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Irish Conclude Four-Game Homestand
Feb. 1, 2000 NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Notre Dame basketball team concludes a four-game homestand tonight against West Virginia and brings an overall record of 13-8 into the game and a 4-3 BIG EAST Conference mark.
Notre Dame - which started 2-0 in the BIG EAST for the first time in its five-year membership in the league - improved to 4-3 in the league with a 73-60 win over nationally-ranked St. John's on Saturday.
In that contest, sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) led the way with 30 points and 18 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Freshman guard Matt Carroll (Horsham, Penn.) scored 10 points.
Notre Dame led by a point at halftime, 26-25, and held the lead for most of the second half, until St. John's took a 58-56 lead with 4:40 left to play. The Irish dominated the rest of the game as Notre Dame outscored SJU by a 17-2 mark down the stretch. Carroll hit a jump shot with 2:36 left to tie the game and senior guard Jimmy Dillon (Philadelphia, Penn.) had a steal and three-point play with 2:19 to give the Irish the lead for good.
In this current homestand, Notre Dame also beat Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 by an 81-66 score and lost to Miami 63-49 last Tuesday.
The Irish opened its regular season against '99 Final Four participant Ohio State as it defeated the Buckeyes by a 59-57 score in Columbus on Nov. 16 in the first round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. The Irish went on to finish fourth in that event.
Notre Dame has played a total of seven ranked teams this season and had won seven straight games before the Syracuse loss with wins against: VMI (79-66 on Dec. 18), Rider (75-62 on Dec. 22), Elon (97-71 on Dec. 28), St. Peter's (85-67 on Dec. 31) and Loyola Marymount (75-57 on Jan. 2), Connecticut (75-70 on Jan. 5) and Boston College (86-77 on Jan. 12).
The Irish also have lost a pair of overtime games - an 81-64 loss at Indiana on Nov. 30 (the Hoosiers went out to a 22-4 lead in that contest) and at home against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 (87-85).
After tonight's game, Notre Dame plays a pair of road games at Pittsburgh (Sunday at 12:00 p.m.) and vs. Villanova at the FirstUnion Center (Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.).
West Virginia enters the game with an overall mark of 12-6 and is 4-3 in the BIG EAST. West Virginia has won four games in a row and posted a 70-60 overtime win over Providence on Sunday.
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2000
THE NOTRE DAME-WEST VIRGINIA SERIES: Tonight's game is the 20th meeting between Notre Dame and West Virginia and the Irish lead the series by a 12-9 count. Since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96, the two teams have split six meetings and the Irish have won both games at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame has an overall record of 7-3 against West Virginia in the Joyce Center.
Last year, the two teams split a pair of games with West Virginia winning by an 85-80 count at the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 14 and Notre Dame posting a 71-69 win at the Joyce Center one week later.
In the game at West Virginia, the Mountaineers led 43-32 at halftime and opened up a lead of 19 points with 10:09 left. The Irish made a furious comeback and took a 74-73 lead with 3:46 left to play. Marcus Goree sank two free throws with 2:01 left to play to give WVU the lead for good at 79-78.
In the contest at Notre Dame, the Irish led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but the Mountaineers took the lead with 10:58 left and never trailed until there was 20.1 seconds left in the game when senior Paul Rainey made the first two frees of his career to give the Irish the winning margin.
QUICK HITS: Some quick notes about the Notre Dame basketball team -
The Irish strung together a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 1986-87 season. Notre Dame won 11 games in a row that year - the final nine of the regular season and two in the NCAA tournament before losing to North Carolina in the regional semifinals.
The Irish reached the 13-victory plateau on Jan. 29, the quickest that has happened according to the calendar since the 1985-86 team also reached 13 wins on Jan. 29. The Irish team reached the 11-win point on Jan. 12 and the only other time in school history that happened quicker was when the 1908-09 Notre Dame team reached 11 wins on Dec. 31.
Notre Dame's 13-8 record is the best mark for an Irish team 21 games into the season since the 1988-89 team had a 16-5 record. That team advanced to the NCAA tournament and lost to Georgetown in the second round.
