Seventh-Seeded Irish Head To BIG EAST Championship

March 8, 2010

Complete Notes in PDF Format

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 – Saturday, March 13, 2010
Madison Square Garden (19,786)
New York, N.Y.

TV: ESPN
Sean McDonough (play-by-play analyst)
Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas (color analysts)
Beth Mowins (sideline)

Radio: Jack Nolan (play-by-play analyst)
Jordan Cornette (color analyst)

Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WSBT AM 960 (South Bend, Ind.); WLS AM 890 (Chicago, Ill.); WXNT-AM 1430 in Indianapolis, Ind.; WEFM FM 95.9 (Michigan City, Ind.); WLYV AM 1450 (Ft. Wayne, Ind.); ESPN AM 1480 – WRSW (Warsaw, Ind.); WLUV AM 1520 (Rockford, IIl.); WVIL FM 101.3 (Jacksonville, Ill.); KWOC AM 930 (Poplar Bluff, Mo.); WJLS AM 560 (Beckley, W. Va.); WKKX AM 1600 (Wheeling, W. Va.); SIRIUS Satellite (159) and XM Radio (117); and www.und.com.

Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics are available for all home games via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).

Strong Finish Earns Irish No. 7 Seed In BIG EAST Tournament

• Winners of four straight, its longest BIG EAST win streak since the 2007-08 campaign, Notre Dame (21-10, 10-8) is seeded seventh in the 2010 BIG EAST Championship presented by New York Life. Notre Dame owned a 6-8 league mark with four regular-season games left, but won their final four games. The Irish earned home wins against Pittsburgh (68-53) and Connecticut (58-50) and registered road wins at Georgetown (78-64) and Marquette (63-60) in overtime.
• Notre Dame earned a first-round bye in the tournament and will face either No. 10 Seton Hall (18-11, 9-9) or No. 15 Providence (12-18, 4-14) in second-round action on Wednesday, March 10. The Irish played each team only once during the regular season and earned a split. Notre Dame defeated Providence 93-78 at home in the first BIG EAST game of the year back on Dec. 30 and lost to Seton Hall on the road, 90-87, on Feb. 11.
• The Irish are 4-14 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play and are 4-9 under head coach Mike Brey. Irish teams have advanced to the semifinals (both under Brey) on two occasions – 2002 and 2007.
• Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Seton Hall 15-8. The Pirates’ victory earlier this season snapped a six-game Irish win streak in the series. Notre Dame owns a 14-9 advantage in its series with the Friars and have won seven straight.
• Notre Dame has played each of the teams once in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Irish lost to the Friars 72-55 in the first round of the 1998 championship and was defeated by Seton Hall 79-69 in the first round of the 1999 tournament.
• Mike Brey is 9-4 all-time against Seton Hall and 9-1 against the Friars.
• Notre Dame’s four-game BIG EAST win streak is its longest since the 2007-08 campaign when the Irish rattled off five consecutive wins.
• Notre Dame owns a 52-41 (.559) record all-time when playing at Madison Square Garden.
• Notre Dame is coming off its most impressive two weeks of the season after beating two ranked opponents and earning wins over Connecticut and Marquette. The Irish beat then No. 12/16 Pittsburgh at home, 68-53, on Feb. 24, and then defeated then No. 11/13 Georgetown 78-64 on the road on Feb. 27. It marked the first time since December of 2002 that a Notre Dame team defeated ranked opponents in back-to-back outings. During that stretch, the Irish beat three ranked foes, No. 13/10 Marquette, No. 9/8 Maryland and No. 2/2 Texas in a six-day span.
• The overtime win against Marquette in the BIG EAST regular-season finale was the third league road win of the season for the Irish and their second straight. The last time the Irish won back-to-back league road games was during the 2007-08 season when they defeated DePaul (98-91 on March 2) and USF (67-60 on March 8).
• Notre Dame’s 21 wins thus far in 2009-10 marks the fourth consecutive 20-win season for the Irish and the seventh time in 10 seasons under head coach Mike Brey that they have reached the 20-win plateau. It also was the first time in his head-coaching career both at Notre Dame and Delaware that Brey has had four consecutive 20-win seasons.
• The last time Irish teams reached the 20-win mark four straight seasons was from 1983-89 when those Notre Dame squads under former head coach Digger Phelps had six consecutive 20-win seasons.
• All-American Luke Harangody returned to the Irish lineup against Marquette and played 11 minutes coming off the bench. Harangody, who had missed the previous five games after suffering a deep right knee bone bruise, scored five points and grabbed two rebounds. He suffered the injury in the second half of the Feb. 11 contest at Seton Hall, a 90-87 loss. The injury occurred with 8:42 remaining in the game and he returned with 6:18 to play, but was unable to play for the final 4:40 of the contest.
• Notre Dame’s win over Georgetown (Feb. 27) was the first for an Irish team over a ranked opponent on the road since the 2007-08 campaign when they beat then No. 18 Villanova (90-80) at the Wachovia Center on Jan. 26, 2008.
• Notre Dame’s win over Connecticut (March 3) in the regular-season home finale gave Notre Dame its 17th home win of the season (second most in school history) and matched the win total of the 2007-08 squad when that team finished 17-0 at Purcell Pavilion.
• The win over Georgetown on Feb. 27 marked the third time this season that Notre Dame had defeated a ranked opponent. The Irish topped No. 8/8 West Virginia 70-68 on Jan. 9 at Purcell Pavilion and No. 12/16 Pittsburgh 68-53 on Feb. 24. Notre Dame is 3-3 this season against ranked foes. The losses have come on the road against No. 10 Connecticut (82-70) and No. 3 Villanova (90-72) and at home to No. 5 Syracuse (84-71).
• With the win over the Hoyas, Notre Dame’s senior class of Tim Andree, Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples became the all-time winningest Irish class in BIG EAST regular-season play. This year’s senior class finished their career with a 43-27 (.614) record in BIG EAST regular-season play.
• Notre Dame finished 4-2 versus its BIG EAST repeat opponents (USF, Cincinnati, Connecticut) this season. The Irish posted a season sweep of USF. Notre Dame finished 1-1 against the Bearcats and Huskies.
• With the win over Georgetown (Feb. 27), Mike Brey collected his 100th BIG EAST win (includes conference regular-season and championship contests). He ranks sixth for most career wins (102) in the league and is just the sixth coach in BIG EAST history win 100 victories.
• Notre Dame has won 69 of its last 75 (.920) home games and is 31-5 (.861) in its last 36 BIG EAST regular-season home contests.
• Notre Dame is 4-14 in its last 18 BIG EAST regular-season road games.

