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Notre Dame vs. Southeastern Louisiana - Five Things To Know

Dec. 20, 2017

NDMBB vs. SE Louisiana Notes Get Acrobat Reader

WHO: Notre Dame (9-3) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (6-6)

WHAT: Final non-conference game of 2017-18 for the Irish and final game before the Christmas break.

WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (9,149)

WHEN: Thursday, December 21, 2017, 7 p.m. ET

TICKETS: Still available at und.com/buytickets

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

ACC Network Extra with Nik Valdiserri (play-by-play) and Conor Clingen (analyst). Available anywhere the WatchESPN app is accessible.

Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst). Available on WatchND.tv, via network affiliates (see page eight of the notes package) and on Sirius XM (Sirius 138 XM 193 Internet 955).

Here are Five Things To Know about the Irish – Lions matchup…

IRISH PLAY HOST TO LIONS IN FINAL PRE-CHRISTMAS, PRE-CONFERENCE GAME

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (9-3) wraps up both its pre-holiday schedule and non-conference schedule on Thursday, December 21, when it takes on Southeastern Louisiana (6-6) at 7 p.m. ET in Purcell Pavilion (ACC Network Extra).

After the ‘get-away game’ wtih the Lions, the Irish players will get a break to celebrate Christmas with their families, returning to campus for a late afternoon practice on December 26th.

The 2017-18 ACC schedule begins on Saturday, December 30, against Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

NOTRE DAME – SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SERIES HISTORY

The Irish and Lions will be meeting for the first time on Thursday evening. A member of the Southland Conference, Southeastern Louisiana is located in Hammond, Louisiana, and started its program in 1947-48, then joined the Southland in 1997-98. They won the Southland Conference title in 2005 and advanced to the school’s first NCAA tournament that season.

NOTRE DAME – SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE HISTORY

Notre Dame is 6-0 all-time against teams from the Southland Conference. The Irish are 3-0 vs. New Orleans, 2-0 vs. Sam Houston State and 1-0 against Stephen F. Austin. The lone victory over SFA was a memorable one, as current Irish junior Rex Pflueger tipped in the game-winning rebound with 1.5 seconds remaining in an NCAA Tournament second-round victory over the Lumberjacks – propelling the Irish to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season in 2016.

COLSON POURS IN 37 POINTS VS. DARTMOUTH – BEST NOTRE DAME PERFORMANCE IN SEVEN YEARS

Senior forward Bonzie Colson carried the Irish to a 97-87 victory over Dartmouth on Tuesday, December 19, with a career-best 37 points on 15-of-21 shooting.

The 37 points mark the most for an Irish player since Luke Harangody posted 37 against Cincinnati on February 4, 2010.

TOP SCORING PERFORMANCES – BREY ERA (2000-01-present)

Pts

Name

Opponent

Date

OT

W/L

ND-Opp

40

Luke Harangody

at Louisville

2/28/2008

L

72-80

39

Kyle McAlarney

vs. North Carolina*

11/26/2008

L

87-102

39

Chris Thomas

vs. Saint Louis^

3/22/2004

W

77-66

37

Bonzie Colson

Dartmouth

12/19/2017

W

97-87

37

Luke Harangody

Cincinnati

2/4/2010

W

83-65

37

Chris Quinn

at Pittsburgh

1/4/2006

2OT

L

97-100

37

Troy Murphy

Rutgers

1/6/2001

W

87-80

36

Luke Harangody

at USF

1/5/2010

W

74-73

* – Maui Invitational Championship Game, Laihaina, Hawaii

^ – NIT Second Round, Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana

NOTRE DAME ‘GET-AWAY GAME’ HISTORY

The final game before the Christmas holiday break has long been referrred to as the ‘get-away game’ and can be a challenge for teams to focus knowing that a multiple day break and opportunity to travel home is just hours away.

During the Mike Brey era at Notre Dame, the Irish have been able to overcome those distractions, as Brey teams have compiled a 16-1 record in ‘get-away games,’ including a 15-0 record at Purcell Pavilion.

NOTRE DAME ‘GET-AWAY GAME’ BREAKDOWN (16-1, HOME 15-0, AWAY 1-0, NEUTRAL 0-1)

Date

ND Rank

Opp Rank

Opponent

W/L

ND

Opp

City

Site

12/21/2000

21 / 24

Vermont

W

96

86

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2001

Canisius

W

84

73

Buffalo, NY

First Niagara Center

12/22/2002

9 / 11

Canisius

W

83

75

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/23/2003

Quinnipiac

W

79

62

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2004

Marist

W

88

73

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/23/2005

Columbia

W

75

68

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/21/2006

20 / NR

Army

W

88

47

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2007

San Francisco

W

84

76

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2008

12 / 14

Savannah State

W

81

49

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2009

Bucknell

W

101

69

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/22/2010

22 / 20

UMBC

W

93

53

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/20/2011

Dartmouth

W

65

47

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/21/2012

22 / 22

Niagara

W

89

67

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/21/2013

3 / 2

Ohio State

L

61

64

New York, NY

Madison Square Garden

12/22/2014

16 / 16

Northern Illinois

W

91

66

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/21/2015

Youngstown State

W

87

78

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

12/19/2016

25 / 24

Colgate

W

77

62

Notre Dame, IN

Purcell Pavilion

NOTRE DAME VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA – BY THE NUMBERS

1

Notre Dame and Southeastern Louisiana are meeting for the first time on Thursday evening.

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 3 for more on Farrell’s career in-season tournament statistics.

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.

6

Matt Farrell ranks in the top-10 of six statistical categories in the ACC – 3FGM (2.75, 4th), minutes played (35.67, 4th), assists (5.5, 6th, scoring (16.8, 6th), 3FG% (.413, 8th), FT% (.838, 8th) and assist/turnover ratio (2.36, 8th). He is the only ACC player among the top 10 in those six statistical categories.

16

Notre Dame is 16-1 in ‘get-away games’ (games before the Christmas break) in the Mike Brey era, including 15-0 at home.

16.8

Points-per-game average for Matt Farrell, joining ACC leading scorer Bonzie Colson in the conference top-10 (Farrell is sixth as of December 20). The Irish join Duke as the only team with two players in the top six of the ACC points-per-game rankings.

29

Senior forward Bonzie Colson has scored in double figures in 29 consecutive games and leads all current ACC players in career double-doubles (30) and rebounds (806).

37

Career-high points scored by Bonzie Colson against Dartmouth on December 19. It is tied for the fourth-best single-game scoring mark of the Mike Brey era and the most by an Irish player in seven seasons.

117.6

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.

169

Points scored by T.J. Gibbs this season, surpassing his total of 168 from his freshman year in 2016-17. Gibbs is currently averaging 14.1 points per game and shooting .518 (29-56) from three-point range.

806

Career rebounds for Bonzie Colson, which places him 14th in Notre Dame men’s basketball history and is seventh among all active NCAA players.