Notre Dame's 4-3 start in BIG EAST play is the best Irish record seven games into the conference season. The last two seasons, Notre Dame has been 3-4 after seven league games. Notre Dame's best league mark eight games into the BIG EAST season is 4-4 in each of the last two years. Notre Dame had never been two games above the .500 level in BIG EAST play until this year's team began with a 2-0 record.
WHAT A SCHEDULE: Matt Doherty is starting his collegiate head coaching career with a very rugged schedule as 11 of his first 21 games have been against teams that played in last year's NCAA tournament.
The Irish have posted wins over: Notre Dame's losses include: Arizona (22-7 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament), Maryland (28-6 last year and advanced to NCAA regional semifinal), Indiana (23-11 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament second round last year), Miami of Ohio (24-8 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament regional semifinals), Syracuse (21-12 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament) and Miami of Florida (23-7 last year and advanced to NCAA second round).
Here's a look at the records of the Irish non-conference opponents this season (as of Jan. 30):
TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 69-25
THE OHIO STATE, CONNECTICUT AND ST. JOHN'S WINS: Notre Dame's wins over Ohio State (ranked fourth at the time in Associated Press poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today poll) in the first round of the Preseason NIT, Connecticut in the BIG EAST opener on Jan. 5 (ranked second in both polls) and St. John's on Saturday (ranked 23rd at the time in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) marked a number of milestones for the Irish:
The wins gave Notre Dame wins over three-ranked teams in the same season for the first time since 1991-92 when the Irish beat No. 8 North Carolina, No. 10 Syracuse and No. 2 UCLA.
The Ohio State and Connecticut wins give Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams in the same season since 1980-81 when the Irish beat No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Kentucky.
The Ohio State and Connecticut wins give Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams on the opposing floor for the first time in school history.
The Connecticut win was the first win over a team ranked that high since defeating No. 2/2 UCLA on Feb. 22, 1992, at the Joyce Center by an 84-71 score.
The Connecticut win was the first win over a team ranked that high at an opposing site since defeating No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 9, 1978, by an 81-78 score. The Irish posted wins over No. 2 Kentucky and No. 1 Virginia during the 1980-81 season at neutral sites.
The Connecticut win marked the eighth time in school history that Notre Dame had defeated the defending national champion. Those wins were Kentucky in 1949-50, North Carolina in 1957-58, UCLA in 1970-71, 1973-74 and 1975-76, Indiana in 1976-77 and Marquette in 1977-78.
The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 15/15 Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, by an 83-63 score.
The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team on the road since defeating No. 20/21 West Virginia on Jan. 15, 1998, by a 74-72 score.
The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 4/T2 UCLA on Feb. 5, 1994, 79-63 score.
The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team on the road since defeating No. 4/3 Syracuse on Feb. 17, 1990, by a 66-65 score.
The Ohio State win was the first Notre Dame road win over a Big Ten team since defeating Northwestern on Dec. 5, 1979, by a 73-56 score.
14 THREES A RECORD: Notre Dame hit on 14-of-23 three-point field goal attempts in its win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. The 14 three-pointers set a school single-game record topping the old mark of 13 set against Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, and Dayton on Jan. 9, 1993. Macura accounted for four of those threes along with junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Penn.) (three), Murphy (two) and sophomore forward David Graves (Lexington, Kent.) (two).
IRISH AND BIG EAST ATTENDANCE: Notre Dame is currently averaging 8,407 fans per home game at the Joyce Center for the 1999-2000 season, which places the Irish third among BIG EAST teams. Only Syracuse (19,022) and Connecticut (13,670) are averaging more fans per home game than the Irish in the league.
Notre Dame is also a draw on the road as it has accounted for the largest crowds of the year at Connecticut (16,294 along with three other games) and Rutgers (8,211). The Notre Dame vs. Syracuse game on Jan. 16 is currently the third-biggest crowd at a BIG EAST game this season at 22,500.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Notre Dame was in the also receiving votes category of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today college basketball polls this week as it received two points in each poll.
Notre Dame received 18 points in the ESPN/USA Today poll on Nov. 21, to place sixth in the also receiving votes category, and received one point in the polls released on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5.
