March 5, 2001
AT&T Big East Men’s Basketball Championship
NOTRE DAME Fighting Irish (19-8, 11-5) vs.
PITTSBURGH Panthers or MIAMI Hurricanes
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2001
Place: Madison Square Garden
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Radio: Host Communications Inc. (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV-1490 AM and WNDV-92.9 FM in South Bend, WNTS-1590 AM in Indianapolis, WAUR-930 AM in Chicago, WGL-1250 AM WGL 1570 AM in Ft. Wayne, WEFM-95.9 FM in Michigan City, WGOM-860AM in Marion, WVHI-1330 AM in Evansville, WLUV-1520 AM in Rockford, Ill., KATD-990AM in San Francisco, Calif., WDEL-1550 AM in Wilmington, Del., and KIND-1010AM in Independence, Kan.). All radio broadcasts can also be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com.
IRISH ITEMS FOR THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT:
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (19-8, 11-5), champions of the BIG EAST West Division, will open up BIG EAST tournament play in the quarterfinals of the 2001 AT&T BIG EAST Championship against the winner of a first-round matchup between the Miami Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Panthers. Miami finished fourth in the BIG EAST East Division, while Pittsburgh was fifth in the BIG EAST West.
In the new cross-divisional league format this season, the Hurricanes were one of three teams the Irish did not play during the 2000-01 BIG EAST regular season. Notre Dame swept its regular-season series with Pittsburgh earning a 74-58 victory at home and a 75-67 win on the road.
Notre Dame, by winning the BIG EAST West Division, earns a first-round bye in the league championship for the first time since joining the BIG EAST in 1995-96. Last year, the Irish advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament with a 77-62 win over Rutgers in the first round — its first-ever victory in the league championship — before dropping a 61-58 decision to Miami.
The Irish clinched their first-ever regular-season BIG EAST West Division title with its victory at Virginia Tech on Feb. 24. Notre Dame’s 11 wins are the most by an Irish team in the league in its first five seasons. Previously, Notre Dame has won eight games on three occasions.
Head Coach Mike Brey’s squad, winners of 10 of their last 13 contests, suffered back-to-back setbacks in its final two games of the season. The Irish dropped a 75-59 decision to Connecticut in Hartford, Conn. and then was defeated by Georgetown 79-72 in the season finale at the Joyce Center. The loss to the Huskies snapped a five-game win streak on the road.
After starting 1-2 in the league after three games, Notre Dame won a school-record eight straight BIG EAST Conference outings. That string was snapped against Seton Hall on Feb. 18 when the Irish dropped a 74-64 decision. Prior to that loss, first-year head coach Mike Brey’s squad had not lost since dropping an 81-72 non-conference decision at Kentucky on Jan. 13. It was also Notre Dame’s first league loss since an 78-76 setback to Seton Hall at the Continental Airlines Arena on Jan. 8.
Notre Dame’s 19 regular-season wins are the most by an Irish team since the 1988-89 campaign when that squad won 20 regular-season contests en route to finishing with a 21-9 overall mark.
Notre Dame finished the BIG EAST regular season six games above the .500 mark for the first time in school history and its 11-5 mark is the best since becoming a league member.
POLL POSITION:
Notre Dame was 13th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls last week. The Irish were ranked in the first 10 polls to start the season and climbed as high as 10th in both rankings during the week of Dec. 4 before falling out of the top 10 after back-to-back home losses to Indiana and Miami of Ohio.
HEAD COACH MIKE BREY:
Mike Brey was named the 17th head coach in the program’s history on July 14, 2000 following five seasons (1995-2000) as head coach at the University of Delaware. Brey earned his first victory as Irish head coach on Nov. 18 with a 104-58 triumph over Sacred Heart. The win marked the 100th of his coaching career and came in the 152nd game of his coaching career. He has an overall record of 118-60 for a .663 winning percentage. He guided the Blue Hens to a 99-52 record during his tenure while earning berths in three postseason tournaments. Under Brey, Delaware appeared in two NCAA tournaments (’98 and ’99) and played in the National Invitation Tournament in his final season (2000). His .663 winning percentage among Division I coaches with five years as a head coach stands second only to Tom Izzo of Michigan State (.736). Prior to his arrival in Newark, Del., he spent eight seasons (1987-95) on the Duke sidelines along Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and before that stint was an assistant coach at DeMatha High School under legendary coach Morgan Wootten from 1982-87.
BREY AND MENTOR KRZYZEWSKI REACH MILESTONES ONE DAY APART:
First-year head coach Mike Brey earned his 100th career victory (in 152 games as a head coach) against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18. That win came just one day after his former mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, earned his 500th win at Duke on Nov. 17. Brey was an assistant under Krzyzewski at Duke from 1987-95.
FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS:
Mike Brey’s 19 wins represents the most by an Irish coach in his first season. John MacLeod, who coached at the University from 1991-99 guided his Irish squad team to 18 wins in his first season, en route to an 18-15 record.
MOST WINS IN THE REGULAR SEASON:
Notre Dame’s 19 wins are the most from an Irish team during the regular season since the 1988-89 campaign when that squad won 20 regular season games before finishing with a 21-9 mark following two NCAA tournament contests.
BREY NAMED NAISMITH FINALIST:
Mike Brey is among 20 finalists for the Men’s Naismith College Basketball Coach of the Year Award. He is one of four BIG EAST coaches up for the award which will be presented on April 7 in Atlanta, Ga. The three other league coaches among the finalists are Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Craig Esherick (Georgetown) and Al Skinner (Boston College).
BREY vs. RANKED OPPONENTS:
As a head coach at both Notre Dame and Delaware, Mike Brey has coached in 13 games against ranked opponents. The Irish have faced seven ranked opponents in 2000-01 and area 4-3 versus those foes. Before its loss to Georgetown on Sunday, Notre Dame had won three straight over ranked opponents. Brey earned his first win as a head coach over a ranked opponent when Notre Dame beat then 16th-ranked Cincinnati 69-51 at the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, Ind., on Nov. 25, 2000. Notre Dame’s other three ranked wins have come against Boston College (Feb. 21), Georgetown (Jan. 27) and Syracuse (Jan. 23).
NOTRE DAME vs. MIAMI:
Notre Dame trails 6-7 in the series and have lost three straight to the Hurricanes and five of the last six meetings between the two teams. The Irish lost 55-52 to Miami on the road last season during the regular-season before suffering another three-point setback, 61-58, in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST tournament. Notre Dame’s last victory against the Hurricanes was on Jan. 9, 1998 as the Irish claimed a 71-68 victory on the road.
NOTRE DAME vs. PITTSBURGH:
Notre Dame leads the series 22-19 and have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams. The Irish were victorious twice during the 2000-01 regular season as they beat the Panthers 74-58 at the Joyce Center and 75-67 on the road. Two teams split during the 1999-2000 regular season as the Irish posted an 81-66 victory at home, while the Panthers earned a six-point win (72-66) at Fitzgerald Field House.
STAR POWER:
Martin Ingelby’s leaning jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining against Boston College to pull out a 76-75 victory was recognized as the CNN Play of the Day.
A BIG EAST MOMENT FOR THE IRISH:
Notre Dame’s eight consecutive BIG EAST wins against Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Rutgers and Virginia Tech marked the first time since the Irish joined the league in 1995-96 that they had posted eight straight wins over league foes. Notre Dame also finished the season six games above the .500 mark for the first time since becoming a league member.
BIG EAST MOMENT II FOR IRISH:
Notre Dame’s five straight road wins at Georgetown (78-71 on Jan. 27), Pittsburgh (75-67 on Feb. 3), West Virgina (69-66 on Feb. 11), Rutgers (81-59 on Feb. 14) and Virginia Tech (85-61 on Feb. 24) marked the first time since the Irish joined the BIG EAST that they have won five consecutive road games in the league. Heading into its matchup with the Mountaineers on Feb. 11, the Irish had only once won consecutive BIG EAST road outings — in 1998-99 when they defeated Providence 83-80 on Dec. 8, which was followed by a 71-68 victory versus Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 9.
SERIES SWEEPS:
Notre Dame earned its third series sweep when the Irish defeated Rutgers on Feb. 14. Head Coach Mike Brey’s squad has also swept series against PIttsburgh and West Virginia this season. Prior to the 2000-01 campaign, Notre Dame had only had three series sweeps in its previous five seasons as a member of the BIG EAST — Syracuse in 1996-97, Seton Hall in 1998-99 and Connecticut in 1999-2000.
LET THE HONORS BEGIN:
As the 2000-01 campaign comes to an end, there are surely going to be numerous accolades for Irish junior forward Troy Murphy, a first-team All-American a year ago. ESPN.com’s All-America team was unveiled by Andy Katz and Murphy was a first-team selection on that squad. Also named to the team were Duke’s Jason Williams and Shane Battier, Jamaal Tinsley of Iowa State and North Carolina’s Joseph Forte. The BIG EAST Confernce also was represented by Troy Bell of Boston College (second team) and Michael Bradley of Villanova (third team).
MURPHY AND THE WOODEN WATCH:
Troy Murphy is among the top 20 finalists for the 20001 John R. Wooden Award. A member of the 2000 John R. Wooden All-America team, his one of three BIG EAST players named as a finalist — the other two are Michael Bradley of Villanova and Preston Shumpert of Syracuse.
