Jan. 11, 2018
NDMBB vs. North Carolina Notes 
WHO: No. NR/25 Notre Dame (13-4, 3-1 ACC) vs. No. 20/18 North Carolina (13-4, 2-2 ACC)
WHAT: ESPN Prime Time ACC matchup and first of a two-game homestand for the Irish.
WHERE: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center
WHEN: Saturday, January 13, 2018, 6:00 p.m. ET
TICKETS: General admission tickets are sold out. A very limited number of VIP Packages remain.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
ESPN national broadcast with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Maria Taylor (sidelines).
Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Zach Hillesland (analyst). Available locally on WSBT-AM 960/FM 96.1, via network affiliates (list available on page 8 of the notes package), world wide on WatchND.tv and on Sirius/XM Channel 84.
Here are Five Things to Know about the Notre Dame – North Carolina match up…
QUICK HITS
- Notre Dame has outrebounded three of its four ACC opponents and boasts a +7.8 rebounding differential in ACC games heading into the contest with North Carolina. The Tar Heels lead the league in that same category with a +16.5 differential.
- Notre Dame’s first four years of ACC play were the most successful of any conference team, either as an original ACC member or a recent addition, in the history of the conference. The Irish won 97 overall games games during their first four years in the league (besting the 95 by NC State from 1953-54 through 1956-57). Notre Dame also won 49 conference games in its first four seasons of ACC play, besting NC State’s 44 over its first four years in the league.
- The Irish are second in the ACC in terms of opponent scoring in league games, boasting a 56.5 average.
- Notre Dame ranks 31st in the country in the KenPom.com adjusted defensive rating. That is the highest the Irish have been since the 2007-08 team finished 31st in the final defensive rating.
- Senior Martinas Geben has set career highs for single game rebounds (14 at Syracuse) and singe game points (16 at Georgia Tech) in Notre Dame’s last two road games.
- Sophomore John Mooney will enter the North Carolina game coming off the best game of his young career, scoring 11 points with eight reobunds at Georgia Tech.
- Four games into the ACC season, Rex Pflueger ranks third in the ACC for assist/turnover ratio on league games, boasting a 3.40 – he has committed just five turnovers while dishing out 17 assists.
- In ACC play, T.J. Gibbs is 15-for-16 from the free throw line (.938) – which is fourth-best in the league.
NOTRE DAME – NORTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY
The Notre Dame – North Carolina series dates back to the 1957-58 season when the Irish and Tar Heels met as ranked opponents in Chicago Stadium. The No. 17/15 Irish defeated defending national champion No. 11/10 North Carolina 89-70 behind 33 points from Notre Dame Ring of Honor inductee Tommy Hawkins.
The Irish and Tar Heels have a knack for meeting each other in big games over the course of the series, including four NCAA tournament matchups and the 2015 ACC Championship game (a 90-82 victory for Notre Dame).
North Carolina leads the all-times series 21-7 and are 4-3 against the Irish in ACC play.
See page 9 of this notes package for a complete listing of every Notre Dame – North Carolina matchup.
NOTRE DAME – NORTH CAROLINA ACC SERIES HISTORY (3-4, HOME 1-1, AWAY 1-2, NEUTRAL 1-1)
|
Date |
ND Rank |
Opp Rank |
W/L |
ND |
Opp |
City |
Site |
|
2/8/2014 |
L |
62 |
73 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
||
|
3/3/2014 |
14 / 14 |
L |
61 |
63 |
Chapel Hill, NC |
Dean Smith Center |
|
|
1/5/2015 |
13 /12 |
18 / 17 |
W |
71 |
70 |
Chapel Hill, NC |
Dean Smith Center |
|
3/14/2015 |
11 / 9 |
19 / 19 |
W |
90 |
82 |
Greensboro, NC* |
Greensboro Coliseum |
|
2/6/2016 |
2 / 1 |
W |
80 |
76 |
Notre Dame, IN |
Purcell Pavilion |
|
|
3/11/2016 |
7 / 7 |
L |
47 |
78 |
Washington, DC* |
Verizon Center |
|
|
2/4/2017 |
20 / 18 |
12 / 10 |
L |
76 |
83 |
Greensboro, NC+ |
Greensboro Coliseum |
+ – game moved from Chapel Hill to Greensboro due to a broken water main, designated a UNC home game.
