February 4, 1999
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-11, 5-6) at
SETON HALL Pirates (11-10, 5-7)
Date: Saturday, February 6, 1999
Place: Continental Airlines Arena (20,029), East Rutherford, NJ
Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Television: BIG EAST Game of the Week (Don Criqui, Jim Sparnarkel) through ESPN Regional Television, seen in the South Bend area on WNDU-TV and on 15 other stations including WWOR-TV in New York City, WJYS-TV in Chicago, WXTF-TV in Philadelphia, WADL-TV in Detroit, WAV-TV in Indianapolis and MSC in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Live Radio: Host Communications Inc. (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV-1490 AM and 92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM-95.9 FM in Michigan City and WGON-860 in Marion and selected games on WMAQ-670 AM in Chicago)
TODAYS GAME: The University of Notre Dame basketball team returns this afternoon against the Seton Hall Pirates after a week off of action. The last game for the Irish was last Saturday, Jan. 30, in an 81-62 win over Providence.
In that contest, the Irish were led by freshman forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.), who had his second-straight double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior center Phil Hickey (Wellsboro, Pa.) added 15 points and eight rebounds while sophomore guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Pa.) had 10 points. Junior guard Jimmy Dillon (Philadelphia, Pa.) came off the bench to register six assists and just one turnover in 23 minutes of action.
Notre Dame enters todays game with an overall record of 11-11 and is 5-6 in BIG EAST play. The Pirates last action came on Tuesday with an 81-66 loss at Boston College. Seton Hall is 11-10 overall and 5-7 in the BIG EAST.
THE NOTRE DAME-SETON HALL SERIES: Notre Dame and Seton Hall have met seven previous times and the Irish lead the series by a 4-3 count. Notre Dame won an earlier meeting over the Pirates this year by a 59-56 count on Jan. 19, 1999, at the Joyce Center. Since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96, Notre Dame leads the series by a 3-2 count. In the history of the Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall series, the home team has won each game with all games being played at the Joyce Center or the Meadowlands.
COMEBACK KIDS: In three of Notre Dames five BIG EAST Conference wins this season, the Irish have been trailing at halftime. Notre Dame trailed Seton Hall by a 27-23 count on Jan. 19 at the half (won 59-6), trailed Miami 31-29 on Jan. 9 (won 71-68) and trailed Pittsburgh 36-34 at the half on Jan. 5 (won 87-64). The only BIG EAST games Notre Dame has led at halftime was on Dec. 8 against Providence by a 39-31 count as the Irish won 83-80 and on Jan. 30 against the Friars as the Irish led at the half 40-31 and won 81-62. Notre Dame has trailed at halftime in all six of its BIG EAST Conference losses.
FRESHMEN SCORING: Freshman forward Troy Murphy and freshman forward David Graves (Lexington, Kent.) are the two-leading scorers for the Irish this season at 18.5 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Of the 1,623 points scored this season by the Irish, 39.6% of them (643) have been scored by that duo. When you add freshman forward Harold Swanagan (Hopkinsville, Kent.) to the mix, 779 (48.0%) of the Irish points this year have been scored by freshmen. In all, Notre Dame players have recorded double figure scoring 75 times this season and 38 have been from freshmen.
IRISH NOTCH EARLY BIG EAST ROAD WINS: Notre Dame opened its 1998-99 BIG EAST schedule with an 83-80 win at Providence on Dec. 8, 1998, and improved to 2-0 in BIG EAST road games following the win at Miami on Jan. 9. The Irish won once on the road in BIG EAST games in its first two years in the conference, beating St. Johns at Madison Square Garden in 1996 and beating Syracuse in the Carrier Dome in 1997. Notre Dame won three BIG EAST road games in 1997-98, with another win at Syracuse in addition to victories at West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Notre Dame is now 2-3 in BIG EAST road games this season.
THE WIN OVER MIAMI: Notre Dame shot 56.5 percent (24 for 43) from the field in the 71-68 win over Miami on Jan. 9, becoming the first team in 39 games to shoot better than 50 percent against the Hurricanes. The last team to shoot as well against Miami was Michigan, which shot 59.6 percent on March 13, 1997 in second round of the National Invitation Tournament. The last team to shoot more than 50 percent in the regular season was St. Johns, which shot 57.1 percent on Feb. 22, 1997.