The Irish were second in the Associated Press ranking of Nov. 22 in the also receiving votes category with 160 points, eight in back of Miami of Florida (168). Notre Dame also received four points in the AP voting of Dec 6.
The last time Notre Dame appeared in the national poll rankings was a No. 19 spot in the first Associated Press poll of the 1989 season.
ONLY 42 POINTS: The 42 points that the Irish gave up in their 65-42 win over Valparaiso on Dec. 8 marked the least amount of points that Notre Dame has given up since Jan. 30, 1985, when Notre Dame also gave up 42 points in a 48-42 win over St. Louis at the Joyce Center. The last time Notre Dame gave up less than 42 points was Jan. 16, 1984, a 65-39 win over Rice at the Joyce Center.
PRESEASON NIT: Notre Dame's trip to the Preseason NIT in '99 marked the third appearance for the Irish in the event. In 1986, Notre Dame lost at home in the first round to Western Kentucky by an 80-63 score. In 1990, Notre Dame defeated Fordham (56-46) and Iowa (77-68) at home to advance to the finals in New York and lost to Arizona (91-61) in the semifinals and Duke (85-77) in the consolation game.
As an assistant at Kansas, Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty participated in the event twice. The Jayhawks won both the 1993 and 1997 events.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: Notre Dame's win over Siena on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Preseason NIT marked the first time Notre Dame scored over 100 points in a game since a 101-98 win at Syracuse on Feb. 15, 1992. The 107 points scored by the Irish were the most since they also scored 107 vs. Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 27, 1990. The 48-point differential for Notre Dame from Ohio State (59 points) to Siena was the most in back-to-back games since a 50-point differential in the '74 NCAA tournament with a 77-68 loss to Michigan and a 118-88 win over Vanderbilt in a regional consolation game.
HEAD COACH MATT DOHERTY: Notre Dame head basketball coach Matt Doherty is in his first year in charge of the Fighting Irish program and his first season as a collegiate head coach.
Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Kansas for seven seasons from 1992-99 as the Jayhawks advanced to the NCAA tournament in each year, including a trip to the 1993 Final Four.
Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Davidson for three seasons from 1989-92.
Doherty is a 1984 graduate of North Carolina and helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1982 NCAA title. Doherty became just the second player in Atlantic Coast Conference history, joining North Carolina's Walter Davis, to accumulate 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.
MURPHY REACHES 1,000: Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Saturday when the Irish defeated St. John's. Murphy now has a career total of 1,026 points, which places him 38th in school history. Bob Devine (1955-58) is in 37th place with 1,043 points while Joe Bertrand (1951-54) is in 36th with 1,052 points.
Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joins Dantley as the only Irish sophomores with 1,000 points. Murphy scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game - the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame's 39 previous 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 points.
MURPHY GETS 14TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Murphy had his 14th double-double of the season on Saturday vs. St. John's with 30 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. His 14 double-doubles lead all players in the BIG EAST Conference.
The sophomore forward has led the Irish in scoring in 19 of 21 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 18 occasions. He scored 35 points against St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 20 for his career high topping his previous mark of 32 set against West Virginia last year.
Murphy has now played in 48 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 26 games and has scored 20 or more points in 25 games and 30 or more points in 10 games.
This season, Murphy has scored in double figures in every game, scored 20 or more points in 15 games and 30 or more points in seven games.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT TROY MURPHY "That didn't hurt my feelings as a player.
"His work ethic sets him apart. Troy's right up there with the hardest workers I've coached. He works hard and loves the game of basketball." - Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty
"Not many players come in and (dominate) a conference like he has. Oscar (Robertson) in the Missouri Valley. (Bill) Bradley in the Ivies. David Thompson in the ACC. Those are the kinds of names you conjure up when you think of a kid doing what he's doing." - ESPN and CBS analyst Bill Raftery
"Notre Dame has a great player in Troy Murphy, who's a tough matchup because he's effective inside and out. He's very clever inside." - Arizona coach Lute Olson
"He has a great feel for the game and where to go to get open. He used his body well to post up, is effective on the baseball and is just fundamentally sound. He's learned the game well." - Maryland coach Gary Williams
"He's a terrific player. I don't know what other great praise I can give him." - Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun
"Nothing bothers him now. Put a big man on him, he just says OK and take him outside, shoots over him, uses the hook or drives around him. Put a smaller, athletic guy on him and he just says OK, goes inside, posts up and scores over him. You can't name five better guys in college basketball right now.
