Feb. 17, 2001
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IRISH ITEMS FOR THE SETON HALL GAME:
Notre Dame looks to avenge its second BIG EAST loss of the season this afternoon when the Irish play host to Seton Hall (13-9, 4-7). The Irish, who swept their third series from a BIG EAST opponent this season when the they defeated Rutgers 81-59 on Wednesday night for its school-record eighth straight league and fourth consecutive conference road win (also a school record), lost to the Pirates 78-76 in the first regular-season meeting between the two teams at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. on Jan. 8. It was the last league loss for the Irish who have not lost since dropping an 81-72 non-conference decision at Kentucky at Jan. 13.
First-year head coach Mike Brey’s Irish are in first place in the West Division of the BIG EAST standings. While its a first for a Notre Dame team to win four consecutive league games on the road, this is the first Irish team to produce victories in four straight road games on the homecourt of its opponent since the 1973-74 campaign when that Notre Dame team defeated Ohio State (76-72), Northwestern (98-74), Indiana (73-67) and Kansas (76-74).
Notre Dame returns home this afternoon for the first of a two-game homestand. The Irish, who have played four of its last five games on the road, entertain Boston College, who leads the East Division of the BIG EAST regular-season standings, on Wed., Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The Irish are 11-2 at home at the Joyce Center this season and have won nine straight since dropping a 73-64 decision to Miami of Ohio on Dec. 9.
Notre Dame’s defense has been a key in the current seven-game streak as the Irish have given up just 64.3 ppg. Brey’s squad has only allowed 70-plus points in two games and have held opponents to 67 points and under in six of the last eight contests.
The Irish are seven games above the .500 mark in BIG EAST play for the first time in school history and have assured themselves of a winning record since joining the league in 1995-96. Their 9-2 mark ranks as its best start in its six seasons as a league member.
Seton Hall has lost five straight and our 1-6 on the road this season. The Pirates most recent loss was 68-61 setback at home against Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame holds a slim 6-5 advantage in the serires and is 3-2 against the Pirates in the last five meetings between the two schools.
Notre Dame is ranked 14th in the Associated Press ranking and is 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Irish returned to the top 25 ranking of the AP Poll two weeks ago after a two-week hiatus and is in the ESPN/USA Today for the second straight week following a three-week absence. Notre Dame was ranked in the first 10 polls of the season after starting the preseason ranked for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign. Notre Dame started the preseason tied for 15th in the preseason AP Poll and were 17th in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. Notre Dame climbed as high as 10th in both polls on Dec. 4, but dropped from the top 10 after suffering back-to-back setbacks to Indiana and Miami (Ohio).
RECAP OF RUTGERS:
Notre Dame nearly led from start to finish in the contest as the Irish had its most impressive road victory of the season with an 81-59 victory over the Scarlet Knights. The 22-point margin of victory was the second-largest for the Irish in a BIG EAST road game in six years.
For the second time in his career, Matt Carroll led the Irish in scoring as he tallied 20 ponts, grabbed five rebounds and dished off three assists. It marked the second time this season the sophomore recorded 20-plus points in a game. Carroll was seven-of-nine from the field to lead the Irish from the field. Notre Dame finished the game hitting 61.7 percent from the field (its second-best shooting percentage of the season) after the Irish missed just eight first-half field goals (16-24) in shooting 66.7 percent. The Irish also shot 54.5 percent from three-point range as they connected on six-of-11 shots from the field.
Notre Dame, without the services of second-leading scorer and top rebounder Ryan Humphrey because of an ankle sprain suffered suffered in the final minute of Notre Dame , had five players score in double figures. Troy Murphy finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while Harold Swanagan, Martin Ingelsby and Jere Macura each chipped in 10 points. Ingelsby also had seven assists in the game and committed just one turnover in 38 minutes of action.
The win was Notre Dame’s first in five appearances at the Louis Brown Athletic Center since the Irish became a member of the BIG EAST Conference.
Head Coach Mike Brey’s squad trailed only once (1-0) less than a minute into the contest. A David Graves’ jumper at 18:58 gave the Irish the lead they would never relinquish as the Irish jumped out to an early 11-point advantage midway through the first half and led by 18 (43-25) at halftime.