INGELSBY NETS CAREER HIGH: Ingelsby scored a career-high 22 points against Rutgers on Jan. 23, which topped his previous career-high of 20 vs. Eastern Kentucky on December 19. Ingelsby was a key in the Irish rally against Rutgers as he scored nine points in the final 6:34 of the game. Ingelsby leads Notre Dame with 97 assists this season and has turned the ball over just 56 times in 616 minutes of action or just once every 11.0 minutes of action. Ingelsby had eight assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes of action in the win over Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) and had seven assists and two turnovers in the win over Seton Hall (Jan. 19). Last season, Ingelsby had 150 assists, the ninth-highest in school history.
INGELSBY GETTING HIS POINTS FROM THE LINE: Ingelsby leads the team in free throw percentage (86.2%) having made 50 of 58 attempts this season. Last season, Ingelsby was just 14-23 (60.9%) from the line in 27 games.
HICKEY GETS FIFTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE OF SEASON: Hickey recorded his fifth double-double of the season on Jan. 23 against Rutgers with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Hickey has now recorded a double-double in two of his last four games with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Seton Hall (Jan. 19). His third double-double was on Jan. 5, against Pittsburgh as he had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Hickey also had 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Syracuse and 10 points and 10 rebounds against St. Francis (N.Y.). The senior has scored in double figures in six of the past 11 games and 10 times this season. Hickey is currently in fourth place on the Irish career list for blocked shots with 77 (including five vs. Rutgers on Jan. 23, a career high) while LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) is the career leader with 200 while Matt Gotsch (1993-96) had 97 and Orlando Woolridge (1977-81) had 80.
SWANAGAN GETS ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Swanagan has recorded a double-double in two of the past five games. He had a career-high 22 points coming off the bench against Villanova on Jan. 16. Swanagan also added a career-high 15 rebounds in the game, eight of them off the offensive end.
Swanagan then made his first career start in the win over Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds. His most dramatic part of the game came with 11.2 seconds left as he missed two free throws as the Irish held a three point lead (56-53), but Swanagan got his own rebound off the second missed free throw and was fouled to go to the line again.
He has seen his playing time increase since the beginning of the Great Alaska Shootout. In the first three games of the season prior to the tournament, he was playing just 6.7 minutes per game. Since the tournament began, Swanagan is averaging 19.6 minutes per game. Swanagan has scored in double figures in six games during his freshman year and against tough competition Duke, Indiana, Providence, Connecticut, Villanova and Seton Hall.
Swanagan scored a then career-high 17 points against the Blue Devils in the first round of Great Alaska Shootout and then had a career high 10 rebounds vs. Southern Utah. Against Indiana, Swanagan had another solid performance with 11 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action. In the win over Providence, Swanagan scored 13 points. Swanagan came off the bench in the Connecticut game on Jan. 12 and was the teams leading scorer with 15 points.
MURPHY AND DOUBLE FIGURES: Murphy has started his collegiate career by scoring in double figures in 18 of the 19 contests that he has played this year, including seven double-double performances 21 points and 17 rebounds vs. Alaska-Anchorage, 23 points and 16 rebounds vs. Indiana, 30 points, 11 rebounds vs. Providence, 27 points and 14 rebounds vs. Eastern Kentucky, 30 points and 10 rebounds vs. Pittsburgh, 17 points and 11 rebounds vs. Boston College and 26 points and 12 rebounds vs. Providence again last Saturday. Murphy had scored in double figures in the first 12 games of the season before scoring just five points against Syracuse on Dec. 29.
Murphy returned to action against Boston College on Jan. 27 after missing the previous three games with a sprained ankle suffered in practice on Jan. 14.
Since freshmen became eligible to play in 1970-71, no Irish freshman had ever scored in double figures in his first 12 career games. The last time a Notre Dame player scored in double figures in his first nine college games was LaPhonso Ellis in 1988-89. Ellis wound up averaging 13.5 points per game as a frosh. Ellis is the ninth-leading scorer in school history with 1,505 career points.
