road for its first two conference contests. The Irish travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to take on Boston College on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
  • The game against Liberty will be broadcast on ESPNU with Jim Barbar (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst) calling the action.
  • A free audio broadcast will be available courtesy of WatchND. Jack Nolan will handle play-by-play duties, while Jordan Cornette will serve as analyst. The matchup also is available on Sirius and XM channel 81.

THE MATCHUP

  • Notre Dame (8-3) takes on Liberty (3-11, 0-2 Big South) in its final non-conference game of the 2015-16 regular season. It will mark the third matchup between the two institutions.
  • Both games between the Irish and the Flames have been played at Purcell Pavilion.
  • The first meeting took place on Nov. 22, 2009 at Notre Dame, as the Irish posted a 91-72 victory. The two teams met again on Nov. 14, 2010 with the Irish earning a 72-51 win.
  • Mike Brey is 2-0 versus the Flames.
  • Notre Dame is led in scoring by Demetrius Jackson’s 16.9 points per game. Jackson has netted double figures in 10 of 11 games during the 2015-16 campaign. He was held to a season-low nine points versus Indiana on Dec. 19, the only game this season he has failed to reach double figures. Jackson leads the Irish in both the assists (55/5.0 aspg.) and steals (11/1.0 stlpg.) categories.
  • Zach Auguste is next in the scoring column at 14.4 ppg. He also leads the Irish with 10.1 rpg. He has scored in double figures in nine outings and registered a team-leading seven double-doubles.
  • V.J. Beachem is averaging 12.9 ppg. and 4.9 rpg., as he ranks third on the squad in both of those categories.
  • Steve Vasturia is averaging a career-best 11.6 ppg. and ranks second in assists (2.9 aspg.). He had a career-high eight assists in Notre Dame’s win over Youngstown State. He had his career-best 12 game double-figure scoring streak (dating back to last season) snapped against Indiana on Dec. 21, as he finished with just seven points in the loss to the Hoosiers. He also netted just four points (1-7 from the field) in the win over Youngstown State.
  • Bonzie Colson is the fifth Irish starter in double figures as he is netting 10.8 ppg. and stands second on the squad with a 7.5 rebounding average.
  • Liberty enters the contest with a 3-11 record overall and an 0-2 mark in Big South Conference play. The Flames have lost 10 straight contests and dropped an 85-57 decision at VCU two nights ago (Dec. 27).
  • Liberty has three players averaging double figures. The Flames are led by two sophomore, guards John Dawson, who leads the squad in scoring at 14.7 ppg. and is averaging 4.7 rpg., and center Evan Maxwell, the team’s second-leading scorer (13.7 ppg.) and top rebounder (6.7 rpg.). Freshman guard Lovell Cabbill is the other player in double figures as he is netting 10.0 ppg.

IRISH VERSUS THE BIG SOUTH

  • Notre Dame is 3-1 all-time against current members of the Big South Conference.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE REWIND

  • The Fighting Irish picked up their eighth win of the season as they defeated Youngstown State, 87-78, on Monday, Dec. 21. Four of Notre Dame’s five starters scored in double figures as the Irish shot better than 50.0 percent from the field for the fifth time this season. The Irish connected on 32-60 from the field (53.3 percent), but were just 6-24 (25.0 percent) from three-point range.
  • Notre Dame hit on 17-24 from the free-throw line with Zach Auguste going 10-12 from the line.
  • Notre Dame dished off a season-high 21 assists in the contest. It marked the second time this season that the Irish had 20-plus assists in a game.
  • Youngstown State had five players in double figures and shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the field.
  • Notre Dame outrebounded an opponent for the eighth time in 11 outings.
  • Junior guard Demetrius Jackson led the Irish in scoring for the fifth time this season as he tallied 17 points (hitting 8-12 from the field) and dished off four assists.
  • Junior forward V.J. Beachem and senior forward Zach Auguste finished with 16 points each. Auguste also registered his seventh double-double of the season and 12th of his career, finishing with a team-high 10 rebounds.
  • Sophomore forward Bonzie Colson reached double figures for the eighth time in 11 outings as he finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.

LOST LEADS

  • Notre Dame’s three losses in 2015-16 are by a combined 10 points (3.3 ppg.)
  • In two of those three losses, the Irish led at halftime.
  • Notre Dame held a 37-29 advantage at the break versus Monmouth in its opening game of the Advocare Invitational and held a 41-31 halftime lead against Indiana at the Crossroads Classic.
  • In its one-point loss to Alabama, the Crimson Tide led 43-39 at the break.