"It's not like there's an answer to stopping the guy. He's too good. He can hurt you in too many ways. The guy is a human double-double." - Rutgers coach Kevin Bannon
"You don't stop Murphy. We're not going to do anything special. He's a lottery pick when he goes to the NBA. We've just got to make it tough for him to get low-post position and keep him off the glass." - Siena coach Paul Hewitt, entering the second round NIT game with Notre Dame - Murphy scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds against the Saints
"Troy Murphy, without question, is one of the premier big guys in the country. Anytime you have a player of the caliber of Troy Murphy, you're going to have a hard time if you're not strong inside." - St. Francis (Pa.) coach Bobby Jones
"We tried to bump him a little bit earlier in the second half and double down. If you bump him a little bit before he gets in the low post, he'll move outside. Boy, is he a player." - VMI coach Bart Bellairs
"Troy Murphy is a machine." - Elon coach Mark Simons
MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Murphy is among the national leaders in scoring and rebounding. As of February 1, Murphy was tied for fourth in the country in scoring at 24.1 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 24.9 points per game. In rebounding, Murphy was tied for fifth at 11.0 per game while Darren Phillip of Fairfield is first at 14.4. Murphy is the only player in the country currently to be ranked among the top 10 scorers and rebounders.
MURPHY NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK FIVE TIMES: Murphy was named the BIG EAST co-player of the week on Jan. 10 for his game against Connecticut on Jan. 5 when he scored 33 points and 16 rebounds. He shared the award with Erick Barkley of St. John's.
Murphy has won the award five times this season overall and had won the BIG EAST player-of-the-week award for four consecutive weeks following his most recent weekly honor on Jan. 10, one short of the record.
John Wallace of Syracuse holds the BIG EAST record for most player-of-the-week awards won in a row with five from Dec. 4-Jan. 8 of the 1995-96 seasons. He also holds the conference record for most player-of-the-week awards in a single-season with six in '95-'96.
In addition to Jan. 10, Murphy also won the award on Jan. 3, Dec. 27, Dec. 20 and on Nov. 22 for his performance in the first two rounds of the Preseason NIT and the Irish win over St. Francis (Pa.). That announcement was the first weekly BIG EAST award of the season.
As of Feb. 1, Murphy is the leading scorer and leading rebounder in the BIG EAST in overall games and conference games.
Murphy was named the BIG EAST rookie of the year in 1999 and won the BIG EAST rookie of the week award eight times - the second-highest in league history.
MURPHY ON THE WEB: The Notre Dame athletic department official website (www.und.com) now has a special page profiling Murphy and the accomplishments of his career and season. The website is updated daily and can be found at www.und.com/troymurphy/.
BIG EAST LEADERS: Here's where Irish players and the team stand in the current BIG EAST statistics (as of Jan. 30).
In overall games, the Notre Dame team is second in free throw percentage at .734, second in field goal percentage at .474, fourth in three-point field goal percentage at .375 and second in assists at 18.29. In conference games, the team is fourth in free throw percentage at .752, second in field-goal percentage at .446, fourth in three-point field goal percentage at .360, fifth in rebound margin at +0.6, second in assists at 16.29 and fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 0.97.
Murphy's 35 points vs. St. Francis (Pa.) earlier this season is tied as the most points by a BIG EAST player in a single game this season while his 14 field goals made vs. St. Francis is the most. His 15 free throws made vs. Siena tops the league as does his 18 attempts vs. the Saints. Dillon's 12 assists vs. Siena is tied as the most by a league player this year. Murphy leads the league in overall double-doubles with 14.
In league play, Murphy's 33 points vs. Connecticut is the second-highest to Khalid El-Amin's 34 in the same game. Murphy's 11 field goals vs. the Huskies is also tied as the league best.
