Jan. 26, 2013

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

• Notre Dame improved to 16-4 overall (2-1 on the road) and 4-3 in BIG EAST play this season … the Irish are off to a 4-3 start in the BIG EAST for the fourth straight season
• Today was the 11th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and USF … the Fighting Irish lead the series 10-1, including eight straight wins … the Fighting Irish are 4-1 all-time at USF
• Notre Dame shot 54.0% (27-50) from the field … the Irish have shot 50% or above from the floor 10 times this season (three times in BIG EAST play)
• The Fighting Irish shot a season-best 90.9% (10-for-11) from the free throw line … it’s the first time the Irish have shot 90% or above from the charity stripe since a 14-for-15 (93.3%) effort against Dartmouth on Dec. 10, 2011
• Senior forward Tom Knight scored a career-high 17 points … he is the ninth different Irish player to notch a double-digit scoring effort this season (Atkins, Auguste, Biedscheid, Connaughton, Cooley, Grant, Martin and Sherman are the others)
• Notre Dame trailed 35-28 at halftime … the Irish are 2-3 this season when trailing at the intermission … the seven-point halftime deficit was the largest overcome by the Irish en route to a victory since they came back from a 16-point margin (39-23) in a 74-70 overtime win last season at Villanova (2/18/12)
• Notre Dame held a commanding 34-17 rebound advantage … the Irish are 13-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent
• Eric Atkins (Jr./G), Pat Connaughton (So./G), Jack Cooley (Sr./F), Jerian Grant (Jr./G) and Tom Knight (Sr./F) started today’s contest … it was the first time that quintet has started this season … Knight made his first start of the season (fourth start of his career) … Atkins, Connaughton and Cooley have started all 20 games this season, while Grant has 19 starts
• Notre Dame wore black jerseys for the second time this season … the Irish are 2-0 this season in black uniforms and 12-12 all-time when wearing black
• A three-pointer from Pat Connaughton in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 462

Eric Atkins (Jr./G)

• Scored in double-figures (13 points) for the 14th time this season (42nd time of career)
• Was 3-for-5 from three-point range … the three made treys tied a season-best mark

Pat Connaughton (So./G-F)

• Reached double-figures in points (12) for the third straight game and for the 10th time this season (19th time of career) … the three-game double-figure scoring streak matches a career best that he achieved earlier this season
• Was 5-for-8 from the field

Jack Cooley (Sr./F)

• Hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds … has grabbed 10 or more rebounds 13 times this season and 28 times in his career
• Scored six points … had his career-best 14-game double-digit scoring streak come to an end

Jerian Grant (Jr./G)

• Scored a game-high 18 points … it was his 16th double-digit effort of the season (second straight) and the 42nd of his career
• Dished out a team-best eight assists

Tom Knight (Sr./F)

• Made his first start of the season and the fourth of his career
• Scored a career-high 17 points … his previous career-high total was nine versus Sacred Heart last season (12/19/11)
• His seven rebounds tied a career-best mark
• Was 8-for-10 from the field … the eight made field goals were a career-high total
• Played a career-high 32 minutes