Checking The National Statistics

• Luke Harangody currently is second nationally with a 23.3 scoring average and is tied for 29th in rebounding (9.7).
• Ben Hansbrough is 19th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.59), while Tory Jackson is tied for 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54). Jackson also is 30th in assists (5.4).
• Tim Abromaitis is sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.449) and tied for 17th in free-throw percentage (.885).
• As a team in the national statistics, Notre Dame ranks first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64), third in assists (17.2), tied for 31st in field goal percentage (.474), 29th in scoring offense (77.9) and tied for 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.398).

What A Comeback

• Notre Dame had one of its best comebacks in recent memory in its overtime win at Marquette on Saturday. Notre Dame trailed by seven (50-43) with 1:19 remaining in regulation before Carleton Scott’s three-pointer tied the score at 51-51 with one second left on the clock.
• Notre Dame outscored the Golden Eagles 12-9 in the overtime session to earn the 63-60 victory.

Great Scott

• Since becoming a starter five games ago, Carleton Scott has registered some impressive numbers for the Irish and has averaged 11.6 points (58 points) and 9.2 rebounds (46 rebounds).
• In each of the last two games, he has registered a double-double as he scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against Connecticut and followed that up with 14 points and 13 boards against Marquette.
• In the win at Georgetown (Feb. 27), he scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Jackson Set To Tie Notre Dame Career Games Played Mark

• Tory Jackson will tie a Notre Dame record on Wednesday night by playing in his 133rd career outing. He will tie the mark held by Matt Carroll (1999-03).
• Jackson has never missed a game during his career and has started 118 of the 132 contests he has played heading into Notre Dame’s second-round BIG EAST matchup.

Harangody In Rare Company

• Luke Harangody was selected as a first team all-BIG EAST selection for the third straight year when the all-conference teams were announced on Sunday.
• Harangody became only the 11th player in league history to earn that distinction and is the first player in Notre Dame history to earn first team all-conference honors three times.
• Other three-time first team honorees have included Troy Bell of Boston College (2001-03); Danya Abrams of Boston College (1995-97); Kerry Kittles of Villanova (1994-95); Lawrence Moten of Syracuse (1993-95); Derrick Coleman of Syracuse (1988-90; Sherman Douglas of Syracuse (1987-89); Dwayne Washington of Syracuse (1984-86); Chris Mullin of St. Johns (1983-85); Patrick Ewing of Georgetown (1983-85) and John Pinone of Villanova (1981-83).
• Notre Dame has had eight different players on 13 occasions earn first-team all-conference honors since joining the BIG EAST in 1995-96.
• Notre Dame is the only school who has had a first team selection each of the last five years.
• Tim Abromaitis was named to the BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team.

BIG EAST’S Only 20/10 Player

• In the 65 BIG EAST games that he played, Luke Harangody averaged 20.4 points and 10.2 rebounds during his career and is the only player in league history to average better than 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.

Jackson Shares Unique Distinction With Sherman Douglas

• Tory Jackson led the BIG EAST in assists for the third time in four seasons as he averaged 5.61 in 2009-10. Jackson was the conference’s assist leader as a freshman (2006-07) and sophomore (2007-08).
• Sherman Douglas of Syracuse is the only other BIG EAST player to lead the conference in assists in three of four seasons. He ranked as the league’s assist leader from 1988-87.

