March 10, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

• Tonight’s loss moved Notre Dame’s record to 22-11 this season.
• This is the second straight season that Notre Dame and Louisville met in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship. The Cardinals topped the Irish 83-77 in overtime in last season’s tournament. These have been the only two times Notre Dame and Louisville have squared off in the conference tournament.
• Tonight was the 29th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Louisville. The Cardinals lead the series 18-11. Notre Dame is 4-6 against Louisville since the Cardinals joined the BIG EAST in 2005.
• This is Notre Dame’s 17th appearance in the BIG EAST Championship. The Irish are 9-17 all-time in the tournament, including an 8-12 mark under head coach Mike Brey. Notre Dame is 0-5 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals.
• Notre Dame’s 50 points matched its fewest ever in a BIG EAST Championship game. The Irish also had 50 in a 50-45 win over Pittsburgh in the 2010 quarterfinals.
• The Irish matched a season-low total with two made three-point field goals. Notre Dame also had just two at Gonzaga (Nov. 30). The two treys were the fewest ever for the Irish in a BIG EAST Championship game. The previous low was three on two occasions.
• The Cardinals shot 56.0% (28-50) from the field for the game. That is the highest percentage for an Irish opponent in a BIG EAST Championship contest. The previous mark was 52.5% by Georgetown in the 2007 semifinals.
• Notre Dame trailed 35-19 at halftime. The Irish are 5-10 this season when down at the intermission.
• Louisville ended the first half on a 26-4 run (Notre Dame led 15-9 when the run began).
• The Irish shot 25.0% (7-28) from the field in the first half. That is Notre Dame’s lowest shooting percentage ever in any half of a BIG EAST Championship game. The previous low was 25.8% in the opening half of a first-round game against Providence in 1998.
• Louisville shot 57.7% (15-26) from the floor in the first half. That is the highest percentage for a Notre Dame opponent in an opening half of a BIG EAST Championship contest. The previous high was 55.7% by Miami in the 2000 quarterfinals.
• Notre Dame had nine steals. That is the second-highest total for the Irish this season and the most they’ve produced against a BIG EAST team this season.
• Notre Dame held a 33-28 rebound advantage. That is the first time this season the Irish have lost when outrebounding their opponent. Notre Dame now is 14-1 when outrebounding its opponent this season.
• Eric Atkins (So./G), Pat Connaughton (Fr./G), Jack Cooley (Jr./F), Jerian Grant (So./G) and Scott Martin (Sr./G) started tonight’s contest. It was the 14th straight game – and 14th time overall this season – that quintet has started. The Irish are 11-3 with that starting lineup. Grant and Martin both have a team-high 32 starts this season.
• Notre Dame is 16-1 at home, 5-5 in true road games and 1-5 in neutral site contests this season.
• A Jerian Grant three-pointer in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 441.

  Eric Atkins (So./G)

• Had a team-high 12 points … it was his 21st double-digit scoring effort of the season

  Jack Cooley (Jr./F)

• Produced his team-best 13th double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds … has notched a double-double in seven of the last 10 games
• Has scored in double-figures 18 times this season
• Reached double-figures in rebounds for the 15th time this season