PRESEASON BIG EAST HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy was picked first team preseason all-BIG EAST for the 1999-2000 season by the league coaches. The honor was announced at BIG EAST Conference Media Day on Wed., October 25, 1999, and was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
Also named to the first team was: Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut, Johnny Hemsley of Miami, Erick Barkley of St. John's and Etan Thomas of Syracuse.
The second team was Kevin Freeman of Connecticut, Isaac Hawkins of Pittsburgh, Bootsy Thornton of St. John's, Jason Hart of Syracuse and Marcus Goree of West Virginia.
The preseason player of the year was El-Amin and the preseason rookie of the year was Ajou Deng of Connecticut.
MORE HONORS FOR MURPHY: In addition to the BIG EAST honors, Murphy garnered a number of preseason accolades heading into the 1999-2000 campaign and during the season, including:
GRAVES IS SUPER SOPH: Sophomore forward David Graves (Lexington, Kent.) has started 48 of the 51 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 33 of those contests. He has scored in double figures in all but eight games this season.
Graves scored 370 points as a freshman last year - the fourth-highest in school history behind Murphy (519 last year), Adrian Dantley (511 in 1973-74) and David Rivers (474 in 1984-85). He now has 636 career points.
Graves has added the three-point field goal shot to his repertoire this year as he is 44-of-102 (43.1%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc.
Graves is third among Irish regulars in field goal percentage this season at 48.5% (97-of-200).
Graves enjoyed an outstanding game against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 with career highs for points (33), rebounds (12), field goals made (11), three-point field goals (five) and minutes played (44). The game was the first double-double of Graves' collegiate career.
Against Elon on Dec. 28, Graves led the Irish in scoring for the second time this season as he registered 24 points and also added six rebounds.
Graves scored the winning basket against Ohio State and started the season with one of the top games of his Irish career as he scored 18 points (now tied for career fourth-best) on a seven of 12 effort from the field along with eight rebounds, to tie a career high. Graves added 16 points in the win over Siena on Nov. 18 and had 12 against St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 21.
CARROLL IS PRODUCTIVE FROSH: Carroll has scored in double figures in 10 games -16 points vs. Siena, 11 vs. Maryland, 18 vs. Vanderbilt, 22 vs. VMI, 13 vs. Valparaiso, 10 vs. Elon, 10 vs. Connecticut, 15 vs. Boston College, 13 vs. Rutgers and 10 vs. St. John's.
In his BIG EAST debut against Connecticut, Carroll went scoreless in the first half - missing his first six field goal attempts - but scored 10 points in the second half to help the Irish to the victory.
Carroll is 30-of-95 from three-point field goal range this season.
Carroll registered a career-high 22 points against VMI on Dec. 18. Carroll was three-for-six from three-point field goal range and was seven-for-11 from the field. He also added five assists.
Carroll had come off the bench in the first six games of the season before being moved into the starting lineup against Vanderbilt on Dec. 11. In his first start, he had 18 points - then a career-high.
He spent the summer as a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Team that played in the FIBA World Championships, which were held in Portugal in August. The United States won the silver medal in the event.
Carroll played in seven of the eight games the United States played and scored a combined 16 points to go along with three rebounds and four steals. He scored eight points in the United States' opening round win over China.
Carroll is the only player in the history of Pennsylvania high school basketball to win the Associated Press player of the year twice.
SWANAGAN AND DOUBLE FIGURES: Sophomore forward Harold Swanagan (Hopkinsville, Kent.) has scored in double figures in three of the past six games for the Irish with 11 points vs. Boston College (Jan. 12), 12 points at Syracuse (Jan. 16) and 10 points vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 22). The 12-point performance against the Orangemen stands as the fifth-best scoring game of his career. He scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds vs. Rider on Dec. 22 for his first double-double of the season and third of his career.
Swanagan scored in double figures for the first time this season when he had 10 points and added four rebounds against Valparaiso on Dec. 8. Swanagan has started 18 of 19 games for the Irish this year at the center position.
Swanagan played in 29 games last season, scoring in double figures in eight of them and starting two games.
DILLON DISHES OUT: Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon (Philadelphia, Pa.) has started all 21 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 120 assists to go with 67 turnovers.
Dillon's 120-assist total is already his personal career-high for a season as he had 80 last year.