Notre Dame held the Scarlet Knights to just 33.8 percent shooting for the game and 21.4 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
POLL POSITION:
Notre Dame is ranked 14th in the Associated Press Poll, up six spots from a week ago and jumped two places to 21st in this week’s ESPN/USA Today ranking. 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 116-57 for a .671 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 .671 winning percentage among Division I coaches with five years as a head coach stands second only to Tom Izzo of Michigan State (.732). 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 reached the 17-win mark (in 22 games) quicker than any other first-year coach in the program’s history. The last Notre Dame squad to pick up 16 wins in its first 21 games was the 1988-89 Irish team coached by Digger Phelps. That Notre Dame squad also produced a 17-5 mark through its first 22 games en route to finishing with a 21-9 overall mark.
MOST WINS IN THE REGULAR SEASON:
Notre Dame’s 17 wins are the most from an Irish team during the regular season since the 1988-89 campaign. The last Notre Dame team to post 18 wins in its first 23 contests was the 1980-81 squad. That Irish team won 19-4 after its first 23 games en route to a 23-6 final record.
BREY vs. RANKED OPPONENTS:
As a head coach at both Notre Dame and Delaware, Mike Brey has coached in 11 games against ranked opponents. Notre Dame’s game against Georgetown last Saturday marked the fifth ranked opponent the Irish had faced this season. 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. The 74-60 win over Syracuse was his first against a top 10 opponent. The Orangemen entered the contest eighth in the ESPN/USA Today ranking.
NOTRE DAME vs. SETON HALL:
This afternoon’s contest is the 12th meeting between the two teams with the Irish holding a slim 6-5 advantage in the series and has three of the last five meetings between the two teams. The last two meetings, which have occurred at the Continental Airlines Arena, have been decided by two points. Notre Dame was a 76-74 winner last season, while the Pirates earned a 78-76 victory in early January. The Irish are 4-0 all-time against Seton Hall at the Joyce Center.
RECAP OF SETON HALL – Part I:
Notre Dame dropped its second BIG EAST road contest of the season with is 78-76 loss to Seton Hall. Irish All-American Troy Murphy led all scorers and rebounders with 25 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, marking the second time in school history a Notre Dame player had achieved that rare fete. He also became the seventh player in league history and first since 1992 to record a “20-20” in a conference game.
The Irish rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and grabbed a 59-58 lead with 11:45 remaining in the second half. That lead change marked the first of eight between the two teams in the last 12 minutes of the game. Notre Dame’s last lead of the contest was (73-72) with 3:25 remaining.
Ryan Humphrey had a career-high 15 rebounds in the game as the Irish dominated the Pirates on the boards 56-37 (the 56 rebounds were a team-high). He also blocked a season and game-high seven shots. Humphrey failed to score in double figures for the first time all season as he had just seven points in the game, well below his 16.7 scoring average.
Matt Carroll reached double figure scoring for the 10th time this season as he scored 18 points, while David Graves was the only other Notre Dame player in double figures as he netted 10 points.
The Irish shot a season-low 35.6 percent for the game hitting 26 of 73 shots from the field as they connected on just 28.6 percent (12-42) in the second half.
Notre Dame committed 16 turnovers in the game and had just 11 assists. It marked the second time in three games that the Irish had more assists than turnovers in a game.
IRISH POST BACK-TO-BACK WINS OVER TOP 10 OPPONENTS:
Notre Dame’s victories against Syracuse and Georgetown in consecutive games marked the first time in school history that an Irish team beat two top 10 opponents in back-to-back contests. When the Irish defeated the Orangemen 74-60 on Jan. 23, Syracuse was ranked eighth in the ESPN/USA Today ranking, while Georgetown was 10th in the Associated Press Poll before suffering a 78-71 setback to Notre Dame.
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 and Rutgers marks the first time since the Irish joined the league in 1995-96 that they have posted eight straight wins over league foes. Notre Dame also is seven games above the .500 mark for the first time since becoming a league member.
