Team Huddle at Syracuse

Road Swing Continues At NC State

NOTRE DAME AT NC STATE

  • The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (10-4, 1-2) continues its two-game road swing in the Atlantic Coast Conference at NC State (10-4, 1-2) on Wednesday evening (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
  • The Irish are one of four teams in the conference that have been challenged with four road games in their first six league contests (Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are the others).
  • Notre Dame and NC State will be meeting for the 15th time and the eighth as ACC opponents. The Irish lead the all-time series 8-6 and 4-3 in conference play.
  • Notre Dame’s 88-58 victory on January 3, 2018, was the 394th victory of Mike Brey’s career at Notre Dame, as be became the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach at the University.
  • In the two team’s lone meeting last season, the Irish stayed close to No. 17/18 NC State throughout the contest until the Wolfpack earned a 77-74 victory. John Mooney and Dane Goodwin led the Irish, each scoring 19 points. Goodwin poured in 17 of his 19 in the second half of the contest.
  • Notre Dame is 2-1 in PNC Arena, earning victories in the first two visits to the facility in 2014 and 2017 before falling 76-58 to the Wolfpack on Feb. 3, 2018 (the most recent visit for the Irish to Raleigh).
NOTRE DAMEGAME DAY INFORMATION
DateWednesday, January 8, 2020
Time7:00 p.m. ET
Site: PNC Arena
• Raleigh, NC
• Capacity 19,772
TV:ESPN2
• Mike Couzens (play-by-play)
• Seth Greenberg (analyst)

Radio:Notre Dame Radio Network
• Jack Nolan (play-by-play)
Available locally on WSBT AM/FM and worldwide on und.com.
Tickets:Tickets available via the Notre Dame Vivid Ticket Exhange

ND MBB Notes at NC State (PDF)

BY THE NUMBERS: IRISH AT WOLFPACK

1

Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of fouls committed per game (11.6).

1

Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of turnovers committed per game (9.6).

1

Notre Dame leads the country in least amount of total turnovers committed (134).

1

Notre Dame leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.96. The Irish are ahead of Gonzaga (1.63) and Virginia Tech (1.60). The Irish have 263 assists this season compared to just 134 turnovers. The NCAA record for assist-to-turnover ratio in a season is 2.01 by West Virginia in 2006.

1

Notre Dame is the only school leading the country in four major statistical categories (the NCAA has 32 statistical categories in which it maintains national leaders). North Florida (3FGA, 3FGA/G, 3FGM) and Virginia (Fewest Fouls, FG% Defense, Scoring Defense) lead the country in three statistical categories.

1

Senior John Mooney is tied for first the nation in rebounds-per-game with a 13.5 average. Mooney has recorded double-doubles in 11 of 13 games played this season – and in eight consecutive games. He is the only player in Division I averaging 15-plus points and 13-plus rebounds per game this season. 

3

Notre Dame is the only ACC team with three players in the top five of the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (all games). T.J. Gibbs is fourth (3.19), Rex Pflueger is third (2.48) and Prentiss Hubb is fifth (2.25). In addition, all three players rank in the top 25 among major conference players this season (Gibbs fourth, Pflueger 14th, Hubb 23rd).

10.2

John Mooney’s stats continue to pace the nation and place the Orlando, Florida, native as the best rebounder in the country. Tied for first in overall rebounding in Division I, Mooney leads all Division I players with a 10.2 defensive rebounds per game average and is the only Division I player averaging over 10 defensive rebounds per game.

11

John Mooney is tied for the NCAA lead in double-doubles with Paul Reed of DePaul, as both players have 11 in 2019-20 (Mooney also has logged eight consecutive double-doubles entering the NC State game). 

11.5

Best sixth man in the country? Sophomore Dane Goodwin (averaging 11.5 ppg off the bench this year) is making a case for that title. Only five major conference players average over 11 points per game off the bench (with at least 10 games played). Among those five players, only Goodwin and NC State’s D.J. Funderburk (11.9) have not started a game this season. 

14

Sophomore Prentiss Hubb is tied with Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim for the lead in ACC three-point field goals made in conference play this season with 14. Eleven of those 14 3FGM (five at UNC, six at Syracuse) have come on an opponent’s home floor.

15

Notre Dame and NC State will be meeting for the 15th time on Wednesday evening with the Irish leading the all-time series 8-6. Notre Dame holds a 4-3 advantage over the Wolfpack in ACC competition.

18.8

Notre Dame is currently ranked third in the country and first in the ACC in assists per game with an 18.8 average. The Irish have five games this season with over 20 team assists (22 vs. Howard, 24 vs. FDU, school-record tying 33 vs. Detroit Mercy, 23 vs. Alabama A&M, 26 at Syracuse).

20.6

Points-per-game average for senior T.J. Gibbs in ACC competition, tied for third in the conference.