Entering the season, Dillon had started just two games in his career and had averaged 11.6 minutes per game - as opposed to 28.6 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 105.
In last Wednesday's Miami game, Dillon had 10 points to register a career high. Against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Dillon scored nine points - to tie a career-high - and dished out seven assists.
MACURA HITS THE THREE: Freshman forward Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) came off the bench on Jan. 22 against Pittsburgh to score 12 points - on four three-point field goals - in 20 minutes of action. Macura also added four rebounds and two assists in the effort.
Macura started the first game of his collegiate career vs. VMI (Dec. 18) and had two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He also started the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami and scored three points with two rebounds.
Macura registered a career-high 13 points, including two three-point field goals, vs. Indiana (Nov. 30). Macura played a career-high 33 minutes off the bench and also added eight rebounds.
Macura scored five points in 10 minutes against Connecticut on Jan. 5. All five points - a field goal and a three-point field goal - were scored during a 13-2 Irish run during the second half that turned a 38-35 UConn lead into a 48-40 Notre Dame lead.
INGELSBY STEPS UP: Junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Penn.) started the first six games of the season at point guard and has come off the bench in the next 13. Although his minutes are down this year from previous seasons (he started 54 games in his first two seasons), his productivity remains high.
Ingelsby has hit key three-point field goals this year for the Irish and is 28-of-63 from that range. He was three-of-four against Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and was two-of-three in the win over Connecticut on Jan. 5.
When he was in the starting lineup, Ingelsby hit four-of-seven three pointers against Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT, including two key ones down the final stretch, in the Irish win and he hit three against Siena two days later in the second round of the NIT.
MONSEREZ, KARTELO GET CAREER HIGHS: Freshman guard Mike Monserez (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted his career high for points in three-straight games.
Monserez scored five points vs. Elon (Dec. 28), six points vs. St. Peter's (Dec. 31) and nine vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 2). Monserez registered three three-point field goals vs. LMU and is 9-of-27 from that range this season.
Monserez came off the bench Saturday vs. St. John's and scored eight points, including two three-point field goals.
Freshman center Ivan Kartelo (Split, Croatia) scored 11 points off the bench in 22 minutes of action against St. Peter's (Dec. 31). Kartelo played a career-high 26 minutes vs. Connecticut on Jan. 5 and scored two points with five rebounds. He started his first career game on Jan. 25 vs. Miami.
IRISH SIGN THREE Jones averaged 17 points per game last year at Pennsbury for head coach Frank Sciolla as the team won 26 games - the most in school history. The team played in the District One championship game and lost in the second round of the state tournament. Jones earned first team all-conference and all-area honors and averaged 22 points per game in seven post season contests. In his junior year, Jones shot 50.2% from the field and 43.8% from three-point field goal distance.
Markwood earned first-team all-state honors last season at South Portland, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and four assists for head coach Tony DiBiase. Markwood earned first team all-conference honors last year and was named conference MVP. His AAU team in Maine has been the state champions for the past three years.
Timmermans averaged 12.5 points per game last year at Blue Ridge for head coach Bill Ramsey along with 10 rebounds. The team finished 19-6 on the season - third in the state among independent schools.
IRISH ON THE RADIO Jack Lorri will handle the play-by-play of all Notre Dame basketball games and this season marks his 31st year announcing Irish games. Lorri spent his first 14 years with Notre Dame as sports director of WTRC-AM in Elkhart, Ind., and then five years doing games on WGN-AM in Chicago before teaming up with Host/USA. He served as sports director for WSJV-TV in Elkhart for 13 years beginning in 1967 and did play-by-play for Kentucky football and basketball on WLAP in Lexington in 1961-63. Lorri also served as sports director of the Tribune Radio Network in Chicago.
Jack Nolan handles the color commentary on the network. He has been a sports anchor at WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, for more than a decade. He has done play-by-play of Irish basketball on both television and radio as well as on live telecasts of Notre Dame football. He is also the host of WNDU's highly successful Saturday and Sunday morning news broadcasts.