BIG EAST MOMENT II FOR IRISH:
Notre Dame’s four straight victories on the road over Georgetown (78-71 on Jan. 27), Pittsburgh (75-67 on Feb. 3), West Virgina (69-66 on Feb. 11) and Rutgers (81-59 on Feb. 14) marks the first time since the Irish joined the BIG EAST that they have won three consecutive road games in the league. Heading into last Sunday’s matchup with the Mountaineers, 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 Wednesday night. 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.
NOTE THE CHANGE IN MURPHY TELECONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
Troy Murphy once again will hold a weekly teleconference. On page 4 is a listing of those dates and times. Media should take note of the new time. All teleconferences will begin at 11:00 a.m. (a change from 11:15 a.m.), with one exception ? the Feb. 15 teleconference will commence at 11:30 a.m.).
MURPHY AND THE WOODEN WATCH:
Troy Murphy is among the top 30 candidates and one of four BIG EAST players named to the midseason list for the 2001 John R. Wooden Award. Murphy, a member of the 2000 John R. Wooden All-America team, was one of the top 25 vote-getters on the Preseason List of 50 which was announced in the fall. He and Duke senior Shane Battier are the only two previous candidates among the current list of 30. 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. The three other BIG EAST players on the list of 30 include Albert Mouring of Connecticut, Eddie Griffin of Seton Hall and Preston Shumpert of Syracuse.
MURPHY IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Certainly Troy Murphy can stake claim to being the most publicized men’s collegiate basketball player in the past two months. 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.
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.
HUMPHREY NAMED CBS PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Ryan Humphrey was selected as the CBS Player of the Game versus Kentucky after recording his seventh double-double of the season as he finished with 12 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.
MURPHY COPS BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR FOURTH TIME
Troy Murphy was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after averaging 24.3 points and 10.5 rebounds and leading the Irish to wins over St. John’s and West Virginia which extended the team’s win streak to seven games. 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 earns 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.
ORANGEMEN FIRST TOP 10 VICTIM AT JOYCE CENTER SINCE 1994:
Notre Dame had two wins against top 10 opponents during the 1994, but both of those victories occurred on the road. Prior to Tuesday night’s win against Syracuse, the Irish had not beaten a top 10 opponent at home 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.
HOME COOKIN’:
Notre Dame’s four consecutive BIG EAST wins against Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse and St. John’s helped extended its home win streak to nine games. The Irish now, 11-2 at home, have three games remaining at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame was 16-4 at home a year ago, and since the start of last season, have won 81.8 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 19 of 22 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 all season that neither Murphy or Humphrey was not the team’s leading rebounder. Murphy has been the leading scorer and rebounder in 15 and nine games, respectively, while Humphrey has led the Irish in scoring in two games and in rebounding on 11 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 nine days ago against St. John’s 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 10 double-doubles this season, while Humphrey has eight.
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 scoring as he is averaging 23.0 points and is second in the rebounding column with 9.1 rebounds per game, while Humphrey is second in scoring (14.9 ppg.) and leads the team with a 9.4 rebounding average. Graves owns a 14.4 scoring average. The trio is responsible for 63.5 percent of the team’s offensive scoring (1,136 of 1,789 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 has shown tremendous resiliency in five of its last seven outings and has staged comebacks in both the first and second halves of games to pull out victories. Here’s a look at the Irish comebacks:
West Virginia – Trailed 19-8 with 12:34 to go in first half before 16-4 run to take the lead for good with 7:39 remaining in the first half.
Syracuse – Never trailed in the contest.
Georgetown – Trailed 54-46 with 11:27 in the second half, but outscored the Hoyas 14-5 to take the lead for good with 4:59 left in the game.
Pittsburgh – Fell behind 21-10 with 13:05 remaining in the first half and closed out the final 13 minutes with a 24-8 run that gave the Irish a 34-29 halftime advantage. Notre Dame never trailed in the second half.
St. John’s – Trailed 46-36 with 18:37 remaining in the second half, but used an 18-8 run to take a two-point lead (56-54) with 9:30 left to play. Never trailed after that point and had a 19-point lead (77-58) with 2:05 remaining.