33

The Irish compiled 33 team assists in the victory over Detroit Mercy on December 10, matching the school record set at Manhattan in 1986. It was the most of the Mike Brey era and just the fourth time a Notre Dame team has reached 30 or more assists in a game.

65.4

ACC-leading three-point field goal shooting percentage in conference play (13-for-20) for senior T.J. Gibbs.

803

Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey achieved another milestone in his career against UCLA on December 14. Coach Brey manned the sidelines for his 800th career game, becoming the 25th active coach to reach 800 career games. Brey is the winningest coach in Notre Dame men’s basketball history (427), 23rd on the active wins list in college basketball and 10th in wins by a coach at his current institution (see page 9 for more details).

MOONEY TIED FOR FIRST IN THE COUNTRY IN REBOUNDING

Senior forward John Mooney is currently tied for the lead in the nation in rebounds per game with a 13.5 average. Mooney is the only Division I player in the country averaging 15-plus points and 13-plus rebounds per game.

NATIONAL REBOUNDING LEADERS:

Player

School

Reb/Game

JOHN MOONEY

NOTRE DAME

13.5

Kevin Marfo

Quinnipiac

13.5

Daniel Oturu

Minnesota

12.4

Willie Jackson

Toledo

12.2

James Butler

Drexel

11.9

Manny Camper

Siena

11.6

Cletrell Pope

Bethune Cookman

11.4

Dwight Wilson

JMU

11.2

MOONEY CLIMBING THE CAREER REBOUND CHART

Passing 700 career rebounds against Syracuse, John Mooney became the seventh Mike Brey-era (2000-01- current) player to collect 700 or more rebounds. The Notre Dame career rebounding chart is on page 23 (Mooney is currently the 21st overall career rebounder in Notre Dame history).

BREY ERA REBOUNDING TOTALS

Player

Seasons

Rebounds

Luke Harangody

2006-10

1,222

Torin Francis

2002-06

969

Bonzie Colson

2014-18

900

Pat Connaughton

2011-15

823

Zach Auguste

2012-16

822

Jack Cooley

2009-13

792

JOHN MOONEY

2015-20

706

Rob Kurz

2004-08

650

STATISTICAL MILESTONES

Notre Dame’s veteran players are approaching, or have reached, some noteworthy statistical milestones:

Player

Milestone

Current Stat

All-Time ND Rank

Brey-Era Rank

Milestones Reached

John Mooney

700 rebounds

706

21

7

T.J. Gibbs

200 3FGM

203

10

10

Juwan Durham

100 blocks

102

9

8

Milestones Ahead

T.J. Gibbs

4000 minutes

3507

9

9

John Mooney

800 rebounds

706

15

6

T.J. Gibbs

350 assists

329

16

10

Rex Pflueger

300 assists

292

21

11

Rex Pflueger

130 games

124

8

8

HUBB REACHES 200 CAREER ASSISTS… QUICKLY

Sophomore Prentiss Hubb led the Irish with nine assists in the victory at Syracuse on January 4, 2020, reaching 203 career assists in his 47th game in an Irish uniform. Since 1996-97, that is the fifth-quickest for any player at Notre Dame.

Player

Games to 200th Assist

Date of 200th Assist

Career Assists

Chris Thomas

27

2-23-02 at Miami (FL)

833

Martin Ingelsby

38

12-21-98 Stetson

526

Jerian Grant

41

11-26-12 Chicago State

690

Tory Jackson

43

12-29-07 Brown

694

PRENTISS HUBB

47

1-4-20 at Syracuse

203

MOONEY POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 11 OF FIRST 13 GAMES

Senior forward John Mooney, who led all major conference players in rebounds per game in league action last season and was one of seven major conference players to average a double-double, is off to an even better pace in 2019-20.

The Orlando, Florida, native has posted 11 double-doubles in 13 games played this season. He paced the ACC with 20 in 33 games played last year (and 13 in conference play – the most since Tim Duncan in 1996-97) and is up to 30 total in his career (good for 16th on the all-time Notre Dame double-double list).

Mooney missed the Presbyterian game with an illness.

MOONEY DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 2019-20

Opponent

Points

Rebounds

Robert Morris

10

10

Howard

18

16

Marshall

28

16

Fairleigh Dickinson

13

13

at Maryland

12

17

Boston College

16

18

Detroit Mercy

15

11

UCLA

15

14

Indiana

15

10

Alabama A&M

16

18

at Syracuse

28

14

PFLUEGER APPROACHING NOTEWORTHY CAREER MILESTONE COMBINATION

Graduate student Rex Pflueger is approaching a combination of career statistical totals that would make him one of just four Irish players to ever reach those statistical marks in combination.

Pflueger is approaching 700 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in his Notre Dame career – only Chris Thomas (2002-05), David Graves (1999-02) and Tory Jackson (2007-10) have reached those statistical marks.