Ring Of Honor

• Prior to the Pittsburgh contest on Feb. 24, Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody was inducted into Notre Dame’s Ring of Honor, beginning a new tradition at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. A banner honoring Harangody’s number 44 was unveiled and now will permanently hang in the rafters of Purcell Pavilion. Beginning in 2010-11, the Notre Dame Athletics Department plans to honor annually additional former and present men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball players who have made distinguished and noteworthy contributions throughout their careers while student-athletes at the University.

Stealing The Show On Senior Night

• Tory Jackson’s final regular-season appearance at Purcell Pavilion in the win over Connecticut on March 3 proved to be one of the best performances on Senior Night in recent memory. Jackson scored a game-high 22 points, 20 in the second half, grabbed three rebounds, dished off two assists and made four steals. The 22 points marked his second 20-plus point outing of the season and fifth of his career.

Notre Dame Basketball Raises $250,000 For Haiti

• Fundraising efforts held in conjunction with the Notre Dame men’s basketball game against DePaul (Jan. 23) and women’s basketball contest versus West Virginia (Jan. 24) raised more than $250,000 in donations for the relief efforts in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Notre Dame donated full gate receipts and net concession revenue from both games. In addition, a collection organized by the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Council raised more than $25,000 from fans and alumni who contributed during the games. The Notre Dame Monogram Club also added a $10,000 matching gift to the student total.

The Trifecta – Brey Gets Wins No. 100, No. 200, No. 300

• Notre Dame’s win over Providence on Dec. 30 gave head coach Mike Brey his 200th win with the Irish. In his 10th season along the Irish sidelines, he owns a 209-111 (.653) record. He is one of only three coaches in school history with 200 career wins. George Keogan (1923-43) won 327 games during his tenure, while Digger Phelps (1971-91) earned 393 victories during his 20-year tenure. Brey’s 100th win with the Irish came on Feb. 16, 2005 in a 70-64 victory at home against Georgetown.
• Brey picked up his 300th career win against USF on Jan. 5. He owns a 308-163 (.654) ledger in 15 seasons as head coach.
• On Feb. 27, Brey became the sixth coach in BIG EAST history to reach 100 career wins (regular-season and tournament games). In 10 seasons, he owns a 102-77 (.569) record.

Another Honor For Harangody

• Luke Harangody has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community service and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as teachers in their communities.
• Joining Harangody as one of the 10 finalists are Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga), Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia), Marquis Hall (Lehigh), Damion James (Texas), Adam Koch (Northern Iowa), Chris Kramer (Purdue), Raymar Morgan (Michigan State), Jon Scheyer (Duke) and Josh Young (Drake).
• The winner will be announced at the 2010 Men’s Final Four in April.

Abromaitis Earns First Team Academic All-America Honors

• Tim Abromaitis became the eighth Irish men’s basketball player to earn Academic All-America honors when he was selected to the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team for men’s basketball as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He is a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business and owns a 3.72 grade-point average. A three-time Dean’s List honoree, he will graduate in May 2010 (one full year ahead of his class) and will enroll in Notre Dame’s one-year intensified MBA program during the 2010-11 school year.
• This is the 13th time that an Irish men’s basketball player has earned Academic All-America honors. Abromaitis also is the seventh different player to earn first-team honors.
• Also named to the first team were Cole Aldrich of Kansas (he also was selected as the program’s Academic All-America of the Year), Patrick Foley of Columbia, Matt Howard of Butler and Yves Mekongo of La Salle. The second team consisted of Luke Babbitt of Nevada, Marc Larson of Bowling Green, Roman Martinez of New Mexico, E’Twaun Moore of Purdue and Nick Schneiders of USC Upstate. The five-man third team was made up of Devon Beitzel of Northern Colorado, Graham Hatch of Wichita State, Gordon Hayward of Butler, Matthew Mullery of Brown and Jake Robinson of Western Carolina.

Check Out This Stat Line

• In Notre Dame’s win against DePaul on Jan. 23, the Irish dished out 22 assists and turned the ball over just twice. The two turnovers were the fewest ever for Notre Dame during Mike Brey’s tenure and the fewest for an Irish team in a BIG EAST game. The Irish did not commit a turnover until the 10:31 mark of the second half. o Notre Dame did not turn the ball over in the first half. It was the first time that an Irish team under Brey did not commit a turnover in the first half and it was the second non-turnover half for the Irish in the Brey era.
• The Irish have had nine games this season with 20-plus assists and committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 13 games.

Double Duty

• It’s been a busy couple of months for first-year assistant men’s basketball coach Martin Ingelsby as he and his wife Colleen became first-time parents. The couple welcomed twins (William Thomas and Kate Elizabeth) on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m. Ingelsby, who played point guard for the Irish from 1997-2001 and served as Notre Dame’s coordinator of basketball operations for six years, was promoted to his current position in July 2009.
• During the week the twins were born, Ingelsby was the assistant responsible for the UCLA scout on Dec. 19.

