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2008-09 Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. New Mexico
National Invitation Tournament
Thursday, March 19, 2009 * Joyce Center * Notre Dame, Ind.
Postgame Notes

  • Tonight was the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and New Mexico.
  • With the win, the Fighting Irish upped their home record to 14-3 this season.
  • Notre Dame has won 36 straight games against non-conference opponents at the Joyce Center since suffering a 71-67 setback to Michigan on Dec. 3, 2005.
  • With his 26 points and 11 rebounds, Luke Harangody notched his 23rd double-double of the season. That mark ranks in a three-way tie for second (LaPhonso Ellis, 1991-92; Collis Jones, 1970-71) all-time in Irish history for double-doubles in a single season.
  • Tonight also marked Luke Harangody’s 48th career double-double. That total ranks fourth all-time in Fighting Irish history.
  • Luke Harangody has reached the 20-point plateau in 24 of 32 games played this season. That figure ranks in a tie for fifth (Troy Murphy, 1999-00) in school history for a single season. His 45 career games with 20 or more points rank eighth in program history.
  • Notre Dame has made a three-pointer in 335 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The Irish went 5-23 from three-point range against New Mexico on Thursday night.
  • This is the 10th straight year that Notre Dame has played in the postseason (five NCAA, five NIT). That’s the longest postseason run in program history.
  • Notre Dame is making its 11th overall appearance in the NIT and the first since 2006. The Irish are now 25-10 all-time in NIT games and 5-3 under head coach Mike Brey.
  • The Irish are 10-8 in postseason games under Mike Brey.
  • Notre Dame will be making its eighth trip to the NIT quarterfinals (in 11 tournament appearances) and the first since 2004. That season, the Irish fell to Oregon, 65-61, at the Joyce Center.
  • The win over New Mexico upped Notre Dame’s record to 20-14 on the season. That marks the third straight 20-win season for the Irish and the sixth in head coach Mike Brey’s nine-year tenure. The last time Notre Dame posted three straight 20-win campaigns was during Brey’s first three seasons. This is the 33rd 20-win season in school history.
  • The 24 first-half points from New Mexico marked the ninth time this season (eight times in first half, once in second half) the Fighting Irish have held an opponent to 24 points or fewer in a half.
  • Notre Dame is 17-1 this season when leading at halftime.
  • The last time the Irish won on a last-second shot was on Feb. 9, 2003 against Pittsburgh. Notre Dame won 66-64 as Torin Francis hit a layup with 00:00.6 left.