Dec. 8, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Tonight’s game against Valparaiso marks the teams’ 39th meeting. In the previous 38 years, the Irish have only lost three games. Today, the Insider takes a look at those three losses in the Rivalry Review.
Back in the February of 1920, Irish head coach Walter Halas wrapped up his first season of coaching the Notre Dame men’s basketball team. Halas suffered a tough year with only winning six of the team’s 19 games.
The 1920-21 season marked the first meeting for the two teams, Halas coached his team to victory in their first meeting in January but then lost in late February. Notre Dame fell victim to Valparaiso, 32-26 at home.
Halas lasted just three seasons with Notre Dame posting a record of 25-39. While people may not remember Walter Halas, his brother George was the famous head coach of the Chicago Bears.
The next time Valpo would upset the Irish is 68 years later in the 1988-89 season. At the time, Irish fans were excited about the new prospects head coach Digger Phelps had recruited. Phelps started four talented juniors but the one who excited fans at the time was just a freshman.
LaPhonso Ellis made an immediate impact on the Irish starting line-up as he got the nod as a freshman.
The game on December 17, 1988 marked the first time for Homer Drew to face the Irish. In his first game against Notre Dame, the head coach upset the Irish in overtime, winning 71-68.
“Obviously Notre Dame is much more talented than we are, and it’s a credit to Notre Dame because they even allowed us to play them,” Drew said.
One of the major factors of the game was turnovers. Valpo only had six while Notre Dame turned it over 26 times.
With the loss, Notre Dame fell to 3-1. The 1988-89 would go on to a 21-9 record with an NCAA tournament appearance.
Just five years later, Drew would march his team in the Joyce Center and pull off another upset. The 1993-94 squad came in and upset Notre Dame on its own court, 71-66. It marked the first time that Valpo had ever won in the Joyce Center and it was the team’s first win against Notre Dame since 1921.
Monty Williams led Notre Dame with 29 points and summed up his team’s six-game end of the season slide as “pathetic.”
Yet again, the deciding factor came with turnovers as the Irish had 20. Not to mention the fact that Valpo had 14 steals.
The Irish would go on to end the 1992-93 season with a record of 9-18 in head coach John MacLeod’s second year.