* – ACC tournament game
WINNINGEST CLASS AT NOTRE DAME?
The 2016-17 senior class of Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and graduate student Patrick Mazza matched the school record for wins over a four-year stretch last season, joining the 2012-13 group of Joey Brooks, Mike Broghammer, Jack Cooley and Scott Martin with 97 wins.
The 2017-18 senior class of Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben, Matt Gregory and graduate student Austin Torres is already on pace to surpass that school record this season.
MOST WINS – FOUR YEAR SPAN:
|
Year 1 |
Wins |
Year 2 |
Wins |
Year 3 |
Wins |
Year 4 |
Wins |
Total |
|
2014-15 |
32 |
2015-16 |
24 |
2016-17 |
26 |
2017-18 |
13 |
95 |
|
2013-14 |
15 |
2014-15 |
32 |
2015-16 |
24 |
2016-17 |
26 |
97 |
|
2009-10 |
23 |
2010-11 |
27 |
2011-12 |
22 |
2012-13 |
25 |
97 |
|
2007-08 |
25 |
2008-09 |
21 |
2009-10 |
23 |
2010-11 |
27 |
96 |
|
2012-13 |
25 |
2013-14 |
15 |
2014-15 |
32 |
2015-16 |
24 |
96 |
|
2011-12 |
22 |
2012-13 |
25 |
2013-14 |
15 |
2014-15 |
32 |
94 |
GIBBS NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs has immediately and emphatically stepped up in the loss of both Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson to injury and was rewarded with the first ACC Player of the Week award of his career on Monday, January 8, 2018.
Gibbs averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in Notre Dame’s victories over NC State and at Syracuse – leading the Irish to their first victory in the Carrier Dome since 2007.
IRISH SENIOR CLASS PROTECTS HOME COURT IN ACC
The four-year Notre Dame senior class of Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben and Matt Gregory has posted a 22-6 record at home in ACC play over the past three-plus seasons. Those 23 wins match with Duke and Louisivlle for third-best in the league over the past four seasons. Virginia paces the ACC with 26 home court wins, while North Carolina has 24 over the past four seasons.
|
Season |
Home Record |
Losses |
|
2014-15 |
7-2 |
Virginia, Syracuse |
|
2015-16 |
7-2 |
Pittsburgh, Miami FL |
|
2016-17 |
7-2 |
Virginia, Duke |
|
2017-18 |
2-0 |
|
|
Total |
23-6 |
NOTRE DAME vs. NORTH CAROLINA – BY THE NUMBERS
|
1 |
Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of personal fouls committed per game with a 12.7 average. The Irish are also second overall in the NCAA (to Western Illinois) in terms of total fouls committed (216). |
|
3 |
Notre Dame began the ACC season 3-0 for the second consecutive year and third time in five seasons of ACC competition. The Irish are the only ACC team to begin the 2016-17 and 2017-18 conference slates with a 3-0 record. |
|
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 |
There are only five players in the ACC avearging a double-double in league play, including senior forward Martinas Geben. Geben is averaging 10.5 ppg and 10.3 rpg in four ACC games, joining Marving Bagley III (Duke), Luke Maye (UNC), Donte Grantham (Clemson) and Ben Lammers (Georgia Tech) as the five ACC players to average a double-double in league competition. |
|
8 |
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. |
|
23 |
The four-year Notre Dame senior class (Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben and Matt Gregory) has won 23 ACC home games over the past four seasons – tied for the third-best total in the league. |
|
37.3 |
Points-per-game average combined for Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell, who were both sidelined for the Syracuse and Georgia Tech games with injuries. |
|
40 |
ACC victories over the past four years for Notre Dame, which as of Jan. 11, 2018, was the third-most in the league over the past four seasons (Virginia 44 and North Carolina 41 rank ahead of the Irish). |
|
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. See page 3 of this notes package for more details. |