The list of 20 includes: Shane Battier (Duke), Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Cory Bradford (Illinois), Michael Bradley (Villanova), Casey Calvary (Gonzaga), Jarron Collins (Stanford), Reggie Evans (Iowa), Joseph Forte (North Carolina), Udonis Haslem (Florida), Brendan Haywood (North Carolina), Casey Jacobsen (Stanford), Jason Kapono (UCLA), Mike Kelley (Wisconsin), Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky), Jason Richardson (Michigan State), Preston Shumpert (Syracuse), Frank Williams (Illinois), Jason Williams (Duke) and Michael Wright (Arizona).
Murphy and Duke senior Shane Battier are the only two previous candidates among the current list of 20. The 10-member Wooden Award All-America team will be announced on March 27, 2001. From that squad, one member will receive the Wooden Award Trophy as the nation’s “Most Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Player.” The announcement will be made on April 6, 2001, and will be shown on a one-hour telecast on Fox Sports Net.
MURPHY IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Certainly Troy Murphy can stake claim to being the most publicized men’s collegiate basketball player during the season. Feature articles appeared in three major sports publications on the junior All-American. Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl profiled Murphy in a piece entitled “Troy Story”, which appeared in the Dec. 25 issue of the magazine, while Mike DeCoursey wrote an article entitled “Getting a Slight Edge” for The Sporting News which hit the newsstands before the Christmas holiday. Curry Kirkpatrick has a piece entitled “Murphy’s Law” in the Jan. 8 bi-weekly edition of ESPN Magazine. Murphy also appeared on ESPN’s “The Life” and was the first college athlete featured in the half-hour show.
NAISMITH WATCH:
Troy Murphy is listed among the Top 15 finalistis for the 2000-01 Nasmith College Basketball Player of the Year as was announced on Feb. 12. Murphy is one of four BIG EAST players among the final 15 in consideration for the Award. The 14 finalists along with Murphy include: Shane Battier (Duke), Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Troy Bell (Boston College), Michael Bradley (Villanova), Jarron Collins (Stanford), Joe Forte (North Carolina), Eddie Griffin (Seton Hall), Brendan Haywood (North Carolina), Casey Jacobson (Stanford), Terence Morris (Maryland), Jason Richardson (Michigan State), Jamaal Tinsley (Iowa State), Jason Williams (Duke) and Michael Wright (Arizona). Murphy is not the only Notre Dame player named a Naismith finalist. All-American Ruth Riley, a senior, is a contender for the award on the women’s side.
SECOND TO NONE:
For the second consecutive year, Troy Murphy led the league in scoring as he averaged 22.6 points overall and 22.8 points per game in BIG EAST contests after averaging 22.7 ppg. overall a year ago and 21.7 ppg. in league contests. Murphy becomes just the second player in league history to lead the conference in scoring in consecutive seasons. Dana Barros of Boston College was the BIG EAST’s leading scorer in 1987-88 (21.9 ppg.) and 1988-89 (23.2 ppg.). Murphy and Barros also are the only two players in league history to win two scoring titles. Notre Dame has produced the scoring champion in three of the last four years. Former Irish standout Pat Garrity was the scoring champion in 1997-98 when he averaged 24.1 points per game.
MURPHY APPROACHING 2,000-POINT MILESTONE:
Troy Murphy is approaching a couple of milestones. The Irish junior needs just 33 points to become the fourth player in school history to reach the 2,000-point mark. Murphy also needs just two rebounds for the 900th in his career and would become the first player in Notre Dame history with 2,000 points and 900 rebounds. He has career averages of 21.6 points and 9.9 rebounds.
MURPHY COPS BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FIVE TIMES IN 2000-01
Troy Murphy was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week five times during the 2000-01 season and has won the award 11 times during his career. Last season, he was a for the fifth time this season after averaging 22.7 points and 9.4 rebounds in leading the Irish to wins over St. John’s and West Virginia. He had 34 points and 11 rebounds against the Red Storm and scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds versus the Mountaineers. Murphy shares the honor with Todd Billet of Rutgers. He earned the player-of-the-week honor for the 10th time in his career.
MAKING THE GRADE:
While Irish head coach Mike Brey is pleased with his team’s play on the court, he can be equally proud of his squad’s performance in the classroom. The team earned an overall grade-point average of 3.027 for the fall semester, the highest combined average since 1992 (when records were first kept). It was the first semester above a 3.00 for any Notre Dame men’s basketball team in 17 semesters. Seven of the 13 players earned a grade-point average of 3.178 and higher with three players earning Dean’s List recognition. The three players named to the Dean’s List were: senior marketing majors Martin Ingelsby (3.405) and Hans Rasmussen (3.467) and freshman Chris Markwood (3.400), enrolled in the First Year of Studies.