West Virginia – Trailed 60-53 with 6:22 left in the game before a 9-0 run helped the Irish claim a 60-58 advantage with 2:21 to play. Fell behind 65-64 with 1:40 to play before pulling out the three-point win.
Rutgers – Trailed 1-0 at the 19:44 mark to start the game.
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 97 (59.1 percent) of Notre Dame’s 164 three-point field goals and has attempted 233 (57.0 percent) of the team’s 409 shots from beyond the arc. Carroll is shooting 44.5 from three-point range, while Graves has made 39.0 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
IRONMAN:
Martin Inglesby leads the team in minutes played this season as he is averging 37.3 minutes per game. He has played the entire 40 minutes in seven of 11 BIG EAST contests and in nine 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.
POINTS A PLENTY:
Notre Dame is averaging 81.3 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 12.3 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.
“BIG” BIG EAST WIN:
Notre Dame’s 22-point margin of victory over Rutgers was the second-largest for the Irish in a BIG EAST road game in five-plus seasons. Last year, 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 396-116 all-time at the Joyce Center for a .773 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 143 blocks as team and that figure already ranks as the second most in a season for an Irish team. The single-season team record is 145 set by the 1991-92 Notre Dame team. The Irish had 110 blocks as a team a year ago. Ryan Humphrey leads the team with 62, while Troy Murphy is second with 44.
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 1,175 points in 89 career games for a 13.2 career scoring average heading into this evening’s game and currently ranks 27th 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 (1,864 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 3,039 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 eight games beginning with the Pittsburgh game on Jan. 16. Swanagan will be in the starting lineup today for the 10th time this season. Since becoming a starter, he has scored in double figures in two of those games ? 11 points at Georgetown and 10 at Rutgers. Against the Scarlet Knights, he playd 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 (and first in the last eight-game stretch), 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 a season-best 11 points, six rebounds and two assists, and in addition, connected on all seven of his free-throw attempts from the field.
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 120. LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) is the Irish all-time leader in this category with 200.
HUMPREY APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS:
Ryan Humphrey is 51 points from reaching the 1,000-point mark. The Irish forward has scored 313 points in a Notre Dame uniform. Heading into his first season at Notre Dame Humphrey, who transferred from the University of Oklahoma, had 636 points. He has played in 84 career games and owns an 11.3 scoring average.
A MURPHY MOMENT:
Troy Murphy grabbed his 800th career rebound in Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse becoming just the 10th Irish player to reach that mark. Murphy has 848 rebounds in his career and is one of just two Notre Dame players in history to score 1,800 points and grab 800 rebounds. The only other Irish player to achieve that milestone was Tom Hawkins (1956-59) who scored 1,820 points and grabbed 1,318 rebounds during his career.
INGLESBY CONTINUES TO CLIMB ASSIST CHART:
Senior Martin Ingelsby dished off his 400th career assist against Vermont on Dec. 21. He currently has 482 career assists, good for fourth on the all-time career assist list. Ingelsby passed Rich Branning (1976-80) who finished his career with 466 assists. Ingelsby owns a 4.19 assist average in 115 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 21 games into his Notre Dame career, Ryan Humphrey has already posted eight double-doubles in an Irish uniform. His most recent came eight days ago against St. John’s (Feb. 3) as he scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He has registered double-doubles in seven of the last 15 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 18 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 26 games during his career and scored 10-plus points on 54 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. 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 10:
Troy Murphy registered his 10th double-double of the season, and 42nd of his career against West Virginia as he scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against West Virginia. Murphy’s other double-doubles have come against 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) and West Virginia (15 points, 10 rebounds). He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 43 career games.