Stations on the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network this season are: WMAQ 670 AM in Chicago, WAUR 930 AM in Chicago, WNDV 1490 AM and 92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM 95.9 FM in Michigan City, Ind., WLUV 96.7 FM and 1520 AM in Rockford, Ill., KHEP 1280 AM in Phoenix, Ariz., KATD 990 AM in San Francisco, Calif., KSAR 92.7 FM in Conway, Ark., and KIND 1010 AM in Independence, Kan.
All radio broadcasts of Notre Dame basketball games can also be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com.
CHICAGO RADIO WMAQ-AM (670), with its 50,000-watt clear channel signal, covers a larger geographic area than any other radio station in Chicago. The station's other sports properties include the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks and the station is also affiliated with CNN Radio.
Notre Dame basketball games on WMAQ this season include: Dec. 4 against Vanderbilt, Dec. 11 at Miami (Ohio), Dec. 18 vs. VMI, Jan. 16 at Syracuse, Jan. 22 vs. Pittsburgh, Jan. 25 vs. Miami (Fla.), Jan. 29 vs. St. John's, Feb. 6 at Pittsburgh, Feb. 8 at Villanova, Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Feb. 19 at Seton Hall, Feb. 26 at Miami (Fla.) and March 4 at Georgetown.
Six more Irish games will be carried in the Chicago area on WAUR-AM (930). They include: Nov. 16 at Ohio State, Nov. 30 at Indiana, Dec. 8 vs. Valparaiso, Jan. 5 at Connecticut, Feb. 23 vs. Providence and March 1 vs. Syracuse.
IRISH ON ESPN Notre Dame games scheduled for ESPN are: Sat., February 19, at Seton Hall, 9:00 p.m. EST, Sat., February 26, at Miami (Fla.), 7:00 p.m. EST, Wed., March 1, vs. Syracuse, 9:00 p.m. EST.
TICKETS ON SALE A limited number of upper bleacher tickets are still available for the remaining Notre Dame home games: Wed., February 23, Providence, 7:30 p.m., and Wed., March 1, Syracuse, 9:00 p.m.
Tickets in the upper bleachers are priced at $8 each and can be purchased in person at the Joyce Center box office or by calling 219-631-7356 and using a Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card. A $5 fee is accessed to each order.
BASKETBALL LUNCHEONS Reservations are currently being accepted for both luncheons, which are priced at $16.00 per person. Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check made payable to the University of Notre Dame to Athletic Business Office, 112 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Please include $3 handling for your order.
BACK TO THE FUTURE Bruce Flowers, a member of the '78 Irish Final Four team, served as a counselor at the Irish summer basketball camp, while Ken Barlow, who scored 1,342 career points for the Irish from 1982-86, was a guest speaker.
Flowers returned to the Joyce Center on Jan. 22 for the game against Pittsburgh and was introduced to the audience.
Collis Jones, who scored 1,367 career points for the Irish from 1968-71, has visited with the Irish coaching staff and practice sessions during his trips to campus as a member of the University's Advisory Council for the College of Business Administration.
Austin Carr, the all-time leading scorer in the history of Irish basketball with 2,560 points, was a special guest at "Friday Night Live," a series of events that led to the first Irish practice at midnight on Oct. 16. Carr was joined at the event by ESPN and ABC announcer Dick Vitale and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.
Dwight Clay, who hit the game-winning shot against UCLA on Jan. 19, 1974, for a 71-70 victory over the Bruins to end their record 88-game winning streak, spoke to the Irish before their practice on Nov. 15 - the day before they beat Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT.
Kelly Tripucka, the sixth-leading scorer in school history with 1,719 points from 1977-81, attended the Notre Dame games at the finals of the Preseason NIT and the contest at Rutgers.
Gary Novak, who scored 1,103 points for the Irish from 1971-74 and was a two-time captain, attended the St. John's game on Saturday and was introduced to the audience.
EVERYONE GETS IN THE ACT
FORMER IRISH NOW COACHING RIVALS
21 Jimmy Dillon
34 David Graves
24 Martin Ingelsby
11 Ivan Kartelo
15 Jere Macura
22 Mike Monserez
3 Troy Murphy
43 Skylard Owens
44 Todd Palmer
42 Harold Swanagan
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