MURPHY JOINS “20-20” CLUB:
Troy Murphy turned in one of the most memborable performances in BIG EAST Conference history on Jan. 8 at Seton Hall with his 25-point and 20-rebound outing against the Pirates. It marked only the seventh time in league history and first time since 1992 that a player registered a “20-20” in conference game. The last Notre Dame player to grab 20-plus rebounds in a game was LaPhonso Ellis — 20 vs. Dayton on Jan. 27, 1992 in a 76-54 victory.
TWO TOP 10 VICTIMS FALL AT JOYCE CENTER:
Notre Dame had two wins against top 10 opponents during the 1999-2000 campaign, but both of those victories occurred on the road. Prior to this season, Notre Dame had not had a win against a top 10 team since Feb. 5, 1994 when Notre Dame handed UCLA a 79-63 setback. At the time, the Bruins were ranked fourth in the Associated Press Poll and were tied for second in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. This season, the Irish have had two wins at the Joyce Center against top 10 foes. The Irish beat Syracuse 74-60 on Jan. 23 when the Orangemen were ranked eighth in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. Boston College was ranked 10th and ninth, respectively, in the two polls when the Irish beat the Eagles 76-75.
ND NOTCHES THREE TOP 10 WINS:
Notre Dame’s 76-75 win over Boston College marked the third victory for the Irish over a top 10 team this season. The last time a Notre Dame team beat three top 10 opponents in the same season was in 1991-92 as the Irish defeated North Carolina (88-76), Syracuse (101-98) and UCLA (84-71).
HOME COOKIN’:
Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 12-4 mark at home this season at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame had won nine straight earlier in the campaign, but lost two of its last three home contests, including Sunday’s 79-72 setback against Georgetown. Notre Dame was 16-4 at home a year ago, and since the start of last season, have won 77.8 percent of its games at the Joyce Center.
PRODUCTIVE FRONTLINE SHOWS SCORING AND REBOUNDING VERSATILITY:
Notre Dame’s frontline duo of Troy Murphy and Ryan Humphrey have proven to be a formidable match for Irish opponents. In all but four games, one of the two has either led or tied for team-high scoring honors. The Murphy-Humphrey combination also has led Notre Dame in rebounding in 23 of 27 contests. David Graves led the Irish in scoring against Tennessee Tech (20 points) on Dec. 17 and West Virginia (17 points) on Jan. 21, while Martin Ingelsby topped the scoring column with his 17-point effort on Sun., Feb. 11 versus West Virginia and Matt Carroll was the leading scorer against Rutgers on Wednesday night. Harold Swanagan’s 10 rebounds against Pittsburgh on Jan. 16 marked the first time that neither Murphy or Humphrey was not the team’s leading rebounder. Murphy has been the leading scorer and rebounder in 20 and 12 games, respectively, while Humphrey has led the Irish in scoring in three games and in rebounding on 13 occasions.
DOUBLE TROUBLE:
Troy Murphy and Ryan Humphrey have produced double-doubles in the same contest in four games this season. The most recent outing was against St. John’s on Feb. 3 as Murphy scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Humphrey scored 16 points and grabbed 11 boards. The other three games in which the two combined for double-doubles were against Canisius (Murphy-29 points, 15 rebounds and Humphrey-20 points, 11 rebounds), Long Island (Murphy-24 points, 10 rebounds and Humphrey-20 points, 11 rebounds) and Kentucky (Murphy-14 points, 11 rebounds and Humphrey-12 points, 13 rebounds). Murphy has 12 double-doubles this season, while Humphrey has nine.
CARROLL, HUMPHREY COMBINE FOR DOUBLE-DOUBLE:
Ryan Humphrey and Matt Carroll combined for a double-double in the same game for the first time in their careers against Boston College. Humphrey had 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Carroll tossed in 17 points and grabbed a personal best 11 boards.
THE MURPHY-HUMPHREY-GRAVES COMBINATION LEADS THE WAY:
Notre Dame’s trio of Troy Murphy, Ryan Humphrey and David Graves continue to put up impressive numbers. Murphy leads the team in both scoring and rebounding as he is averaging 22.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. Humphrey has a 14.3 scoring average and is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Graves owns a 13.9 points per game average. The trio is responsible for 63.5 percent of the team’s offensive scoring (1,357 of 2,145 points). The three scored 20-plus points each in back-to-back games against Canisius and Vermont on Dec. 19 and 21, respectively. In the victory over the Catamounts, Murphy and Graves each had 21 points in the win, while Humphrey added 20. In the previous outing against Canisius, just 48 hours prior to the win over the Catamounts on Dec. 21, Murphy had 29 points, Graves 23 and Humphrey 20. That game marked the first time since the 1991-92 season that three players contributed 20 or more points in a game. The last time it happened was in Notre Dame’s 101-98 victory over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on February 15, 1992 when LaPhonso Ellis, Daimon Sweet and Elmer Bennett had 28, 24 and 22 points, respectively.