FREE-THROW SHOOTING IN THE FINAL FOUR MINUTES:
As a team, Notre Dame is shooting 69.4 percent from the free-throw line and have made 74.8 percent from the charity stripe in the last eight games (214-286). Notre Dame had its best night from the line this season against Rutgers on Jan. 6, hitting 17-of-20 attempts for 85.0 percent accuracy. In Notre Dame’s victory over Georgetown more than two weeks ago, the Irish converted 23 of its 28 chances from the charity stripe, including a 17 of their last 21 in the final four minutes. In the previous outing against Syracuse, Brey’s squad hit 83.9 percent from the line, connecting on 26 of its 31 attempts. That was a complete turnaround from its performance against Syracuse in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 2 when the Irish converted just 8-21 from the line (38.1 percent). Notre Dame was just 1-10 from the free-throw line in the first half of that contest (after making their first free throw attempt, the Irish missed their next 10). Against Pittsburgh on Feb. 3, th Irish were 20-25 from the line (80.0 percent accuracy) and were 12-14 in the final 1:33 of the contest. In the West Virginia game, Notre Dame did not attempt a free-throw in the first half, but did make 16 of its 20 attempts in the second half. In the last six games, Notre Dame is a combined 43-59 (72.9 percent) overall in the final four minutes of the contest.
STREAKING ALONG:
Troy Murphy’s 18 points against Rutgers extended his streak of double figure scoring games to 73. The junior forward has netted double figures in 85 of 86 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 22 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 49 times in 86 career games.
IRISH THREE-POINTERS EXTEND TO 72 STRAIGHT GAMES:
Notre Dame’s six three-pointers against Rutgers extended its consecutive games with a three-pointer to 72 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 on Sunday when he went 0-4 from beyond the three-point arc against West Virginia. Prior to this, the last time Graves failed to make a three-pointer was against Maryland on Nov. 26, 1999. In 89 career games, he has had at least one three-point field goal in all but 11 contests.
CARROLL LEADS IRISH AGAINST SCARLET KNIGHTS:
For the second time in his career, Matt Carroll led the Irish in scoring. The sophomore guard had a game and team-high 20 points on seven-for-nine shooting from the field. 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.
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 22 games this season, he leads the team in minutes played (37.3) and is averaging 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
DISHING IT OUT:
Martin Ingelsby leads the Irish with 149 assists. Most impressive is the fact that he has committed just 40 turnovers in 22 games. He had a career-high 13 assists against Rutgers, 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 820 of a possible 880 minutes and is averaging a turnover every 22.0 minutes and just 1.82 turnovers per game. Ingelsby’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.73 leads the BIG EAST Conference.
CONSISTENT CARROLL:
No Irish player has been as consistent throughout the season has sophomore Matt Carroll. He registered double figures for the 34th time in his career (and 16th time this season) against Rutgers as he scored a game-high 20 points. He is shooting 48.7 (94-193) percent from the field, 44.5 (49-110) from three-point range and 83.7 (36-43 from the charity stripe. Even more impressive is that he is second in the assist column with 91 (4.14 per game).
UNSELFISH IRISH:
The most telling statistic in Notre Dame’s 22 games ? the 411 assists (18.7 per game). Notre Dame has made a total of 621 field goals which translates into an assist for every 1.51 baskets. As a team, the Irish have committed 320 turnovers, resulting in a 1.28 assist-to-turnover ratio and a turnover every 2.75 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 7.45 three-pointers (164-409) in 22 games. Matt Carroll leads the way with 49, while David Graves has made 48 and Martin Ingelsby 38. 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 488 points he has scored in 21 games have elevated him to fifth on the scoring list with 1,846 career points. Against St. John’s, Murphy passed Tom Hawkins (1956-59), who scored 1,820 points during his career. He now needs 195 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.
Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joined Dantley as the only Irish players to reach the 1,000-point mark in their sophomore seasons. He scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game ? the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame’s 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 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 42 career double-doubles. He has scored in double figures in 85 of 86 career games he has played and has registered double figures in 71 straight contests heading into this afternoon’s matchup with Georgetown. The only time Murphy has failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1998.
LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION:
Notre Dame is making its second of three appearances on CBS this afternoon. The Irish played at Kentucky on Jan. 13 in a game televised by CBS. The final regular-season game against Georgetown here at the Joyce Center also will be shown on CBS. Today’s game marks the first time since Feb. 9, 1991 when the Irish played Syracuse (a 70-69 loss) that the CBS cameras have been inside the Joyce Center for a regular-season contest.