Dec. 28, 2017
WHO: Notre Dame (10-3) vs. Georgia Tech (6-6)
WHAT: The 2017-18 ACC opener for both the Irish and Yellow Jackets.
WHERE: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
WHEN: Saturday, December 30, 2017, 2:00 p.m. ET
TICKETS: Available at und.com/buytickets
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
National television broadcast on ESPNU with Mike Couzens (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst).
Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Jordan Cornette (analyst). Available on WatchND.tv, locally on WSBT-AM960/FM96.1, via network affiliates (see page eight of the notes package) and on Sirius 138, XM 202 and Sirius/XM Internet 963.
Here are Five Things To Know about Saturday’s Irish – Yellow Jackets ACC opener…
NOTRE DAME – GEORGIA TECH SERIES HISTORY
Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will be meeting for the 17th time on Saturday afternoon, with the Yellow Jackets leading the all-time series 9-7. The Irish and Rambling Wreck have met eight times as ACC opponents, with Notre Dame holding a 5-3 advantage as a conference rivals. Georgia Tech is 0-4 at Purcell Pavilion in ACC competition.
The series dates back to the 1941 season, when Georgia Tech visited the Fieldhouse and the Irish prevailed 53-42.
NOTRE DAME – GEORGIA TECH SERIES (7-9, Home 6-2, Away 1-6, Neutral 0-1, Overtime 1-1, ACC Play 5-3)
|
Date |
ND Rank |
Opp Rank |
W/L |
ND |
Opp |
City |
Site |
|
2/22/1941 |
W |
53 |
42 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Fieldhouse |
||
|
2/5/1966 |
L |
61 |
75 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Fieldhouse |
||
|
2/4/1967 |
L |
87 |
102 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
||
|
1/30/1969 |
NR / 16 |
W |
71 |
52 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
1/17/1972 |
L |
62 |
82 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
||
|
2/25/1989 |
L |
80 |
90 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
||
|
2/24/1990 |
8 / 6 |
L (OT) |
80 |
88 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
11/19/2007 |
L |
69 |
70 |
St. Thomas, V.I. |
Sports and Fitness Center |
||
|
1/11/2014 |
L |
69 |
74 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
||
|
2/26/2014 |
W |
65 |
62 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
1/3/2015 |
14 / 13 |
W (2OT) |
83 |
76 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
1/14/2015 |
12 / 12 |
W |
62 |
59 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
|
|
1/13/2016 |
W |
72 |
64 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
2/20/2016 |
19 /18 |
L |
62 |
63 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
|
|
1/28/2017 |
14 / 12 |
L |
60 |
62 |
Atlanta, GA |
McCamish Pavilion |
|
|
2/26/2017 |
21 / 17 |
W |
64 |
60 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
The Yellow Jackets join Boston College as Notre Dame’s two dedicated ACC teams that the Irish face twice each conference season. Notre Dame will make the trip to McCamish Pavilion on January 10, 2018.
BALANIS TAKES ON HIS ALMA MATER:
Notre Dame associate head coach Rod Balanis faces alma mater on Saturday afternoon. Balanis played for former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins from 1990-94, making four appearances in the NCAA tournament, two Sweet 16 berths and a spot in the 1990 Final Four.
Balanis was a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll and graduated with honors (management) from Georgia Tech in 1993 and has been a member of the Irish coaching staff since Mike Brey’s arrival on campus for the 2000-01 season.
NOTRE DAME ‘RETURN GAME’ HISTORY
Notre Dame improved to 17-1 in ‘get-away games’ (the final game before the Christmas holiday break) under Mike Brey against Southeastern Louisiana on December 21, 2017. The Irish have an equally impressive ‘return game’ history under Brey, with a 16-1 record in those contests. Saturday will mark the first time the Irish ‘return game’ will be against an ACC opponent.
Notre Dame has played five ‘return games’ against a conference opponent while a member of the BIG EAST Conference, posting a 5-0 record in those contest (4-0 at Purcell Pavilion).
