Dec. 20, 2015

Notre Dame Notes

Notre Dame (7-3, 0-0) vs. Youngstown State (5-7, 0-0)
Date: Monday, December 21, 2015
Site: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV/Internet: ESPN3
Talent: Jim Barbar (play-by-play); Kyle Macy (analyst)
Radio: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network; WatchND
Talent: Jack Nolan (Play-By-Play); Jordan Cornette (Analyst)

NOTRE DAME LOOKS TO REBOUND MONDAY VERSUS YOUNGSTOWN STATE

• The Notre Dame men’s basketball team is back in action for the second time in 48 hours as the Fighting Irish play host to Youngstown State in the third meeting between the two schools. The contest will tip off at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce at 7 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on ESPN3.
• Coach Mike Brey’s squad is coming off an 80-73 loss to Indiana at the fifth annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. The Irish led by 10 points at halftime and 16 points in the second half, only to have the Hoosiers outscore them 40-17 in the final 15:11 of the contest.
• The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Irish.
• The contest tonight is the final game before the Irish break for the Christmas holiday. Following an eight-day break from action, Notre Dame returns to the Joyce Center hardwood and will host Liberty in its final non-conference tilt on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. (ET).
• The matchup against Youngstown State will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Jim Barbar (play-by-play) and Kyle Macy (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 is also available on Sirius and XM channel 81.

THE MATCHUP

• With just two non-conference games remaining before the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Virginia, Notre Dame (7-3) entertains the Youngstown State Penguins (5-7) in the third-ever matchup between the programs.
• Both contests between pair have taken place at Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame beat Youngstown State, 69-48, in the first-ever meeting on Nov. 26, 1996 and then handed the Penguins an 87-75 setback on Nov. 24, 2007.
• Mike Brey is 1-0 versus the Penguins.
• Notre Dame is led in scoring by Demetrius Jackson’s 16.9 points per game. Jackson has netted double figures in nine of 10 games of the 2015-16 campaign. He was held to a season-low nine points versus Indiana on Saturday. Jackson leads the Irish in both the assists (51) and steals (11) categories.
• Zach Auguste is next in the scoring column at 14.2 ppg. He also leads the Irish with 10.1 rpg. He has scored in double figures in eight outings and registered a team-leading six double-doubles.
• V.J. Beachem is averaging 12.6 ppg. and 5.2 rpg., as he ranks third on the squad in both of those categories.
• Steve Vasturia is averaging a career-best 12.4 ppg. and ranks second in assists (2.4 aspg.). He had his career-best 12 game double-figure scoring streak (dating back to last season) snapped on Saturday when he finished with just seven points in the loss to Indiana.
• Bonzie Colson is the fifth Irish starter in double figures as he is netting 10.5 ppg. He also stands second on the squad with a 7.3 rebounding average.
• Youngstown State comes into Purcell Pavilion with a 5-7 record. The Penguins dropped a 105-46 decision to Michigan in their last outing. Youngstown began the season 0-4, but prior to the loss on Saturday to the Wolverines had won five of their last 12 games.
• The Penguins are the second Horizon League opponent Notre Dame has faced this season. The Irish defeated Milwaukee, 86-78, on Nov. 17.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Morse leads three Youngstown State players in double figures as he is averaging 14.0 ppg. Senior forward Bobby Hain is second in scoring at 13.4 ppg., and leads the team with a 6.8 rebounding average.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE CONNECTIONS

• Irish head coach Mike Brey’s son, Kyle, recently completed his first season as a member of the Penguins’ football coaching staff.
• A former standout at nearby Penn High School and University of Buffalo, Kyle is the tight ends coach for head coach Bo Pellini and his involved with YSU’s special teams units.
• Prior to joining the Youngstown State staff, he worked with Pelini at Nebraska during the 2014 and 2014 campaigns as an offensive graduate assistant, working primarily with the tight ends.

IRISH VERSUS THE HORIZON LEAGUE

• Notre Dame is 49-6 all-time against current members of the Horizon League.

TIME CHANGE VERSUS LIBERTY

• The start time for the Notre Dame-Liberty game on ESPNU on Tuesday, Dec. 29 has moved to 5 p.m. (ET). The game was originally scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. (ET).

INDIANA REWIND

• Notre Dame led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but saw the Hoosiers outscore them 40-17 in the final 15:11 of the contest.
• The Irish shot 49.2 percent (32-65) from the field, but were just 5-18 (27.8%) from three-point range. Notre Dame shot 53.1 percent (17-32) in the first half and led 41-31 at the intermission.
• Indiana connected on 51.7 percent from the field in the second half and was 6-11 (54.4%) in the final 20-minute stanza from three-point range. The Hoosiers ended the game connected on 10-20 from beyond the three-point arc.
• Indiana went to the charity stripe 23 times in the contest and finished 16-23 for the game. Notre Dame was just 4-8 from the line in the game and had only two free-throw attempts in the final 20 minutes.
• Notre Dame was 41-33 in the game. It marked just the third time this season that the Irish were outrebounded in game. The other two times were against Iowa (36-40) and Alabama (32-34).
• Sophomore forward Bonzie Colson led all scorers in the game with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds. It marked the 12th double-figures outing of his career (seventh this season) and his first 20-plus point effort.
• Junior forward V.J. Beachem finished one-point shy of his personal best as he ended the game with 18 points, hitting 7-10 shots from the field and 4-6 from three-point range.
• Senior forward Zach Auguste was the only other Irish player in double figures as he ended the game with 12 points and seven rebounds. Auguste connected on 6-6 from the field.

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 on Saturday.
• 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 night marked the 1800th win in program history.
• The Fighting Irish are 1802-975 (.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 six of 10 games for the Irish this season. He is averaging career-bests of 14.2 points and 10.1 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 eight of 10 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 outing against Illinois. He also had 14 rebounds in the season opener versus St. Francis (Pa.).
• Auguste has reached double figures in scoring 47 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 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 Saturday (4-7 from the field). It marked the first time this season that he 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 (5.1 aspg.) and 11 steals.
• 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 SHINE FOR IRISH

• Junior forward V.J. Beachem is averaging career bests of 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds while starting all 10 games for the Irish. He has scored in double figures in seven contests this season.
• His current three-game double-figure scoring streak matches the longest of his career.
• 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 18 times during his career. His three-game double-figure scoring streak in Orlando matched the longest of his career at the time.

CALL HIM MR. CONSISTENT

• Junior guard Steve Vasturia was held to just seven points against Indiana as he made just 3-9 shots from the field. Heading into the game, he and teammate Demetrius Jackson were the only two Irish players who had scored in double figures in every game this season.
• Entering the contest against the Hoosiers, Vasturia was a riding a career-best 12-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to last season, the longest active streak for any current Irish player.
• Vasturia is averaging a career-best 12.4 points per game.
• 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 Saturday as he finished with 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as well as equaled his career-best with three assists and made two steals. The 24 points marked the first time in 42 career games played that he topped the 20-plus point mark.
• Colson started all 10 games for the Irish this season and is averaging career bests of 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.
• Colson has registered double figures in scoring in seven contests in 2015-16 and in 12 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.

For more news and notes please visit: Link