Entering the Syracuse, Plfueger is at 664 points, 380 rebounds, 288 assists and 124 steals.

Player

Years

Points (700+)

Rebounds (400+)

Assists (300+)

Steals (150+)

Chris Thomas

2002-05

2,195

528

833

244

David Graves

1999-02

1,746

620

340

202

Tory Jackson

2007-10

1,231

526

694

211

REX PFLUEGER

2015-current

664

382

292

126

DURHAM POSTS TWO NOTEWORTHY DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Senior Juwan Durham responded to the loss of John Mooney (illness) on the front line against Presbyterian with 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to record his second career double-double. He followed up with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four more blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson. It was just the seventh and eighth time a Mike Brey era player has recorded 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 4+ blocks – and the first time since John Mooney did it at North Carolina last season.

Others who have accomplished such a double-double include current Irish assistant coach Ryan Humphrey (2001), Torin Francis twice (2003, 2004), Luke Harangody (2008) and Bonzie Colson (2017).

DURHAM ALREADY AMONG TOP SHOT BLOCKERS IN NOTRE DAME HISTORY

Blocked shots are one of the youngest official NCAA official statistics, only becoming a part of the game boxscore for the 1985-86 season. With that in mind, it is still noteworthy that senior Juwan Durham (who still retains a year of eligiblity after 2019-20) has already established himself as one of the top shot blockers in Notre Dame history.

In his first full season at Notre Dame in 2018-19, Durham swatted 63 shots which ranks fifth on the Notre Dame single-season blocked shots list.

This season, Durham pushed his career blocked-shot average to 2.5 (2.458) and is one of just three Notre Dame players to average over 2.0 blocks per game in their career:

Player

Seasons

Blocks Per Game

Ryan Humphrey

2000-02

2.8

JUWAN DURHAM

2018-current

2.5

LaPhonso Ellis

1988-92

2.1

Durham’s 102 total blocks at Notre Dame currently rank him ninth all-time (see sidebar, page 5). Jordan Cornette is the Notre Dame blocked shots record holder with 201 from 2001-05.

IRISH TRADITIONALLY AMONG BEST IN THE COUNTRY AT TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

Notre Dame finished third in the NCAA last season in turnovers per game – posting the fifth consecutive season of ranking in the nation’s top-10 for least amount of turnovers in a game.

The Irish have not averaged over 10.0 turnovers per game since a 10.3 mark in 2013-14 (which was still good enough for 26th nationally).

NOTRE DAME TURNOVERS PER GAME, LAST FIVE SEASONS

Season

Turnovers/Game

National Rank

Conference Rank

2014-15

9.4

5

2

2015-16

10

10

3

2016-17

9.5

2

1

2017-18

9.9

7

2

2018-19

9.3

7

2

2019-20

9.6

1

1

A DECADE OF ‘NO FOUL’ CONTINUES

One of the mantras of Notre Dame basketball under Mike Brey has been to keep the amount of opponent foul shots down. Defend without fouling is a way of life for Irish basketball and the statistics bear out that trend.

In the last 10 years, Notre Dame has failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just twice. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls three times. So far, in 2019-20, the Irish are ahead of Virginia Tech (11.9) for the NCAA lead in least amount of fouls per game (11.6).

NOTRE DAME FOULS PER GAME NATIONAL/CONFERENCE FINAL RANKING

Year

Fouls Per Game

NCAA Raking

Conference Ranking

2009-10

15.1

10

2

2010-11

15.2

11

1

2011-12

13.8

1

1

2012-13

14.1

8

1

2013-14

16.2

15

5

2014-15

15.1

6

1

2015-16

15.1

1

1

2016-17

14.9

4

1

2017-18

13.1

1

1

2018-19

13.8

1

1

2019-20

11.6

1

1

GIBBS JOINS 1,000-300-200-100 CLUB

Senior T.J. Gibbs, who reached the 1,000-point career mark last season, has joined another exclusive club. With 325 assists, Gibbs has now recorded 1,000 points, 300 assists, 200 rebounds and 100 steals in his time at Notre Dame.

Only Chris Thomas, Jerian Grant, Chris Quinn, Eric Atkins, Steve Vasturia, Tory Jackson and Demetrius Jackson all reached those milestones under Mike Brey at Notre Dame.

PFLUEGER JOINS 300-200-100 CLUB

Graduate student Rex Pflueger is one of just 10 players since 1996-97 (the year Notre Dame joined a conference) to compile 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career.

The list of players who have reached the 300-200-100 plateau: Chris Thomas, Tory Jackson, David Graves, Jerian Grant, Chris Quinn, Eric Atkins, Steve Vasturia, Matt Carroll, Demetrius Jackson, T.J. Gibbs and Pflueger.