Feb. 5, 2018
NDMBB vs. Boston College Notes 
WHO: Notre Dame (13-10, 3-7 ACC) vs. Boston College (15-7, 5-4 ACC)
WHAT: ACC Network matchup, first in a two-game conference homestand for Notre Dame.
WHERE: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
WHEN: Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 8 p.m. ET
TICKETS: A limited amount of tickets remain for public sale at und.com/buytickets
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
ACC Network broadcast with Tom Werme (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst). The broadcast is available at any of the ACC Network affiliates, locally on WMYS and a live stream is also accessible (subject to blackout).
Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Zach Hillesland (analyst). Available locally at WSBT AM-960, FM-96.1, worldwide on WatchND.tv and via network affiliates (a list is available on page 8 of the notes package). The broadcast also will be available on Sirius 134, XM 381 and SiriusXM Internet at 962.
Here are Five Things To Know about the Notre Dame – Boston College mathup…
QUICK FACTS
- T.J. Gibbs has hit double-digit scoring in a career-best 11 straight games, tied for the seventh-best streak in the ACC. Senior Bonzie Colson still leads the league in consecutive double-digit scoring games with 31.
- The current seven-game losing streak for the Irish marks the longest since the team lost seven straight from Jan. 12, 2009 through Feb. 7, 2009. The Irish have never lost eight straight games during the Mike Brey era.
- Notre Dame has shot below .400 as a team in its past eight games. The last game above .400 saw the Irish shoot .518 on Jan. 3, 2018 – against NC State in Purcell Pavilion.
NOTRE DAME – BOSTON COLLEGE SERIES HISTORY
Notre Dame and Boston College will be meeting for the 30th time on Tuesday evening. The Irish lead the all-time series 19-10, including all eight meetings as ACC opponents (since the 2013-14 season).
Dating back to the final meeting between the two teams as BIG EAST members in 2005, the Irish have won nine consecutive games against the Eagles. That is the second-longest streak against an opponent the Irish have met at least 25 times and have met during the Mike Brey era (Notre Dame currently owns a 10-game win streak over DePaul).
INJURY TIMELINE
Notre Dame has been hit by the injury bug this season, playing a significant amount of the season without three of its top six players. A timeline of the injury losses:
- Friday, Dec. 29, 2013 (loss of Colson) – Senior All-American and National Player of the Year candidate Bonzie Colson injures his foot in practice. He starts and plays the full game against Georgia Tech on Saturday, Dec. 30 (scoring 22 points and collecting 17 rebounds), but the discomfort in his left foot leads to an x-ray performed on Monday, Jan. 1. On Tuesday, Jan. 2, it is announced that Colson will miss eight weeks with a fracture in his left foot. He undergoes successful surgery on Thursday, Jan. 4 and is expected to miss eight weeks of action.
- Wednesday, Jan. 3 (loss of Farrell) – In the first game without Bonzie Colson in the lineup, senior guard and Wooden Award watch list selection Matt Farrell severely sprains his left ankle with 5:09 remaining in the first half. Farrell would miss the next three games (at Syracuse – W, at Georgia Tech – L, vs. North Carolina – L). He returned to the starting line up on Tuesday, Jan.16, against Louisville.
- Tuesday, Jan. 16 (loss of Harvey) – With Farrell back in the starting lineup, freshman D.J. Harvey (who had started the previous four games in place of Colson) suffers a bone bruise in his left knee with 8:25 remaining in the first half. Harvey would be sidelined for the next three games (and is expected to be out of the lineup at least one more week).
- Thursday, Jan. 24 (loss of Farrell again)- After competing in two games, Farrell suffers a setback in the rehabilitation from his ankle injury. An MRI is performed and a bone bruise is identified in his left ankle (suffered during the original injury on Jan. 3). Farrell is sidelined indefinitely and does not play against Virginia Tech (L) or Duke (L). He will be a game time decision for the contest at NC State.
- Since losing Colson, the Irish have been able to field a lineup with Farrell and Harvey for just 11:35 of game time (the first half of the double overtime loss to Louisville before Harvey’s injury).
- Thursday, Feb. 1 (loss of Mooney) – With Farrell back to practice, John Mooney sprains his right ankle in the final segment of practice on Thursday, Feb. 1. Mooney attempts to ‘give it a go’ at NC State and remains in the starting lineup, but is eventually limited to just eight minutes of playing time.
GUARDS GET BETTER
Senior Matt Farrell and sophomore T.J. Gibbs not only share the ball handling duties in the Notre Dame backcourt, they also are linked by their noteworthy development as part of the Irish roster.
Moving from a reserve role to the starting point guard for the 2016-17 season, Farrell improved his scoring output by 11.5 points for the season – 2.6 to 14.1 – to rank second in the ACC.
In 2017-18, Gibbs is following Farrell’s path while moving from a reserve to the starting line up. Currently, Gibbs has improved his scoring output 11.0 points per game (4.7 to 15.7) – which is second in the ACC.
NOTRE DAME vs. BOSTON COLLEGE – BY THE NUMBERS
|
1 |
Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of personal fouls committed per game with a 13.0 average. The Irish are also first in the NCAA in terms of total fouls committed (300). |
|
2.83 |
Senior guard Matt Farrell leads the ACC in three-point field goals made per game with a 2.83 average (51 total). Farrell has connected on four-or-more three-point field goals in seven games this season, incluing four at NC State on Feb. 3. |
|
3 |
More weeks of game action expected to be missed by senior Bonzie Colson after fracturing a bone in his foot on Friday, December 29. Colson was averaging 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and over two steals and two blocks per game – the only college player to hit those averages this year and the only player to reach those averages since Sports Reference started tracking statistics in the 1992-93 season. |
|
4 |
Mike Brey is the fourth-longest tenured head coach among power five conference teams – now in his 18th season at Notre Dame. Jim Boeheim (42), Mike Krzyzewski (38) and Tom Izzo (23) are the only other power five conference head coaches with a longer tenure at their current institution. |
|
8 |
Notre Dame is 8-0 against Boston College since joining the ACC for the 2013-14 season, including 4-0 at Purcell Pavilion. |
|
11.0 |
Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs has improved his scoring by 11.0 points per game this season (4.7 to 15.7), the second-best mark in the ACC (UNC’s Luke Maye leads with a +12.8 mark). |
|
17.3 |
T.J. Gibbs is eighth in the ACC for points-per-game (in conference games only). Gibbs has 173 points in 10 ACC games and needs five more points to double his scoring output from his freshman ACC season (89). |
|
95 |
The senior class of Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben, Matt Gregory and Austin Torres (graduate student) is three wins away from becoming the all-time winningest senior class in Notre Dame basketball history. The 2016-17 and 2012-13 senior classes currently hold the record with 97 wins over a four-year span. |
|
340 |
Career assists for Matt Farrell, on pace to become the 16th Notre Dame player to reach the 350-assist plateau at Notre Dame. Farrell is 36 assists behind Kyle McAlarney for 15th on the Notre Dame career assist list. |
|
1,860 |
Wins in Notre Dame men’s basketball history, which is the ninth-best total in the NCAA. Notre Dame has moved from 12th on the all-time wins list to ninth during the Mike Brey Era (2000-01 to present). |