SPREADING THE WEALTH:
Notre Dame had all five of its starters in double figures for the third time this season in the loss at Kentucky. All five Irish starters also reached double-figure scoring in a win over Canisius and in the loss to Indiana. When all five starters — Troy Murphy, Ryan Humphrey, David Graves, Matt Carroll and Martin Ingelsby — reached double figures against the Hoosiers, it marked the first time since the 1998-99 campaign that all five starters scored 10-plus points in game. That season, all five of Notre Dame’s starting members reached double figures three times in games against Stetson, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Boston College. Five players, four starters (Murphy, Humphrey, Harold Swanagan and Carroll) and Graves who came off the bench, scored in double figures in the win at Georgetown.
IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR:
All 12 players who played in the game against Long Island on Dec. 29 in the final game of 2000 contributed points in the final 97-point outing — Troy Murphy (24), Ryan Humphrey (20), David Graves (14), Matt Carroll (14), Jere Macura (7), Harold Swanagan (3), Ivan Kartelo (4), Charles Thomas (3), Martin Ingelsby (2), Torrian Jones (2), Hans Rasmussen (2) and Tom Timmermans (2).
COMEBACK KIDS:
Notre Dame showed tremendous resiliency in several game this season and staged comebacks in both the first and second halves of contests to pull out victories.
WING-ING IT:
The perimeter play of outside shooters David Graves and Matt Carroll give the Irish a deadly three-point shooting arsenal. The duo has made 117 (58.5 percent) of Notre Dame’s 200 three-point field goals and has attempted 295 (56.9 percent) of the team’s 518 shots from beyond the arc. Carroll is shooting 42.4 from three-point range, while Graves has made 37.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
IRONMAN:
Martin Inglesby leads the team in minutes played this season as he is averging 37.2 minutes per game. He has played the entire 40 minutes in eight of 16 BIG EAST contests and in 10 games overall. The two non-league games which he played the entire 40 minutes were against Vanderbilt and Miami of Ohio.
OVER THE 100-MARK PLATEAU:
The Irish went over the 100-point mark in its first two games of the season posting victories over Sacred Heart (104-58) and Loyola (107-68). It marked the first time since the 1985-86 campaign that a Notre Dame team registered back-to-back 100-point contests. It also was the first time in school history that an Irish team began the season scoring 100-plus points in its first two contests.
HUSKIES HOLD IRISH IN CHECK:
Notre Dame was held under 60 points for the first time this season in its loss at Connecticut as the Irish scored just 59 points in the contest. That output came just two days after Notre Dame scored 85 points against Virginia Tech. The previous scoring low for the Irish was 64 points against Miami of Ohio and Seton Hall. Notre Dame has been held to under 65 points this season in three contests.
POINTS A PLENTY:
Notre Dame is averaging 79.4 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 9.7 points per game. The Irish scored 90-plus points in three consecutive games — Canisius (99-91), Vermont (96-86) and Long Island (97-49). Brey’s squad has topped the 90-point mark five times overall this season.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE:
Notre Dame ranks eighth nationally in field goal percentage defense as Irish opponents are shooting just 38.9 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three-point range. Only one opponent, Indiana, has shot above 50.0 percent from the field against the Irish. The Hoosiers were 32-60 in shooting 53.3 percent on Dec. 5. Only four teams — Indiana, Miami of Ohio (45.3), Rutgers (49.1) and Connecticut (49.2) — have shot better than 45.0 percent from the field against the Irish this season. The last Notre Dame team to hold opponents to under 40.0 percent shooting was the 1996-97 squad (39.4).
“BIG” BIG EAST WIN:
Notre Dame’s 24-point margin of victory over Virginia Tech on Feb. 24 was the largest for the Irish in a BIG EAST game (home or away) in five-plus seasons. Last season, the Irish posted a 23-point win (77-54) at Georgetown for the largest point differential in a league road game for a Notre Dame team.
WORTH NOTING FROM THE LOYOLA GAME:
Notre Dame’s strong outing against the Ramblers on Nov. 22 produced some noteworthy team numbers in the contest:
- Set school record for three-point field goals made (16) and three-point field goal percentage (.727 – 16 of 22).
- Tied the school record for blocked shots (12).
- Second time since 1985-86 that the Irish recorded back-to-back outings 100-point outings (vs. Manhattan – 102-47 and vs. Miami (Fla.) – 126-73).