NOTRE DAME REACHES 1800-WIN MILESTONE

  • Notre Dame’s 84-79 victory at Illinois on Dec. 2 marked the 1800th win in program history.
  • The Fighting Irish are 1803-975 (.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 seven of 11 games for the Irish. He is averaging career-bests of 14.4 points and 10.1 rebounds this season.
  • His most recent double-double outing was against Youngstown State on Dec. 21, as he finished the contest with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Auguste has scored in double figures in nine of 11 games this season and grabbed 10-plus rebounds eight occasions.
  • Auguste had 16 points and matched his career high of 14 rebounds in Notre Dame’s outing against Illinois. He also had 14 rebounds in the season opener versus St. Francis (Pa.).
  • Auguste has reached double figures in scoring 48 times during his career and finished with 20-plus points in six career contests. He also has 12 career double-doubles to his credit and finished with 10 or more rebounds on 14 occasions.
  • Prior to the Loyola Chicago game on Dec. 13 in which he finished with eight points and five rebounds, 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 was held to just nine points against Indiana on Dec. 19 (4-7 from the field), but rebounding in Notre Dame’s next outing as he finished with 17 points in the win over Youngstown State. The game against the Hoosiers marked the first time this season that Jackson did not reach double figures in scoring.
  • Jackson posted his first career double-double in Notre Dame’s win over Stony Brook on Dec. 8 as he tallied 19 points and dished off a career-high 10 assists. He leads the Irish in scoring at 16.9 points per game and tops the team with 51 assists (5.0 aspg.) and 12 steals.
  • Jackson has topped the 20-plus point mark on four occasions this season
  • Jackson has scored in double figures on 47 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 SHINE FOR IRISH

  • Junior forward V.J. Beachem is averaging career bests of 12.9 points and 4.9 rebounds while starting all 11 games for the Irish. He has scored in double figures in seven contests this season.
  • His current four-game double-figure scoring streak is the longest of his career – Stony Brook (14), Loyola Chicago (10), Indiana (18) and Youngstown State (16).
  • Beachem has netted double figures 19 times during his career.

CALL HIM MR. CONSISTENT

  • Junior guard Steve Vasturia has been one Notre Dame’s most consistent players all season long. He is averaging career-bests of 11.6 ppg. and 3.0 rpg., and has scored in double figures in nine of 11 outings.
  • Entering the Indiana contest on Dec. 19, Vasturia was riding a team-best 12-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to the 2014-15 campaign. In the loss to the Hoosiers, he finished just 3-9 shots from the field and scored just seven points. In Notre Dame’s last outing against Youngstown State, Vasturia was held to a season-low four points as he converted just 1-7 from the field.
  • 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 had his best career outing in the loss to Indiana on Dec. 19 as he finished with 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, equaled his career-best with three assists and made two steals. The 24 points marked the first time in the 42 career games that he had played that he topped the 20-plus point mark.
  • Colson is riding a career-best four-game double-figure scoring streak – Stony Brook (10), Loyola Chicago (14), Indiana (24) and Youngstown State (14).
  • Colson started all 11 games for the Irish this season and is averaging career bests of 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
  • Colson has registered double figures in scoring in eight contests in 2015-16 and in 13 games overall during his career.
  • 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 on Dec. 13 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.
  • He had a career-high three blocked shots against Indiana.

AUGUSTE NEARING 1,000-POINT MARK

  • Senior forward Zach Auguste is approaching the 1,000-point mark. Heading into the Liberty game, he has 928 career points in 103 career contests.
  • He would become the 57th player in Notre Fame history to reach that point total.
  • Auguste has started 60 games for the Irish during his career and is averaging 9.0 ppg.

BOMBS AWAY

  • V.J. Beachem is the only Irish player who has hit a three-pointer in every game this season. He leads Notre Dame with 34 three-pointers and has connected on 47.2 percent (34-72) of those attempts from beyond the arc.
  • Heading into this season, Beachem had made 53 three-pointers in his first two campaigns in an Irish uniform.
  • His 34 three-pointers made are more than double of any other Irish player this season. Demetrius Jackson, Steve Vasturia and Matt Ryan each have made 16.

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