BIG EAST STANDINGS
Through February 5
Conf. GB Overall 1. Connecticut 11-1 19-1 2. Miami 8-3 2.5 14-5 St. John's 8-3 2.5 17-6 4. Villanova 8-5 3.5 17-6 5. Providence 7-5 4.0 14-8 Syracuse 7-5 4.0 16-6 7. Rutgers 6-5 4.5 14-7 8. Notre Dame 5-6 5.5 11-11 9. Seton Hall 5-7 6.0 11-1010. Georgetown 3-9 8.0 10-11 West Virginia 3-9 8.0 9-1312. Pittsburgh 2-8 8.0 11-1013. Boston College 2-9 8.5 5-14
Saturday, February 6
Georgetown at Miami, 12:00 p.m.
Notre Dame at Seton Hall, 12:00 p.m.
Connecticut at Stanford, 3:00 p.m.
West Virginia at Boston College, 7:00 p.m.
St. Johns at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Villanova at Syracuse, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 7
Rutgers at Providence, 12:00 p.m.
Monday, February 8
Pittsburgh at Seton Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Syracuse, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 9
St. Johns at West Virginia, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 10
Boston College at Connecticut, 7:30 p.m.
Georgetown at Notre Dame, 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 11
Pittsburgh at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 13
Connecticut at Seton Hall, 12:00 p.m.
Miami at Providence, 4:00 p.m.
Southern at Georgetown, 7:00 p.m.
Boston College at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m.
Villanova at St. Johns, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 14
Notre Dame at West Virginia, 12:00 p.m.
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 2:00 p.m.
NOTRE DAME STARTING LINE:
No. Player Pos Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG Other Notes: 3 Troy Murphy PF 6-9 225 Fr. 18.5 9.2 54.1 FG% Six-time BIG EAST rookie of the week 34 David Graves SF 6-5 211 Fr. 13.2 3.9 23-61 3-pters. 16 double figure scoring games 55 Phil Hickey C 6-11 272 Sr. 8.7 6.6 45.1 FG% Seven double-doubles in last 12 games 4 Antoni Wyche SG 6-5 196 Sr. 11.5 2.4 30.0 3-FG% 15 double-figure scoring games 24 Martin Ingelsby PG 5-11 171 So. 8.9 1.9 97 assists Career-high 22 points vs. Rutgers
NOTRE DAME OFF THE BENCH:
No. Player Pos Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG Other Notes: 15 Paul Rainey F 6-1 191 Sr. 0.6 0.7 6.5 mins./game Career-high 21 minutes vs. Providence 22 Dennis Carroll G 6-5 207 Sr. 1.4 0.4 5 assists Missed last 7 games with dislocated shoulder 21 Jimmy Dillon PG 6-2 171 Jr. 3.0 1.2 59 assists Six assists, One TO vs. Providence 42 Harold Swanagan PF 6-6 242 Fr. 6.2 4.2 62.7 FG% First career start vs. S. Hall, 10 pts., 11 rebs. 43 Skylard Owens SF 6-4 210 Jr. 2.1 2.0 68.0 FG% 6 points, 7 rebounds vs. Providence 44 Todd Palmer F 6-6 220 Jr. 2.1 1.4 70.6 FT% First collegiate start vs. Villanova
MURPHY SETS BIG EAST RECORD: Murphys 30 points against Providence (Dec. 8) tied a BIG EAST record for most points by an individual in their first conference game. Allen Iverson of Georgetown also had 30 points in his first game against Providence on December 7, 1994.
Murphy also scored 30 points vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) and is the first player in BIG EAST history to score 30 points or more in two conference games during a freshman year.
MURPHY TIED FOR THIRD NATIONALLY AMONG FRESHMEN: Murphy is tied as the third-leading scorer in the country among freshmen players at 18.2 points per game and is just 1.3 points per game behind the leader through games of Jan. 27. Quentin Richardson of DePaul is the leader at 19.5 points per game while Erik Brown of Morehead State is second at 19.4. Murphy is tied with Devin Brown of Texas-San Antonio.