Hot Shots

• Notre Dame shot a season-best 60.7 percent against Bucknell on Dec. 22.
• Notre Dame shot 53.8 percent from the field against West Virginia on Jan. 9 after going 18-24 (.750) in the first half against the Mountaineers. It marked the best-ever shooting percentage by a Notre Dame team in a half under head coach Mike Brey.
• En route to a 57.1 shooting performance (28-49) from the field against Georgetown (Feb. 27), Notre Dame was 15-21 (.714) in the second half for the best-ever percentage by an Irish team in the second half of a BIG EAST game.
• Notre Dame has shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in 13 games and from three-point range in nine contests.

Streaking Along

• Prior to coming off the bench against Marquette and starting all 25 contests that he played, Luke Harangody had been in double figures in all 25 games this season. He scored five points and 11 minutes off the bench and that snapped a 30-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to last season. That was the second-longest streak of his career. The longest double-figure scoring streak of his career is 50 games.
• Harangody has scored in double figures in all but 14 of the 125 games he has played in during his college career.

Moving Up The Charts

• Luke Harangody reached the 2,000-point plateau against Idaho State (Dec. 1) with the game’s first basket to become the program’s seventh 2,000-point scorer and joined Austin Carr – 2,560 points (1968-71); Adrian Dantley – 2,223 (1973-76); Chris Thomas – 2,195 points (2001-05); Pat Garrity – 2,085 (1994-98) and Troy Murphy – 2,058 (1998-01) in that illustrious group. He currently is second in program history with 2,430 career points. Harangody also is the first player in school history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Harangody reached the 1,000-rebound mark against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 and now has 1,200 career rebounds, which ranks second in school history.

Ironmen

• Irish seniors Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples have logged heavy playing time in their Irish careers. The trio has played in a combined 383 contests and been in the starting lineup on 238 occasions.
• Harangody had made 108 consecutive starts in the 124 contests prior to coming off the bench against Marquette on Saturday. He earned a spot in the starting lineup in the 16th game of his freshman season. He has averaged 29.4 minutes per game throughout his playing career. He has missed six games during his collegiate career – St. John’s, Louisville, Pittsburgh Georgetown and Connecticut this season and two games last season after being diagnosed with pneumonia. His 108 starts rank him seventh all-time in program history.
• Jackson has never missed a game during his collegiate career (132 contests) and second in career games played. He has started 118 games (third all-time) while averaging 32.9 minutes per game.
• Harangody and Jackson are two of eight players in Notre Dame history with 100 or more career starts.
• Peoples has played in 126 career games. He started the first eight games and 10 overall this season. Peoples has earned 12 starts overall during his career.

Thirty Something Guys

• Luke Harangody’s season-high 37-point outing against Cincinnati on Feb. 4 marked the fifth time this season that he scored 30-plus points in a game.
• Harangody’s 36-point outing against USF on Jan. 5 marked his second straight 30-point performance after finishing with 31 in Notre Dame’s loss at Connecticut on Jan. 2. It marked the second time in his career that he has produced back-to-back 30-point outings. Last year against Georgetown, he scored 31 points and followed that up with a 30-point outing against Seton Hall.
• The last Notre Dame player to score 30-plus points in three consecutive games was Adrian Dantley as he scored 30-plus points in six straight games in 1976 – 34 vs. Pittsburgh (1-13-76), 33 vs. Ball State (1-14-76), 35 vs. Xavier (1-17-76), 30 vs. St. Joseph’s (1-21-76), 30 vs. UCLA (1-24-76) and 31 vs. DePaul (1-28-76).
• Harangody’s other two 30-point outings this season have come against Liberty (32 points) and Syracuse (31 points).
• Tim Abromaitis has two 30-point outings of his own this season. He scored 31 points against Central Florida on Dec. 6 and his 30 points against DePaul on Jan. 23 marked a career-high in BIG EAST play for the Irish junior.

Terrific Tory

• Tory Jackson dished off a career-high 15 assists, including 10 in the first half, against Syracuse on Jan. 18. It marked the seventh time in his career that he had 10 or more assists in a game.
• The 15 assists were the most for an Irish player in a BIG EAST game and the most since Tim Singleton dished off 14 against Dayton on Feb. 21, 1989.
• Jackson has turned the ball over just 63 times this season and has had six games this season in which he hasn’t turned the ball over.
• In the loss at Seton Hall on Feb. 11, Jackson netted a career-high 25 points. That was the fourth game of his career with 20-plus points. He tallied 19 points and seven assists in a career-high 50 minutes in a 91-89 double-overtime setback at Louisville on Feb. 17.
• Jackson finished his BIG EAST career fifth on the conference’s all-time career assist list with 392.

