Feb. 3, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
#1 Syracuse 61, Notre Dame 55
February 3, 2014
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.

– Notre Dame moved to 10-24 all-time when facing a No.1-ranked team … this was the first time the Fighting Irish faced a top-ranked foe since a 67-58 win over Syracuse on Jan. 21, 2012, inside Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center … Notre Dame is 0-11 all-time when facing a No. 1 team on the road.

– This was the 45th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Syracuse … the Orange hold a 26-19 advantage in the series … Notre Dame is 9-13 all-time at Syracuse … the Fighting Irish are 6-14 against the Orange under head coach Mike Brey, including a 2-8 mark at Syracuse.

– Eric Atkins (Sr./G), Pat Connaughton (Jr./G), Steve Vasturia (Fr./G), Zach Auguste (So./F) and Garrick Sherman (Sr./C) started tonight’s contest … it was the third straight game and third time overall this season that the Irish have used this starting lineup … Notre Dame is 1-2 when this lineup starts … Atkins, Connaughton and Sherman have started all 23 games this season … it was the seventh start of the season for Auguste and the fourth for Vasturia.

– Notre Dame trailed 31-18 at halftime … the Irish are 3-10 this season when trailing at the intermission.

– Notre Dame’s 18 first-half points were the fewest for the Irish in any half since scoring 17 in the second half against USF in the quarterfinals of the 2012 BIG EAST Tournament … they were the fewest first-half points for Notre Dame since netting 18 against Georgetown on Feb. 27, 2012.

– Syracuse forward C.J. Fair, the ACC Player of the Week, entered the game averaging 17.2 ppg. and the Irish held him to a season-low six points.

– Notre Dame is 0-5 this season when wearing blue uniforms.

– A three-pointer from Steve Vasturia in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 500.

Pat Connaughton (Jr./G-F)
– Scored in double-figures (11 points) for the 18th time this season … has reached double-figures in eight of 10 ACC games … has 41 double-figure efforts in his career. – Tied teammate Garrick Sherman with a game-high eight rebounds. – Played all 40 minutes … has played every minute in four of the last five games.

Garrick Sherman (Sr./C)
– Scored in double-figures (a team-high 16 points) for the 18th time this season (seventh time in ACC play) … has 28 career double-figure scoring efforts (27 while at Notre Dame). – Tied teammate Pat Connaughton with a game-high eight rebounds.

Steve Vasturia (Fr./G)
– Scored a career-high 13 points (previous high was 9 versus Duke on Jan. 4). – Played a career-high 37 minutes.