MURPHY HONORED BY BIG EAST SIX TIMES: Murphy has been named the BIG EAST rookie of the week six times this season, sharing the award once. His latest honor came the week on Feb. 1 for is performances against Boston College and Providence. Murphy posted double-doubles in each of those games as he had 17 points and 11 rebounds vs. the Eagles and 26 points and 12 rebounds in the win over the Friars.
Murphy also shared the award on Jan. 11, with Rutgers’ Dahntay Jones, as he averaged 20.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in Notre Dames three games against Pittsburgh, Villanova and Miami. He tied his career-high with 30 points in the win over the Panthers. Murphy was first named on Nov. 16 for his performance in Notre Dames opening two games against Miami of Ohio and Yale, on Dec. 14 for his performance in the Providence game, on Dec. 21 for his performance in the Eastern Kentucky game and on Dec. 28 for his performance in the St. Francis (N.Y.) game. The awards mark the first time in Notre Dames four-year history as a BIG EAST member that an Irish player had been named the rookie of the week.
Murphy has either led or tied Notre Dame in scoring in 10 of the last 13 games he has played in and in 14 of 19 contests.
The six honors for Murphy as rookie of the week places him second in conference history along with Lawrence Moten of Syracuse in 1991-92. Allen Iverson of Geogetown is the record holder with nine awards in 1994-95.
MURPHY AND FRESHMEN NUMBERS: Here is where Murphy stacks up against Notre Dames other top freshmen seasons (since 1970-71 when freshmen became eligible):
Name Year Scoring Career Totals Final RankAdrian Dantley 1973-74 511 in 28 games 2,223 2ndDavid Rivers 1984-85 474 in 30 games 2,058 4thLaPhonso Ellis 1988-89 365 in 27 games 1,505 9thKelly Tripucka 1977-78 362 in 31 games 1,719 6thPat Garrity 1994-95 361 in 27 games 2,085 3rdTroy Murphy 1998-99 352 in 19 games Rich Branning 1976-77 311 in 29 games 1,232 23rdRyan Hoover 1992-93 276 in 27 games 1,269 20thBruce Flowers 1975-76 228 in 29 games 1,029 38thBill Paterno 1973-74 223 in 29 games 1,134 28thMonty Williams 1989-90 222 in 29 games 1,371 13th
MURPHY RECOGNIZED BY BASKETBALL NEWS, BIG EAST BRIEFS: Murphy was selected as the newcomer of the year in the BIG EAST Conference by Basketball News in the publications annual preseason yearbook. Murphy also was named the BIG EAST preseason newcomer of the year by BIG EAST Briefs newsletter. Murphy was named his teams most valuable player last spring at the prestigious Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., where he had 18 points and 21 rebounds in the postseason game.
IRISH WIN STREAK LONGEST IN MacLEOD ERA: Notre Dame’s five-game win streak earlier this season was the longest under eighth-year head coach John MacLeod and the longest since the 1987-88 campaign. Before Syracuse, the Irish had not lost since dropping a 76-72 overtime decision at home to Indiana on December 1.
IRISH STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: In the Irish win against St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 27, all five Irish starters scored in double figures for the second-straight game as Murphy and Wyche each scored 20 points, Ingelsby and Graves chipped in 18 points apiece while Hickey added points. Against Stetson on December 21, all five starters were in double figures for the first time this season. That game marked the first time since Notre Dame’s 84-73 victory over Xavier on January 21, 1995 at the Joyce Center that all five Irish starters were in double figures (Jason Williams-19; Ryan Hoover-16; Marcus Young-13; Pat Garrity-12; and Lamarr Justice-10). Four Notre Dame starters scored in double figures against Syracuse (Graves-15; Hickey-14; Wyche-11; Ingelsby-10).
GRAVES NETS FRESHMAN HIGH: Graves scored a career-high 29 points against Southern Utah in the Great Alaska Shootout. Before Murphy had 30 points against Providence and Pittsburgh, Graves 29 points was the most by a Notre Dame freshman since Adrian Dantley had 41 points against West Virginia in 1973-74.