Block Party

• Notre Dame’s 10 blocked shots against IUPUI on Dec. 9 were the most for the Irish since they blocked 10 against Mt. St. Mary’s on Nov. 29, 2003.
• Luke Harangody and Carleton Scott both registered career-high block totals with five and three, respectively, against the Jaguars. Jonathan Peoples and Tim Abromaitis also added blocks in the contest.
• Scott established a new career-high with four blocked shots against Bucknell and finished with three against Villanova, Louisville, Georgetown and Connecticut.
• Harangody currently ranks eighth in Notre Dame history with 94 career blocks.

Double Trouble

• Luke Harangody has posted 12 double-doubles this season. He has 63 in his career and eclipsed the program mark of 56 set by LaPhonso Ellis from 1988-92. Harangody notched 25 double-doubles one season ago after registering 19 as a sophomore. He had seven double-doubles during his freshman campaign.

Double The Pleasure Three Times

• Notre Dame got double-doubles from three players in its win over DePaul on Jan. 23. Luke Harangody netted 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ben Hansbrough scored 15 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds. Tyrone Nash was the third Irish player to produce a double-double as he matched his career-high with 13 points along with collecting 10 boards. It marked the first double-double of his career.
• The last time Notre Dame had three players register double-doubles was on Feb. 9, 2002 when the Irish had four players record double-doubles in a 116-111 victory at Georgetown that was decided in four overtimes.

A New Era In Notre Dame Basketball – Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

• Notre Dame basketball received a facelift in 2009-10 as the largest renovation in Joyce Center history signaled the opening of Purcell Pavilion. The $26.3-million project, which began with groundbreaking ceremonies in September 2008, was made possible by lead gifts from Philip J. Purcell III, Vincent J. Naimoli and Mike Leep, Sr. The renovation encompassed construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena that includes a new three-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area. Replacement of the existing Joyce Center arena seating, including the installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, took place during the summer of 2009 following Commencement Exercises in May.
• The arena is Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – and the new club/hospitality area (and two outdoor patios) is named the Naimoli Family Sports Club Room. The new varsity shop is named the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop, while the three-story atrium is named after former Notre Dame athletic director Dick Rosenthal.

Class of 2010 Aims For History

• The Irish senior class of Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson, Jonathan Peoples and Tim Andree is looking to become the all-time winningest class in career victories at Notre Dame. The quartet has an 91-41 record for a .689 winning percentage. They need two wins to surpass the 92 wins from the 1975-79 and 1977-81 classes. They are already the all-time winningest class in program history in BIG EAST regular-season play with a 43-27 (.614) mark.

Andrean Honors Harangody

• Luke Harangody was honored by his alma mater, Andrean High School, in a special ceremony on Dec. 5 as the school designated the evening Luke Harangody Night. Harangody’s No. 40 jersey that he wore in high school was honored by the school in a pre-game ceremony and was the first-ever to be recognized in this special ceremony.
• Harangody led Andrean to a 67-29 record, won two Athletic Conference crowns (2005 and 2006) and three sectional titles. A two-time all-state and all-conference honoree, he finished his career with 1,527 points (18.8 ppg.) and 850 rebounds (10.5 rpg.).

Harangody Tabbed As National Player of the Week

• Luke Harangody was honored by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Jan. 12 after averaging 30.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 57.9 percent (22-38) in Notre Dame’s wins over USF and West Virginia. He topped the 30-point mark for the third time this season when he scored 36 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 74-73 victory against USF. He followed that up with 24 points and five rebounds in the win over the Mountaineers. Harangody also was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career.

Harangody Tops Associated Press Preseason All-America Team

• Luke Harangody was the leading vote-getter on the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team that was announced Nov. 2. Harangody received 57 votes from the 65-member media panel. Joining him on the preseason AP All-America team was junior Cole Aldrich of Kansas (49 votes), senior Sherron Collins of Kansas (39 votes), junior Patrick Patterson of Kentucky (35 votes) and junior Kyle Singler of Duke (30 votes).
• Harangody also was one of nine BIG EAST players named to the 50-person 2009-10 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List that was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
• He was recently named to the Wooden Award and Naismith Midseason Top 30 lists.

Same Game, New Number

• Irish fans and opponents did not see the familiar No. 2 worn by Tory Jackson in his first three seasons as he has switched jersey numbers and wore No. 3 in 2009-10.

Points a Plenty

• Notre Dame has scored 80-plus points in 16 of 31 contests this season and scored 90-plus points on seven occasions.
• The Irish topped the 90-point mark for the second time in as many outings in the 93-78 win over Providence on Dec. 30.
• In a 101-69 victory over Bucknell on Dec. 22, the Irish topped the 100-point mark for the first time this season and the 12th time during Mike Brey’s tenure.
• Currently, Notre Dame is averaging 78.4 ppg.
• Through its first five games, Notre Dame was averaging 86.8 points per game and yielding just 66.6 to its opponents. The Irish opened up the season scoring 80 or more points in all five games. The last time Notre Dame topped the 80-point mark in the first five games of a season was in 1978-79.