500TH GAME AT JOYCE CENTER:
Notre Dame played its 500th game at the Joyce Center on Nov. 18 against Sacred Heart. The Irish are 397-118 all-time at the Joyce Center for a .771 winning percentage since it began play in the inaugural 1968-69 season. The Irish were 16-4 (.800) at home in 1999-2000, marking the third time in school history they had 16 victories (the most at the Joyce Center). Notre Dame also recorded 16 wins at the Joyce during the 1976-77 and 1982-83 campaigns.
BLOCK PARTY:
Notre Dame has already set the single-season blocked shots record with 165 in 27 games for an average of 6.1 blocks per game. The previous mark of 145 was set by the 1991-92 Notre Dame team. The Irish had 110 blocks during the 1999-2000 campaign. Ryan Humphrey leads the team with 73, while Troy Murphy is second with 47.
GRAVES ACHIEVES FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE:
David Graves notched his first double-double of the season against Virginia Tech as he scored 19 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. It marked the third double-double of his career.
CARROLL NOTCHES FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE:
Matt Carroll notched his first career double-double against Boston College as he scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 11 boards (the first time he has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in a game). He has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games and in 20 contests overall this season.
GRAVES JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB:
Junior David Graves joined Notre Dame’s 1,000-point club and became the 41st player in Irish basketball history to reach that mark. Graves tallied his 1,000th point in the win over Vermont on Dec. 21. He notched his 1,000th point in the second half on a free throw with 16:58 remaining in the contest. He has 1,234 points in 94 career games for a 13.1 career scoring average heading into the BIG EAST Tournament and currently ranks 24th on the all-time Notre Dame scoring list.
A 1,000-POINT CLASS ACT:
With David Graves reaching the 1,000-point mark, he joined Troy Murphy (1,967 career points) as the second member of Notre Dame’s class of 2002 to reach that plateau. It marks the first time that a class has produced at least two 1,000-point scorers since the trio of LaPhonso Ellis, Elmer Bennett and Daimon Sweet. The three combined for 4,403 points from 1988-92 with Ellis scoring 1,505 points, Bennett 1,488 points and Sweet 1,410 points. Graves and Murphy have combined for 3,201 points in two-plus seasons.
SWANAGAN SPARKLES:
Since the Christmas break, Harold Swanagan’s play has earned him more and more playing time. The Irish junior has been one of the team’s most productive players and has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 13 games beginning with the Pittsburgh game on Jan. 16. Swanagan will be in the starting lineup for tonight for the 14th time this season. Since becoming a starter, he has scored in double figures in three of those games — 11 points at Georgetown, 10 at Rutgers and a season-high 12 against Georgetown at home. Against the Hoyas, he played a season-high 29 minutes as he connected on five-of-11 shots from the field. In the victory over Rutgers, he played a season-high 28 minutes and finished with a team-high six rebounds in the contest. Against the Scarlet Knights, he played a season-high 28 minutes and also finished with a team-high six rebounds in the contest. In his second game as a starter this season (vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 16), Swanagan grabbed season-best 10 boards which marked the fifth time in his career he had 10-plus rebounds in a game. In the win at Georgetown, Swanagan finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists, and in addition, connected on all seven of his free-throw attempts from the field.
LEADER OF THE PACK:
The consistency of Troy Murphy as both a scorer and rebounder is remarkable when considering these numbers. Of the 91 career games he has played (he missed three games his freshman year because of a sprained ankle), Murphy has led or tied for team-high scoring and rebounding honors on 72 and 59 occasions, respectively. Below is the breakdown year-to-year of how he has led the Irish in both categories during his career.
Some other noteworthy statistics include: 90 of 91 games in double figure scoring, 44 career double-doubles, 16 career games with 30-plus points and 52 contests with 20-plus points.
MURPHY GETS 100TH BLOCK:
Troy Murphy blocked his 100th career shot against Long Island on Dec. 29 and currently second on the Notre Dame all-time career shot-blocking list with 123. LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) is the Irish all-time leader in this category with 200.
HUMPREY REACHES 1,000 POINTS:
Ryan Humphrey’s 15 points against Connecticut on Feb. 26 put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career and has 1,008 points. The Irish forward, who has scored 372 points in a Notre Dame uniform, had 636 points in his first two seasons at the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Notre Dame. He has played in 89 career games and owns a 11.4 scoring average.
A MURPHY MOMENT:
Troy Murphy grabbed his 800th career rebound in Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse on Jan. 23 becoming just the 10th Irish player to reach that mark. Murphy has 898 rebounds in his career and is one of just two Notre Dame players in history to score more than 1,900 points and grab more than 900 rebounds. The only other Irish player to achieve that milestone was Adrian Dantley (1973-74) who scored 2,223 points and grabbed 843 rebounds during his career.