TWO FRESHMEN STARTERS: Notre Dame had two freshmen start the opening game against Miami of Ohio with Murphy and Graves. It marked the first time since the 1982-83 opener that the Irish have two freshmen starting a season-opening game. In that season, Notre Dame started Tim Kempton and Ken Barlow as the Irish beat Stonehill by a 74-60 count. Kempton scored nine points and Barlow had 14.
DILLON PRODUCTIVE: Dillon played 23 minutes off the bench agaisnt Providence last Saturday and although he did not score a point, he recroded sixth assists and just one turnover in the win. Dillon made his first career start against Seton Hall (Jan. 19). Dillon played 12 minutes and recorded one assist. He had a career-high seven assists in Notre Dames win over Providence on Dec. 8 and also came off the bench to play a career-high 35 minutes. Previously, the most minutes Dillon had played in one game was 21 and his previous assist high was six, which he had accomplished twice. Dillon is averaging 15.5 minutes of playing time this season, while he entered the season with a career average of 9.5 minutes per game. BIG EAST LEADERS: Here is where Irish players and the Notre Dame team stand in the latest BIG EAST statistics through Feb. 5.
Name Category Overall Games BIG EAST GamesTroy Murphy* Scoring 4th/18.5 (first among rookies) Rebounding 1st/9.2 FG Pct. 1st/54.1 Blocks 11th/1.21 Def. Reb. 1st/6.16 Off. Reb. 6th/3.05
David Graves FT Pct. 8th/78.4 12th/76.3Phil Hickey Rebounding 12th/6.6 15th/6.5 Def. Reb. 8th/4.45 11th/4.18 Blocks 13th/1.05 t12th/0.91
Martin Ingelsby Assists 9th/4.41 15th/3.55 Ast./TO Ratio 7th/1.73 15th/1.44Jimmy Dillon Ast./TO Ratio 13th/1.48
*Murphy does not qualify for conference games leaders, because he has not played in the required 75% of Irish conference contests.
In overall games, the Notre Dame team is first in field goal percentage (47.6%), first in assists per game (17.50) and fourth in rebounding defense at 34.0. Murphys 17 rebounds vs. Alaska-Anchorage are tied as the most in a single game for a BIG EAST player this season. Notre Dames 63.6% field goal percentage vs. Providence last Saturday is the highest in the BIG EAST for all games this year.
In BIG EAST games, the Irish are first in assists (16.91), second in field goal percentage (47.5), second in rebounding defense (33.6) and fourth in rebounding margin (+2.1). Notre Dame’s 28 assists against Pittsburgh are tied as the most in a single BIG EAST game. Murphy is tied for third in the league in double-doubles with seven overall and Hickey is tied for sixth with five.
IRISH INK TWO: Matt Carroll, a 6-5 1/2 guard from Horsham, Penn., and Hatboro-Horsham High School, and Mike Monserez, a 6-5 guard from Moeller High School and Cincinnati, Ohio, signed National Letters of Intent on November 11, 1998, to enroll at the University of Notre Dame next fall.
Carroll averaged 23.6 points per game as a junior in high school and added 8.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He is ranked No. 30 in the country among high school seniors by All-Star Sports and its publisher Bob Gibbons and No. 67 by Future Stars.
Carroll was named all-area and all-league for his first three years in high school and was named the 1988 state player of the year in Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1998, Carroll was a member of the USA Basketball mens junior world championship qualifying team, which won the gold medal at the COPABA junior world championship qualifying tournament. Carroll averaged 6.5 points in the tournament and 2.0 rebounds.
Monserez led Moeller to an 18-4 record in his junior year and the team finished ninth in the Associated Press Ohio Division I poll after losing in the sectional finals. Monserez led the team with 12 points per game. Monserez also averaged 7.5 assists per game, shot 38.5 percent from the three-point distance and 78 percent from the foul line.
He was named first team all-Southwestern Ohio by the AP, first team all-city by the Cincinnati Enquirer and co-player of the year in the Greater Catholic League of Cincinnati and Dayton.