Lights Out In The Second

• In Notre Dame’s back-to-back wins over Georgetown (Feb. 27) and Connecticut (March 3), second-half shooting was the name of the game for the Irish. In the win over the Hoyas, Notre Dame was 15-21 from the field (.714) and in the victory over Connecticut, after shooting just 23.5 percent (8-34) in the first half, went 11-18 (.611) in the second half. In the two games combined, the Irish are 26-39 (.667) in the second half.

Postseason Stretch

• Notre Dame has earned appearances in the postseason in each of the last 10 years – it’s the longest stretch in school history. The Irish have been in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions and in the National Invitation Tournament five times during this current stretch.
• Under Mike Brey, Notre Dame has played in the NCAA five times and NIT four times. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003.

Non-Conference Home Win Streak Snapped

• Notre Dame had its 41-game non-conference home win streak snapped on Dec. 12 in its 87-85 loss to Loyola Marymount. The Irish last lost to a non-conference opponent at home when they suffered a 71-57 setback to Michigan on Dec. 3, 2005.

The Captains

• Seniors Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples were voted captains for the 2009-10 season.

The One And Only

• Luke Harangody reached a milestone never before achieved by an Irish basketball player – 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds – on Dec. 1 against Idaho State. He scored his 2,000th career point against the Bengals and reached the 1,000-rebound mark with his 15 boards against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24 to become only the fifth player in the 105-year history of the program to accomplish that feat.
• Harangody currently ranks second all-time in Notre Dame history with 2,430 points along with standing second with 1,200 rebounds.
• While he is the only player in Notre Dame basketball history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, he is one of only five players to have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds, The others are:
  Tom Hawkins (1956-59): 1,746 points, 1,318 rebounds
  Bob Whitmore (1966-69): 1,580 points, 1,043 rebounds
  LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92): 1,505 points, 1,075 rebounds
  Walter Sahm (1962-65): 1,077 points, 1,146 rebounds

Jackson Tops 600 Career Assists

• Tory Jackson became the second player in school history to reach 600 career assists with his three assists against Cincinnati on Jan. 16. He has 675 in 132 career outings to rank second all-time in that category. Chris Thomas (2001-05) is Notre Dame’s career assists leader with 833.

Elder Statesman

• Mike Brey is in his 10th season along the Irish sidelines and is the third-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Brey stands sixth all-time in the BIG EAST with 100 victories (102-77 overall that includes regular-season and tournament contests). He is the sixth coach in BIG EAST history to record 100 conference wins.

BIG EAST All-Time Winningest Coaches By Victories
(Includes conference regular-season and championship games)
1. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 370
2. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 288
3. John Thompson, Georgetown 231
4. Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s 139
5. Rollie Massimino, Villanova 123
6. Mike Brey, Notre Dame 102

Jackson Becomes 50th 1,000-Point Scorer in Notre Dame History

• Tory Jackson became the 50th player in program history to score 1,000 career points when he reached that mark against Bucknell on Dec. 22. He owns a scoring average of 9.0 points (1,194 points) and has played in all 132 games of his Irish career.
• With 675 career assists, he is just the fourth player in school history with 1,000 career points and 500 assists.
• The three other Irish players with 1,000 points and 500 assists are:
  Chris Thomas (2001-05): 2,195 points, 833 assists
  David Rivers (1984-88): 2,011 points, 586 assists
  Elmer Bennett (1956-59): 1,488 points, 516 assists

A BEN-e-ful Debut

• Senior guard Ben Hansbrough had a successful debut in an Irish uniform against North Florida in the season opener as he scored 19 points and dished off four assists in 31 minutes. Hansbrough was 5-6 from the field in the contest.
• He finished 5-5 from three-point range and in the process tied a Purcell Pavilion record for three-point field goal percentage.
• Hansbrough has scored in double figures 21 times this season. He deposited a season-high 22 points against IUPUI on Dec. 9 and netted his second 20-plus point outing of the season against Louisville as he tossed in 21 and also finished with 21 in the win at Georgetown on Feb. 27.
• He had a career-best nine-game double-figure scoring streak snapped against USF on Jan. 5.
• Hansbrough has notched two double-doubles this season. He registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists against Providence in the BIG EAST opener on Dec. 30. Hansbrough was one of three Irish players to record a double-double against DePaul on Jan. 23. He had 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds versus the Blue Demons.

BIG EAST Debut

• Ben Hansbrough didn’t display any jitters in his BIG EAST debut as he recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and career-high 10 assists against Providence on Dec. 30. He also had a then career-high eight rebounds in the contest. Hansbrough followed that up with 14 points against Connecticut on Jan. 2.
• In Notre Dame’s win over West Virginia on Jan. 9, Hansbrough matched his career-high with 10 assists while not committing a turnover in 39 minutes. He also grabbed a then personal best nine rebounds. He also did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes of action against Cincinnati.
• In Notre Dame’s last 16 games, spanning 631 minutes, he as turned the ball over just 32 times.