INGLESBY CONTINUES TO CLIMB ASSIST CHART:
Senior Martin Ingelsby dished off his 500th career assist against Virginia Tech on Feb. 24. He currently has 513 career assists, good for fourth on the all-time career assist list. Ingelsby needs just four more assists to pass Elmer Bennett (1988-92) who finished with 516 assists on the all-time career assist list. Ingelsby owns a 4.28 assist average in 120 career games.
FOLLOWING TROY ON THE WEB:
Follow All-American Troy Murphy on the world wide web at www.und.com/troymurphy. The site includes biographical information, statistics, pictures, a weekly diary, a listing of awards and honors and links to articles on the web which have been written on this Irish junior. For more information on the site, contact the Notre Dame Sports Information Office at (219) 631-7516.
MURPHY GOES HAWAIIAN:
Troy Murphy’s travels took him twice to Hawaii within a two-week span in August and early September. The Irish junior participated in the Pete Newell Big Man Camp just before returning to campus for the start of the school year and met up with former Notre Dame standout and 1997 BIG EAST Player of the Year Pat Garrity. Murphy made a second trip across the mainland when he played for the USA Men’s Select Team on Sept. 2 in Honolulu against the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team. The game was televised by NBC and Murphy finished with four points and three rebounds. St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis served as the team’s coach.
DOUBLE-TAKE FOR HUMPHREY:
Just 27 games into his Notre Dame career, Ryan Humphrey has already posted nine double-doubles in an Irish uniform. His most recent came against Boston College on Feb. 21 when he scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He has registered double-doubles in eight of the last 19 games, and in back-to-back contests against Tennessee Tech (10 points, 12 rebounds) on Dec. 17, Canisius (20 points, 11 rebounds) on Dec. 19 and Long Island (20 points, 11 rebounds) on Dec. 21. Humphrey, who has 19 career double-doubles (10 in two seasons at Oklahoma), registered his first double-double at Notre Dame in the win over Cincinnati on Nov. 25 as he scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He also has had 10 or more rebounds in 27 games during his career and scored 10-plus points on 57 occasions. Humphrey also has scored 20-plus points in seven games throughout his career.
GRAVES PRODUCES BACK-TO-BACK-TO BACK 20-POINT OUTINGS:
David Graves has scored 20-plus points in four games this season. including a season-high 24-point performance against Pittsburgh on Feb. 3. He had three consecutive outings (a first in his career) in which he scored 20-plus points against Tennessee Tech (20 points), Canisius (23 points) and Vermont (21 points) and averaged 21.3 points in those victories. He has scored 20-plus points nine times during his career, which includes a 33-point effort against Vanderbilt during the 1999-2000 campaign.
MURPHY DOUBLE-DOUBLES REACHES 12:
Troy Murphy registered his 12th double-double of the season, and 44th of his career against Virginia Tech on Feb. 24 as he scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Murphy’s other double-doubles have come against Seton Hall (24 points, 16 rebounds), Sacred Heart (31 points, 14 rebounds), Vanderbilt (23 points, 11 rebounds), Canisius (29 points, 15 rebounds), Vermont (21 points, 13 rebounds), Long Island (24 points, 10 rebounds), Seton Hall (25 points, 20 rebounds), Kentucky (14 points, 11 rebounds), Syracuse (34 points, 16 rebounds), St. John’s (34 points, 11 rebounds) and West Virginia (15 points, 10 rebounds). He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 45 career games.
STREAKING ALONG:
Troy Murphy’s 19 points against Georgetown extended his streak of double figure scoring games to 78. The junior forward has netted double figures in 90 of 91 contests throughout his career. The only time he failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1995 when he scored just five points. In that game all of his points came from the free-throw line (5-6) as he was 0-11 from the field.
THIRTY SOMETHING:
Troy Murphy has scored 30-plus points in five of Notre Dame’s 27 games this season. In addition to his 34 points against Syracuse and St. John’s, he netted a career-best 37 points in the win over Rutgers on Jan. 6. He also had 31 in the season opener against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18 and 30 vs. Cincinnati on Nov. 25. He scored 30 or more points in nine games last season and has 15 career 30-plus outings. He also has scored 20-plus points 52 times in 91 career games.
IRISH THREE-POINTERS EXTEND TO 77 STRAIGHT GAMES:
Notre Dame’s 11 three-pointers against Georgetown extended its consecutive games with a three-pointer to 77 games. The Irish streak nearly ended at Pittsburgh when they had just one three-pointer (a season low) against the Panthers on Feb. 3. The last time the Irish failed to connect on at least one three-pointer in a game was against Connecticut in a 101-70 loss in Hartford, Conn., on January 12, 1999. Notre Dame set the school single-game three-point mark when it nailed 16 three-pointers against Loyola.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE:
David Graves’ streak of 50 consecutive games with a three-pointer came to an end against West Virginia when he went 0-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Prior to this game, the last time Graves failed to make a three-pointer was against Maryland on Nov. 26, 1999. He also went 0-2 against Boston College on Feb. 21. In 94 career games, he has had at least one three-point field goal in all but 12 contests.