NOTRE DAME ‘RETURN GAME’ BREAKDOWN (16-1, HOME 14-0, AWAY 1-0, NEUTRAL 0-1)
|
Date |
ND Rank |
Opp Rank |
Opponent |
W/L |
ND |
Opp |
City |
Site |
|
12/29/2000 |
16 / 16 |
Long Island |
W |
97 |
49 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
12/27/2001 |
23 / 21 |
Alabama |
L |
76 |
79 |
New Orleans, LA |
New Orleans Arena |
|
|
12/30/2002 |
6 / 6 |
Vanderbilt |
W |
76 |
63 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
12/28/2003 |
Morehead State |
W |
84 |
69 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/28/2004 |
Western Illinois |
W |
78 |
61 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/28/2005 |
Fordham |
W |
85 |
49 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/28/2006 |
19 / 24 |
Rider |
W |
101 |
51 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
12/29/2007 |
Brown |
W |
87 |
54 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/31/2008 |
7 / 10 |
DePaul |
W |
92 |
82 |
Rosemont, IL |
Allstate Arena |
|
|
12/30/2009 |
Providence |
W |
93 |
78 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/29/2010 |
15 / 15 |
9 / 9 |
Georgetown |
W |
69 |
55 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
12/27/2011 |
22 / 22 |
Pittsburgh |
W |
72 |
59 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
1/5/2013 |
21 / 19 |
Seton Hall |
W |
93 |
74 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
12/29/2013 |
Canisius |
W (OT) |
87 |
81 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/30/2014 |
14 / 13 |
Hartford |
W |
87 |
60 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
12/29/2015 |
Liberty |
W |
73 |
56 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
12/28/2016 |
24 / 24 |
St. Peter’s |
W |
63 |
55 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
CONFERENCE HOME OPENERS
Notre Dame will begin the 2017-18 ACC season on Saturday against Georgia Tech. The Irish are 3-1 in ACC openers since joining the league for the 2013-14 season – and 3-1 in ACC home openers.
Overall under Mike Brey, the Irish have compiled a 14-3 record in conference home openers (losses to Villanova, 1/6/2002, Syracuse, 1/11/2006, and Pittsburgh 1/9/2016) and 12-5 record in overall conference openers.
See page 9 of the notes package for a full rundown of Notre Dame’s conference openers under Mike Brey.
NOTRE DAME VS. GEORGIA TECH – BY THE NUMBERS
|
2 |
Notre Dame has claimed back-to-back in-season tournament titles over the past two seasons – the 2016 Legend Classic in Barclays Center and the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Nov 22. Senior guard Matt Farrell was named Most Valuable Player of both tournaments, averaging 19.4 points in five games. See page 4 for more on Farrell’s career in-season tournament statistics. |
|
3 |
The Irish are 3-1 in overall and 3-1 in home ACC openers entering Saturday night’s contest with Georgia Tech. |
|
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. |
|
5 |
While Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with Notre Dame 9-7, the Irish hold a 5-3 advantage in ACC play. |
|
16 |
Notre Dame is 16-1 in ‘return games’ (first game after the Christmas break) under Mike Brey. This season marks the first time the Irish will take on an ACC opponent in a ‘return game.’ Notre Dame has won its last 15 ‘return game’ contests, including a 5-0 record against BIG EAST Conference opponents. |
|
16.8 |
Points-per-game average for Matt Farrell, joining ACC leading scorer Bonzie Colson in the conference top-10 (Farrell is seventh as of December 28). The Irish join Duke as the only team with two players in the top seven of the ACC points-per-game rankings. |
|
30 |
Senior forward Bonzie Colson has scored in double figures in 30 consecutive games and leads all current ACC players in career double-doubles (31) and rebounds (816). |
|
26.5 |
Points-per-game average in the last two Notre Dame victories for Bonzie Colson, which earned him his third career ACC Player of the Week award and first of the 2017-18 season on December 26, 2017. |
|
117.0 |
Adjusted offensive efficiency rating for the Irish, 10th-best in the country, as computed by kenpom.com. Notre Dame has finished in the top 10 of this rating in three of the last four seasons, including 2nd in 2015. |
|
816 |
Career rebounds for Bonzie Colson, which places him 14th in Notre Dame men’s basketball history and is seventh among all active NCAA players. |
|
1,495 |
Career points scored by Bonzie Colson, who is poised to become just the eighth Notre Dame player to reach the 1,500-point, 800-rebound statistical milestone. |