Making It Count

• Junior forward Tim Abromaitis, who played in just 12 games as a freshman in 2007-08 and did not play at all during the 2008-09 campaign, has had more than timely contributions in Notre Dame’s 31 games as he is averaging 17.2 points (second leading scorer) and 4.9 rebounds this season.
• Abromaitis has scored in double figures in all but three games and topped the 20-point mark on eight occasions.
• Making his first career start in Notre Dame’s win over UCF on Dec. 6, he scored a career-high 31 points as he connected on 10-17 shots from the field, 3-7 from three-point range and was 8-9 from the charity stripe.
• Abromaitis registered the second 30-plus outing of his career on Jan. 23 as he led the Irish with 30 points versus DePaul as he connected on 9-16 shots from the field and was 5-9 from three-point range. It marked the most points ever for Abromaitis in a BIG EAST game and came off a 26-point effort against Syracuse in which he connected on 10 field goals (five from three-point range). He also had 29 points against Louisville as he connected on 11-of-18 shots from the field.
• He recorded his first career double-double against Rutgers when he scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
• He is shooting 50.6 percent from the field (172-340) and 44.9 from three-point range (80-1789) and 88.5 percent from the free-throw line (108-122). He leads the Irish in both three-point and free-throw percentage.
• Abromaitis scored in double figures in Notre Dame’s first seven games and in 28 games overall.

Nearly Perfect

• Tim Abromaitis went 8-9 from the charity stripe against UCF on Dec. 6 and missed not only his first free throw of the season, but also the first one of his career. Prior to the miss, he had been good on all 21 of his free throw attempts.
• Abromaitis was a perfect 12-12 from the line in the loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 11. That marked his most made shots and attempts from the line.
• He hit a career-best 32 consecutive free throws prior to missing the front end of a one-and-one against St. John’s on Feb. 14.
• Overall in his career, he has converted on 115 of 129 attempts (.891).

Rock Solid

• Notre Dame’s backcourt tandem of seniors Tory Jackson and Ben Hansbrough have combined for 306 assists and they have turned the ball over just 119 times.
• Jackson is averaging a turnover every 17.7 minutes, while Hansbrough is averaging a turnover every 20.1 minutes.
• Against Providence, they dished off 17 of the team’s 21 assists and accounted for 17 of the team’s 21 assists against West Virginia.
• In Notre Dame’s 18 conference games, they combined for 177 of the team’s 290 assists (.610) and have turned the ball over just 83 times while playing a combined 1,388 minutes.

The Peoples’ Choice

• Senior guard Jonathan Peoples scored a career-high 23 points and matched his personal best with six rebounds against Providence on Dec. 30. He was 6-7 from the field and 5-5 from three-point range. He connected on his first five shots (all from three-point range) and had already eclipsed his career high with 17 first-half points.
• Peoples started the first eight games of the 2009-10 campaign and 10 games total this season. He has made 12 starts during his career. In the season-opening win over North Florida, he played a career-high 30 minutes in the contest and notched his third career double-figure outing as he scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including a 3-5 performance from three-point range. Peoples also reached double figures against Long Beach State as he scored 10 points.
• Overall in his career he has scored in double figures in five games.

Cool Carleton

• Junior forward Carleton Scott has produced several solid outings this season for the Fighting Irish.
• He registered his first career double-double in Notre Dame’s win over Connecticut (March 3) as he scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and followed that up with 14 points and 13 rebounds against Marquette.
• In his third career start, Scott netted a career-high 17 points and matched then a season-high with nine rebounds in Notre Dame’s road win at Georgetown (Feb. 27). Scott hit on seven-of-eight shots from the field and made three of his four three-point attempts. He also blocked three shots.
• Scott made his first career start against Louisville on Feb. 17 and finished with a then career-high nine points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in a career-best 34 minutes. He also started against Pittsburgh on Feb. 24 and registered six points and four rebounds.
• Scott notched seven points and two assists along with grabbing a then career-high 11 rebounds against Kennesaw State on Nov. 24.
• He had seven points and eight rebounds against Northwestern on Nov. 27.
• Scott scored eight points on 4-4 shooting against Idaho State on Dec. 1.
• He had a career-high four blocks against Bucknell on Dec. 22.

Hitting The Boards

• Tyrone Nash had one of the most complete outings of the season against DePaul on Jan. 23 as he recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• He had a career-high 16-point outing against St. John’s on Feb. 14.
• In the win over Marquette on Saturday he netted 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
• Nash deposited 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds along with dishing out three assists against Pittsburgh on Feb. 24.
• Nash has hauled in 10 or more rebounds two times this season and he has scored in double-figures on 13 occasions, including four times in the past six games.

Hammer Time

• Freshman Mike Broghammer has become a crowd favorite and has been affectionately dubbed “The Hammer” by the Irish student body.
• Broghammer played a then career-high nine minutes against Idaho State on Dec. 1 and finished with three points and three rebounds. He tallied four points in seven minutes of play against IUPUI on Dec. 9.
• He played a personal-best 10 minutes against Louisville and finished with two points, a rebound and two steals.