CARROLL LEADS IRISH AGAINST SCARLET KNIGHTS:
For the second time in his career, Matt Carroll led the Irish in scoring when he scored a team-high 20 points against Rutgers on seven-for-nine shooting from the field in the win on Feb. 14. It marked the second 20-point outing of the season for Carroll who also had season-high 22 points against Loyola (Chicago) in the second game of the season. He also led the Irish in scoring one other time during his career — last season as a freshman versus Villanova when he scored 17 points in an 86-69 loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 8, 2000. Carroll led the Irish in rebounding for the time in his career when he grabbed eight rebounds in the loss to Georgetown.
MACURA NETS SEASON HIGH:
Jere Macura had a season-high 10 points against Rutgers on Wednesday night as he connected on four-of-five shots from the field and played 13 minutes of the contest. It marked the sixth 10-plus outing in his career.
MY FAVORITE MARTIN:
Senior Martin Ingelsby returned to his role as a starter this season after serving as Notre Dame’s starting point guard for both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 campaigns. A starter in his first two seasons, Ingelsby lost his starting job in the seventh game of the season a year ago and averaged just 14.8 minutes and 4.8 points per game in 1999-2000. Through 27 games this season, he leads the team in minutes played (37.2) and is averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
DISHING IT OUT:
Martin Ingelsby leads the Irish with 180 assists. Most impressive is the fact that he has committed just 53 turnovers in 27 games. Ingelsby had six assists and no turnovers against Virginia Tech eight days ago (the first time all season with no turnovers in a game). He had a career-high 13 assists against Rutgers on Jan. 6, while commiting just one turnover. It marked the fourth time this season he had dished off 10-plus assists in a game. He dished off 11 assists in both the Loyola (Chicago) and Canisius contests, while also registering 10 assists in the win over Long Island. The 13 assists in the Rutgers game was the eighth time in his career in which he had dished off 10-plus assists. Ingelsby has played 1005 of a possible 1080 minutes and is averaging a turnover every 20.4 minutes and just 1.96 turnovers per game. Ingelsby’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.40 leads the BIG EAST Conference. He had a season-high five turnovers against Seton Hall in the recent loss to the Pirates.
CONSISTENT CARROLL:
No Irish player has been as consistent throughout the season has sophomore Matt Carroll. He registered double figures for the 38th time in his career (and 20th time this season) against Georgetown as he scored 13 points. He is shooting 47.2 (116-246) percent from the field, 42.4 (61-144) from three-point range and 85.5 (47-55) from the charity stripe. Even more impressive is that he is second in the assist column with 105 (4.00 per game).
UNSELFISH IRISH:
The most telling statistic in Notre Dame’s 27 games — the 495 assists (18.3 per game). Notre Dame has made a total of 746 field goals which translates into an assist for every 1.50 baskets. As a team, the Irish have committed 392 turnovers, resulting in a 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio and a turnover every 2.73 minutes. Last season, Notre Dame had more turnovers (656) than assists (643).
IRISH SHOW TRIPLE THREAT AGAIN:
Notre Dame’s three-point shooting appears to be alive and healthy again this season as the Irish have canned an average of 7.41 three-pointers (200-518) in 27 games. Matt Carroll leads the way with 61, while David Graves has made 56 and Martin Ingelsby 34. In the season opener against Sacred Heart, the Irish began the game by hitting eight of their first nine three-pointers. They also had a school-record 16 against Loyola on Nov. 22. Last season, the Irish averaged 7.8 three-pointers per game en route to establishing the single-season mark with 287.
MURPHY MOVES INTO TOP 10 ON IRISH SCORING CHARTS:
Troy Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 29, 2000 when the Irish defeated St. John’s. He started the season 16th on the all-time scoring list, but the 609 points he has scored in 27 games have elevated him to fifth on the scoring list with 1,967 career points. Against St. John’s, Murphy passed Tom Hawkins (1956-59), who scored 1,820 points during his career. He now needs 92 points to move into fourth on the all-time scoring list occupied by David Rivers (1984-88) who finished his career with 2,058 points.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR MURPHY:
Among active Division I players through games of Jan. 15 according to STATS Inc., Troy Murphy is first with 44 career double-doubles. He has scored in double figures in 89 of 90 career games he has played and has registered double figures in 77 straight contests heading into tonight’s game. The only time Murphy has failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1998.