Getting In The Act

• Joey Brooks and Jack Cooley had “coming out parties” of their own on Dec. 22 against Bucknell. Brooks played a career-high 12 minutes off the bench and Cooley saw 11 minutes of action as a reserve. Brooks scored 12 points and dished off two assists, while Cooley scored five points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Now That’s Something To Talk About

• Notre Dame has won 69 of its last 75 home games that included a school-record 45-game win streak from 2006-09. The Irish also tied a BIG EAST mark by winning 20 straight conference home games during that time period. Notre Dame became the first BIG EAST team in conference history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons at home after finishing 17-0 in ’06-’07 and 18-0 in ’07-’08. Here’s a look at the dominance of the Irish over the course of the last 74 contests at home:

Notre Dame Opponents
FG Pct. 2093-4444 (.471) 1865-4576 (.408)
3-FG Pct. 649-1592 (.408) 510-1540 (.331)
Points/Avg. 6,130 (81.7 ppg.) 4,945 (65.9 ppg.)
Margin of Victory +1,188 points (+15.8 per game)

Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 30 of 75 games; opponents have shot .500 or better in 7 of 75 games. There have been 49 wins by 10-plus points; 24 wins by 20-plus points; 15 wins by 30-plus points; 5 wins by 40-plus points; and 1 win by 50-plus points.

Statistical Champions

• Notre Dame finished first nationally in 2008-09 in two statistical categories – turnovers (9.5) and assist to turnovers (1.75).
• In 2007-08, the Irish led the nation in assists with 18.4 per game.

105 Years Young

• The 2009-10 campaign marks the 105th season of basketball at Notre Dame and the 15th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame teams have posted a 1672-918 record for a .646 winning percentage. In 15 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, the Irish own a 133-121 (.523) record all-time in conference regular-season play.

BIG EAST Turnaround

• During head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Notre Dame has had only two losing seasons in BIG EAST play – 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-10 in 2008-09. Since the ’05-’06 campaign when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST campaign with a 1-8 record, Notre Dame has gone 48-29 (.623) over the last 77 regular-season league games.

BIG EAST Formula For Success

• Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led the Irish to a 98-68 (.590) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 4-9 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 102-77 (.570) against league foes. In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the league’s West Division title with an 11-5 mark. Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record from 1995-2000.

370 And Counting

• Entering the BIG EAST Tournament, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 370 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer in a game was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc. In 2008-09, the Irish set a single-season three-point record with 319.

Living Large At The Line

• Notre Dame is shooting 73.1 percent from the free throw line, led by Tim Abromaitis’ 88.5 percent accuracy as he has connected on 108-122 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Irish have outscored their opponents 507-375 from the line, while attempting 189 more free throws (6.1 per game). Notre Dame is 507-695 from the free-throw line, while opponents have made 74.3 percent (375-505).

Irish Sign Three Guards In Early Signing Period

• Irish head coach Mike Brey signed a trio of guards during the early signing period in November: Eric Atkins (Columbia, Md./Mount St. Joseph/6-1, 170); Alex Dragicevich (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North/6-6, 210) and Jerian Grant (Bowie, Md./DeMatha/6-5, 180). Atkins averaged 23.4 points, 6.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 steals en route to earning Baltimore Catholic League player-of-the-year honors and first team all-Baltimore Metro honors. Dragicevich led his Glenbrook North squad to a 23-5 record in 2008-09 while averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists and being selected as the Central Suburban League North Player of the Year. Grant will be one of three members from the current Notre Dame men’s basketball family who attended DeMatha, which also is the alma mater of Brey and assistant Rod Balanis. As a junior, he averaged 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists and led his team to a final 32-4 mark and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

It’s Academic

• The Irish finished the 2009 fall semester with a 2.966 grade point average. The Irish starting five posted a GPA of 3.150 with four of five starters earning better than a 3.00. Tim Abromaitis led the way with 3.834, while Luke Harangody had a 3.133.
• Notre Dame has achieved a GPA of 3.00 and above in nine of the last 12 semesters and its cumulative grade index has been above a 3.00 in 11 consecutive semesters spanning five-and-a-half years.
• Members of the 2008-09 Irish squad earned a 3.151 GPA following the 2008 fall semester, and, for the academic year, produced a 3.165 GPA.
• Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Academic Sport Excellence Award for men’s basketball for the second time in as many years last season. The BIG EAST began recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport in 2008. The Irish men’s basketball team has won it each of the two years it has been presented and joined two other Notre Dame squads (men’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis) as recipients in 2009.
• Seven players were named to the 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team, while 10 of the 14 members of the squad earned a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the spring semester.

Trends Under Brey

• Under Irish head coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame always has been a team that has had a high number of assists and very few turnovers. Here’s a look a the Irish under Brey: