Notre Dame Faces Saint Louis In NIT Second Round Action

March 21, 2004

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2004 NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT
NOTRE DAME (18-12) VS. SAINT LOUIS (19-12)

March 22
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (11,330)
Second Round (7:00 p.m.)
Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Television: Charter Communications – Frank Cusumano (play-by-play analyst) and Joe Wiley (color analyst). The game will be shown on WBND-Channel 57 and on CCIN in St. Louis.

Radio: Notre Dame Sports Properties (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV 92.9 FM and 1490 AM in South Bend, Ind./Michiana Region, Elkhart, Michigan City, Gary and Hammond), ESPN 1000 AM in Chicagoland Area), ESPN 950 AM (Indianapolis), WGL 1250 in Fort Wayne, WEFM 95.9 in Michigan City and Gary and WLUV AM 1520 (Rockford, DeKalb, Beloit, Janesville). All radio broadcasts can also be heard through the World Wide Web at 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).

Irish Items:

• Notre Dame (18-12) will meet Saint Louis (19-12) in the second round of the 2004 National Invitation Tournament at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. The Irish advanced to Monday’s matchup following their 71-59 victory over Purdue at home on Wednesday night (March 17), while the Billikens earned a spot in second-round action following their 70-69 win over Iowa.
• This will be the 30th meeting between the two schools, but only the first since January 30, 1985. Notre Dame has won three straight over Saint Louis and been victorious in six of the last eight meetings.
• Notre Dame and Saint Louis both come into the contest having won eight of their last 11 games.
• The Irish basketball team will be playing in Fort Wayne for the first time since 1967 when that Notre Dame squad dropped a 96-91 decision to No. 5 Indiana on December 19, 1967.
• Notre Dame is making its eighth appearance in the NIT championship. The last Irish team to play in the NIT was the 1999-2000 squad which advanced to the title game in ’00 before losing to Wake Forest (71-61). Notre Dame has advanced to the championship game on two other occasions – 1973 (lost to Virginia Tech 92-91 in overtime) and 1992 (lost to Virginia 81-76 in overtime). Irish teams own a 21-7 record in NIT games. The Joyce Center has played host to the NIT several times and Notre Dame is 10-1 in those contests. The only loss for an Irish team in an NIT game at the Joyce Center was in 1997 when that Notre Dame team dropped a 67-66 decision to Michigan.
• Notre Dame has won five of its last six games heading into this evening’s contest. The Irish had their four-game win streak snapped with their loss to Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST tournament.
• The Irish own a 10-6 mark at home this season and 7-6 overall record away from the Joyce Center (6-5 in true road games and 1-1 in neutral site contests).
• Notre Dame finished with a 4-4 road record in BIG EAST games and were 2-1 in non-conference matchups,
• Notre Dame is playing in the post-season for the fifth straight year. The Irish were participants in the 2000 NIT tournament and had made three straight NCAA tournament appearances – 2001, ’03 and ’02 – prior to this season. Irish head coach Mike Brey has guided Notre Dame into post-season competition in each of his four seasons.
• Notre Dame has not made five straight post-season tournament appearances (in either the NCAA or NIT) since 1985-90 when Irish teams earned NCAA tournament berths six consecutive years.
• Notre Dame’s six losses are the most at the the Joyce Center for a Notre Dame team since the 1998-99 campaign when that Irish squad finished with a 10-6 record at the Joyce Center.
• Notre Dame’s 61-48 victory over Georgetown on March 6 marked the 10th home win of the season. In the last eight seasons, Irish teams have won 10-plus games at home on seven occasions. Notre Dame’s 16 wins (against four setbacks) in 1999-00 are the most in school history.
• The Irish have played ranked opponents on 10 occasions in 2003-04 and own a 2-8 record versus those teams. Notre Dame’s two wins came against No. 5 Connecticut (80-74) and No. 24 Syracuse (84-72).
• The 48 points allowed by Notre Dame against Georgetown were the fewest by a Notre Dame team ever in BIG EAST play, spanning 161 games (including regular season and tournament contests up to that game). In the BIG EAST home opener against West Virginia, the Irish held the Mountaineers to just 52 points, which at the time ranked as the second-fewest points ever given up by a Notre Dame team. Prior to win over the Hoyas, the fewest points ever allowed by an Irish squad was 51 versus Seton Hall at the Joyce Center in a 60-51 win on January 26, 2002.
• Notre Dame’s three-game conference win streak prior to its loss (61-50) to Connecticut on February 21 was its longest of the season and longest since its four-game win streak during the 2002-03 campaign against Providence (71-65), Boston College (101-96), West Virginia (88-69) and Georgetown (93-92).
• The 50 points against Connecticut were the fewest scored by an Irish team in head coach Mike Brey’s three-plus seasons and second fewest ever by a Notre Dame team in BIG EAST play. The last time an Irish squad tallied 50 points fewer in a game was on January 25, 2000, in dropping a 63-49 decision to Miami at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame’s 29.7 percent shooting performance in the game was the lowest (and second-lowest during Brey’s tenure) since the Irish shot just 29.0 percent (18-62) against Mississippi in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
• In Notre Dame’s 65-64 victory over West Virginia in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship, the Irish shot 51.1 percent from the field (23-45) in the contest which marked the fourth time this season that they shot better than 50.0 percent from the field. Notre Dame converted 10-18 from three-point range for a season-best 55.6 percent from three-point range.
• In its last four games, Notre Dame has connected on 43 three-pointers (10.8 per game). The Irish hit for a school-record 17 against St. John’s on March 6 at Madison Square Garden in its regular-season finale and then had 10 and seven, respectively, against West Virginia and Connecticut in the BIG EAST Tournament. The 34 three-pointers are the second-most in a three-game span. The Irish converted 38 three-pointers in consecutive outings UCLA (12), Georgetown (9) and St. John’s (17).
• Notre Dame has hit for 10 or more three-pointers on nine occasions this season. The Irish have averaged 9.2 three-pointers (120) in their last 13 games.
• Point guard Chris Thomas became Notre Dame’s career assist leader in the Irish win over over Connecticut on Febuary 9. Thomas, who has 633 career assists, eclipsed the former mark of 586 set by David Rivers (1984-88). His career assist average of 6.5 ranks first all-time. He is the only Irish basketball player to score more than 1,700 points and dish off 600 assists.
• Prior to the Purdue game, Chris Thomas has led the Irish in scoring in 11 consecutive outings. He has netted 20-plus points in seven of the last 12 outings for a 21.3 scoring average (255 points) in those contests.
• Chris Thomas achieved a first in his career in Notre Dame’s win at Syracuse when he registered 25 points, which marked his fourth consecutive outing with 20 or more points. Thomas scored 23 points in a loss to Pittsburgh and then followed that with a 31-point outing against Connecticut and a 26-point output in the win over Seton Hall. The 105 points he registered over those games (26.3 ppg.) were the most in four straight games for Thomas during his career. Thomas has topped the 20-point mark in five of the last eight games.
• The backcourt of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn produced its highest combined scoring output of the season as the Irish duo combined for 47 of the team’s 84 points in the win at Syracuse on February 16. Thomas scored 25 points and Quinn added 22. It marked the first time that both had scored 20-plus points in the same game. The tandem combined for 41 of Notre Dame’s 75 points against UCLA as Thomas netted 21 and Quinn scored 20 in the victory. The Thomas-Quinn duo was impressive again in the Georgetown outing as they scored 37 of the Irish’s 61 points. Thomas led the way with 19, while Quinn added 18.
• Colin Falls’ three-pointer with 15.8 seconds remaining against West Virginia marked the first game-winning shot of his career. He finished with six points in the game – all from three-point range. Thirty-five of Falls’ 44 field goals have come from three-point range.
• Tom Timmermans registered a career-high 20 points in the win over the Bruins as he connected on 9-15 shots from the field (both personal bests) and also matched a personal high with eight boards. He scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Irish win over St. John’s as he connected on 4-8 shots from the field and hit a career-high three three-pointers on four attempts.
• Torrian Jones has scored in double figures in five of the last 12 games. He netted double figures in four straight contests (a first for him in his career) against Pittsburgh (12), Connecticut (14), Seton Hall (13) and Syracuse (12). Heading into this season, Jones had reached double figures in five of 92 career contests. This year, he has scored 10 or more points in 12 of the 29 games he has played.
• Rick Cornett scored a career-high 15 points in Notre Dame’s loss to Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST as he connected on five of his six field goal attempts and finished 5-6 from the charity stripe. He followed that up with a 16-point effort against Purdue on Wednesday night as he connected on 4-7 from the field and was a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. Cornett also grabbed six rebounds in the contest. He has scored in double figures in three games this season. Cornett netted double figures for the first time ever in his career against DePaul on December 14 in the first and only start of his career.
• Colin Falls reached double figures for the fifth time this season in Notre Dame’s win over St. John’s as he netted 11 points on 4-5 shooting, including a 3-4 performance from three-point range. He also scored in double figures against Central Michigan (11), DePaul (12), Villanova (12) and Connecticut (10).
• Prior to the Pittsburgh loss on January 12, the Irish’s six-game winning streak was the longest for the Irish since they won eight straight contests during the 2002-03 campaign – from Nov. 30, 2002-Jan. 4, 2003 (Albany, Marquette, Maryland, Texas, DePaul, Canisius, Vanderbilt and Valparaiso).
• Notre Dame’s 12 losses this season have been by a total of 110 points (a margin of 9.2 points per game).
• Chris Thomas has started every game of his Irish career (97 contests) and is second all-time in consecutive games started. Next up on the record list for Thomas will be Pat Garrity’s (1994-98) mark of 111 consecutive starts.
• Notre Dame committed 12 turnovers against Providence on February 24, which snapped a four-game streak in which the Irish had turned the ball over fewer than 10 times. It marked the first time that a Notre Dame team under Mike Brey had committed fewer than 10 turnovers in four straight contests. In the last 15 games, Notre Dame has turned the ball over 10 times or fewer on 13 occasions and is averaging just 8.53 turnovers per game in those contests. Notre Dame turned the ball over a season-low four times in its win over Connecticut on February 9, which included no turnovers in the second half. In the second meeting versus the Huskies, Notre Dame had just five turnovers. The Irish have 10 or fewer turnovers on 17 occasions this season.
• Notre Dame has had more assists than turnovers in 21 games this season, including 10 of the last 11 games. They Irish also had a stretch during this season in which they have more assists than turnovers in eight consecutive contests. Overall this season, Notre Dame owns a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio with 419 assists and 311 turnovers. The Irish are averaging 13.9 assists and 10.4 turnovers. The Irish had a season-best 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio against Georgetown as the Irish dished off 16 assists and turned the ball over just five times. In the last 24 games, Notre Dame has committed a total of 228 turnovers (9.50 per game).
• Chris Quinn has scored in double figures in all but six games this season. He has been in the starting lineup in 25 of 30 games and has topped the 20-point mark on five occasions, including his 21-point performance against Purdue. He is shooting 43.2% (142-329) from the field and 39.5% (73-185) from three-point range.
• Chris Quinn has turned the ball over just 33 times in 1074 minutes this season, an average of 32.5 minutes between turnovers. He had a stretch of 159:00 on the floor without a turnover from the first half vs. DePaul (12/14) until the first half against Villanova. He has been without a turnover in 11 games this season, spanning 390 minutes.
• Heading into the season, Jordan Cornette had played in 66 career games and scored in double figures in just one contest. He has netted double figures in four games this season – DePaul (17), Miami (12), Boston College (11) and St. John’s (12).
• Four Notre Dame players are averaging better than 30 minutes per game – Chris Thomas (38.3), Chris Quinn (35.8), Torrian Jones (32.4) and Torin Francis (32.6). Chris Thomas has played 40 minutes in eight of the last 11 games.
• Prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign, Torrian Jones averaged 14.2 minutes of playing time in his first three seasons. This season, he has played 30-plus minutes in 21 contests. In the loss at Rutgers, he played all 40 minutes.
• Mike Brey earned his 70th win along the Irish sidelines against American on December 21. He owns an 84-43 (.661) overall record as the Irish head coach in three-plus seasons. Brey coached in his 100th game on Dec. 1 and in his 250th career game against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 29. He earned his 175th career win versus Miami on January 28.
• Notre Dame is 27-8 in its last 35 games at the Joyce Center. Before losses to Connecticut and Syracuse in the final two contests of the 2002-03 season, the Irish owned a 16-game homecourt win streak. Since that time, the Irish are 9-8 in their last 17 home games. The Irish are 9-6 at home this season – the most losses since the 1998-99 campaign when that Notre Dame team suffered five losses at the Joyce Center.

Happy Birthday Mike Brey:
Mike Brey is celebrating his 45th birthday today and the Irish head coach is looking to celebrate with a victory for the second year in a row. Last year, Brey celebrated his 44th birthday at the RCA Dome) with a victory over Illinois (68-60) in the second round of the NCAAs – that win propelled the Irish into the Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.

The Luck Of The Irish on St. Patrick’s Day:
Notre Dame’s played on St. Patrick’s Day for just the seventh time in the program’s history when the Irish defeated Purdue on Wednesday night. Notre Dame wons a 4-3 overall record when playing on March 17.

Irish Player Tidbits:

• Chris Thomas leads the Irish in scoring (19.1) and assists (4.8) and was second-team all-BIG EAST selection for the second consecutive year. He has registered 20 or more points in 14 of the last 27 games, including a season-high 31 points in the win over Connecticut on February 9. Thomas has led Notre Dame in scoring in 11 of the last 12 contests. He scored 20-plus points in a career-best four straight games versus Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Syracuse and averaged 26.3 points in those contests. In the win over Connecticut, he became Notre Dame’s career assist leader and has 629 to his credit in three-plus seasons spanning 96 games. In addition to his scoring 20-plus points in four straight games, Thomas has registered back-to-back 20-point performances on two occasions this season. Against Central Michigan and Indiana, he scored 24 points in both of those contests. He also scored 20-plus points in consecutive outings against Villanova (26 points) and Pittsburgh (29 points). Against Villanova, 21 of his 26 points came in the second half. Thomas enjoyed a similar outing in the win at Virginia Tech with 19 of his 23 points coming in the final 20-minute stanza. He was held to a season-low seven points against Quinnipiac which snapped his streak of 27 consecutive games in double figures. Thomas has reached double digits in 83 of 97 career contests. He had a season-high 11 assists against Quinnipiac, marking the first time in 2003-04 (and 15th time in his career) with 10 or more assists in a game. Thomas registered his first double-double of the season against Providence as he scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Chris Quinn has been in the starting lineup on 23 occasions this season and has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 25 games. Quinn has been in the starting lineup in 18 of the last 19 contests. He has topped the 20-point mark in five games this season – his most recent was a 21-point outing against Purdue. Quinn scored 25 points in Notre Dame’s loss at Boston College, which equalled his career-best that he set earlier this season against Quinnipiac. Quinn registered his third 20-point outing of the season in Notre Dame’s win at Syracuse as he scored 22 points. He has registered double figures in 24 of 30 contests, and prior to the Kentucky game, had netted double figures in nine straight contests (against the Wildcats he was held to nine points). Quinn posted back-to-back career outings against American and Quinnipiac, scoring 19 and 25 points, respectively. He is averaging career bests of 14.4 points (second-leading scorer) and 3.1 rebounds, in addition to 3.4 assists. Quinn has played 40 minutes in three games – Central Michigan, Syracuse and Kentucky. He has turned the ball over just 33 times this season in 1074 minutes, averaging 32.5 minutes between giveaways.
• Torin Francis, an honorable mention all-BIG EAST honoree, had surgery on March 8 to repair a herniated disc in his lower back and his recovery is expected to be two to three months. He has posted double-doubles in seven games this season prior to his injury. In 54 career outings (all starts), Francis has 17 double-doubles. He has scored in double figures in 16 of the 20 contests, and in 17 of his last 21 games dating back to last season. Francis was averaging 14.2 points prior to his injury and was the team’s leading rebounder (8.8). In addition, his 35 blocked shots is second most on the team. He has scored 20-plus points in five contests this season. Francis netted 24 in the season opener against Northern Illinois, 23 in the Dec. 1 loss at Marquette, 21 against Morehead State , 22 against Virginia Tech and most recently 23 in the loss at Rutgers. Dating back to 2002-03, he has had 10 doubles-doubles in his last 26 games. In 54 career games, Francis has scored 20 or more points on nine occasions and has registered 10 or more rebounds 20 times. He has scored in double figures in 35 instances, including every game but four (Kentucky, Boston College, Pittsburgh and Connecticut) in 2003-04. He was shooting 56.2 percent from the field (77-137) in his last 14 games.
• Torrian Jones has started all 29 games he has played and is enjoying his best season. He missed the Central Michigan game with a hip flexor and did not dress. Jones is averaging career bests of 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 32.4 minutes per game. Jones has scored in double figures in 12 games this season. After not having a double-double in his first 100 career games, he has recorded four double-doubles this season. He had 17 points (tying a career high) and a career-best 14 rebounds vs. West Virginia and followed that up with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Villanova. In Notre Dame’s win over Connecticut, he scored 14 points and grabbed 12 boards and then added 12 points and 12 boards in the Irish victory at Syracuse. Jones is tied for eighth all-time in career games played (120).
• Jordan Cornette has started 25 of 30 games this season and has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 14 contests. He started the first five games before coming off the bench in the sixth game of the season against DePaul. That outing proved to be his best in an Irish uniform as Cornette finished with 17 points against the Blue Demons, marking the second time in his career that he has reached double figures. He was awarded the Wendell Smith Award as the game’s MVP. Cornette shot 6-of-10 from the field and was 5 for 7 from three-point range. In addition, he grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in 34 minutes. Cornette registered his second career double-double in the win over Miami, he finished with 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots. He produced his second double-double of the season in the win at St. John’s as he scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cornette has scored in double figures in five games and has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in four contests. He has 148 career blocks in an Irish uniform.
• Tom Timmermans has earned starts in 14 games this season. He registered his best outing of his career in the win at UCLA as he scored a career-high 20 points and matched his personal-best with eight boards. Timmermans also had two top performances in both matchups against Syracuse. In the first meeting at the Joyce Center, he registered then career bests in points (16), field goals (7), field goals attempted (10), rebounds (8), assists (4) and minutes played (32). In the win at the Carrier Dome, he played 36 minutes (a career-high) and finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Timmermans also grabbed eight rebounds in the win over Georgetown. In four of the last nine games, he has managed to grab eight rebounds. After missing the Central Michigan, Indiana, DePaul and American contests, Timmermans has played in each of the last 22 games. He has played in 25 games overall, averaging 21.9 minutes, 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.
• Rick Cornett has played in 24 games and has had two of his best performances in an Irish uniform in each of Notre Dame’s last two games. Cornett scored a career-high 16 points against Purdue on Wednesday night after netting a personal best 15 points in Notre Dame’s loss to Connecticut in the previous game. He also was impressive in the Irish victory at Syracuse as he shot 4-5 from the field in scoring eight points. Cornett played 18 minutes against Georgetown and finished with six points and a personal-best eight rebounds. He topped that in his next outing as he grabbed nine boards in the regular-season finale at St. John’s. In his first(and only) career start, he played a career-high 16 minutes against DePaul, finishing with 10 points (on 4-6 shooting from the field) and five rebounds. He is averaging 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds.
• Colin Falls has made seven starts and is the only Irish rookie who has seen action in all 30 games. He hit the game-winning shot a three-pointer – with 15.8 seconds remaining to lift Notre Dame to a 65-64 victory over West Virginia in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship. He is averaging 15.8 minutes per game, while netting 4.6 points and 1.3 rebounds. Of his 44 field goals this season, 35 have been from beyond the three-point arc. Falls earned his first career start against Central Michigan and played 33 minutes while netting 11 points. He made his second start of the season against the Blue Demons and finished with a season-high 12 points. Falls has scored in double figures in four games overall this season. He also scored 12 points (all in the first half) in Notre Dame’s win over Villanova) and had 10 points in the loss at Connecticut. Falls registered his fifth double-figure scoring effort of the season as he finished with 11 points against St. John’s, connecting on 4-5 shots from the field and 3-4 from three-point range.
• Russell Carter saw action for the first time coming off the bench against Mount St. Mary’s and recorded the first collegiate points of his career when he hit a three-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first half. He has seen action in 10 games this season and played in four BIG EAST contests.

Series Record vs. Saint Louis:
Tonigh’s meeting with St. Louis will be the 30th between the two schools and the first since January 30, 1985. Notre Dame owns a three-game win streak and has been victorious in six of the last eight meetings. The first game played in the series was on February 1, 1938.

Notre Dame vs. Conference USA:
Notre Dame is facing a team from Conference USA for the third time this season. The Irish faced Marquette and DePaul in December and split both of those decisions. Coach Mike Brey’s squad lost to the Golden Eagles on the road 71-58 on December 1, and then 13 days later, picked up an 82-69 road against the Blue Demons. Notre Dame owns an all-time record of 156-103 (.602) against teams from Conference USA.

It’s Been A Long Time Coming:
Notre Dame is facing Saint Louis for the first time in 21 seasons. In Wednesday night’s game against Purdue, it had been 38 years since the two in-state rivals had met. Prior to its their first-round NIT mathcup, the last time meeting between the two schools had occurred on January 4, 1966.

History Lesson:
Notre Dame’s men’s basketball squad will be playing in Fort Wayne for the first time since 1967. The Irish played Indiana at the Fort Wayne Coliseum eight straight seasons from 1960-61 through 1967-68 (the Hoosiers won all but one game). Notre Dame played Purdue there in three straight seasons from 1961-62 to 1963-64. The Irish dropped a game to Fort Wayne Knights of Columbus in the 1919-20 season. Notre Dame recorded two NCAA Tournament wins at the Coliseum, defeating Eastern Kentucky in a first-round game in 1953 and Loyola (La.) in a first-round game in 1954. Notre Dame also defeated Valparaiso at the Coliseum on Jan. 10, 1958, in the first regular-season college game ever played at that facility.

Thomas and Francis Earn BIG EAST Honors:
Chris Thomas and Torin Francis each earned spots on the BIG EAST all-conference teams. Thomas was second-team honoree for the second consecutive year and was an all-conference selection for the third straight year. Francis was named to the honorable mention team after earning all-rookie team honors as a freshman. Notre Dame has had at least one player earn all-league distinction nine straight years since joining the BIG EAST in 1995-96.

Cousy Award Finalist:
Chris Thomas is among 15 finalists for the inaugural Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, sponsored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The award recognizes the best true point guard in all three NCAA Divisions. In addition to Thomas, the finalists include: Timmy Bowers (Mississippi State), Tony Borghese (Otterbein), Antonio Burkes (Memphis), Michael Crotty (Williams), Travis Diener (Marquette), Eric Faber (Rollins), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Marques Green (St. Bonaventure), Devin Harris (Wisconsin), Chris Hernandez (Stanford), Josh Mueller (South Dakota), Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s), Kelvin Parker (Northwest Missouri State), Chris Paul (Wake Forest) and Gabe Perez (Rochester).

NIT Review:
vs. Purdue: Chris Quinn topped the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season with a 21-point effort in leading the Irish to a 71-59 victory over Purdue on March 17 in the first round of the NIT championship. Rick Cornett netted a career-high 16 points in a personal-best 26 minutes, while Chris Thomas added 11 points in the win. It had been the first meeting between the two schools in 38 years. Notre Dame led 39-30 at the intermission after shooting 50.0 percent from the field, but the Irish shot just 27.3 percent in the second half. Purdue, which had just two players in double figures, took the lead 52-51 with 6:56 remaining, but the Irish outscored the Boilermakers 19-7 in the final 5:16 of the contest. The Irish shot 81.5 percent from the free-throw line, connecting on 22-27 for the game. Notre Dame went to the line 19 times in the second half and missed just two of their attempts (17-19 for 89.5 percent).

BIG EAST Tournament Review:
vs. West Virginia: Notre Dame built a 16-point lead with 12:30 remaining in the second half only to have the Mountaineers take the lead on two occasions (62-60 with 2:28 remaining and 64-62 with 45.5 seconds left). Colin Falls saved the day for the Irish with his three-pointer from the left corner to lift the Irish to a 65-64 victory over West Virginia. It was Notre Dame’s third win ever in the BIG EAST championship. Notre Dame shot 51.1 percent from the field as the Irish were led by Chris Thomas’ 19 points and Chris Quinn’s 12-point effort. Torrian Jones and Tom Timmermans eachd scored nine points in the contest, while Jordan Cornette added six points and a game-high nine rebounds.

vs. Connecticut: The Irish and the Huskies met for the third time in a month with Connecticut getting the best of Notre Dame for the second time in as many meetings. The Huskies, the eventual tournament champions, earned a 66-58 victory for their second win over the Irish in as many outings. Connecticut owned a 37-28 halftime advantage, but Notre Dame was able to pull to within one with (41-40) with 15;45 remaining. The Huskies built their largest lead (10 points) at both the 9:06 and 7:35 marks. The Irish trimmed the lead to 59-56 with 3:16 to play, but never could get any closer. For the second consecutive game, Chris Thomas finished with 19 points, while Rick Cornett added a career-high 15 points and Chris Quinn added 14. Notre Dame shot just 31.8 percent from the field and was outrebounded 53-21 on the boards.

Streak Busters:
Notre Dame has stopped a couple of notable streaks this season. In the BIG EAST opener against West Virginia on January 7, West Virginia’s Drew Schifino managed just nine points vs. the Irish, snapping his school-record string of 48 consecutive contests with 10 or more points. It was the longest active streak of that nature in NCAA Division I at the time. On January 10, Notre Dame posted an 82-78 victory over Villanova, registering a win against the Wildcats for the first time since 1984. Villanova had previously beaten the Irish eight consecutive times since Notre Dame became a BIG EAST member in 1995-96. The teams did not play between 1984 and ’96.

BIG EAST Distinction:
Although Notre Dame fell one game short of recording its fourth straight 10-win season in league, the Irish own the distinction, along with Syracuse, as being the only two schools to post winning conference records each of the last four seasons. Notre Dame has gone 11-5 (2000-01), 10-6 (2001-02), 10-6 (2002-03) and 9-7 (2003-04), while Syracuse has posted marks of 10-6 (2001-01), 9-7(2001-02), 13-3 (2002-03) and 11-5 ( 2003-04).

Deja Vu:
Notre Dame’s win over over Connecticut on February 9 came exactly one year ago to the day of its last win over a top-five team. The 2002-03 Irish squad defeated No. 4 Pittsburgh 66-64 on Torin Francis’ basket with sixth-tenths of a second remaining in the contest.

Garden Party:
Notre Dame’s 89-62 victory over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden at Saturday produced a couple of milestones. The Irish hit 17 three-pointers in the contest (29 field goals total) to establish a school record. The previous mark was 16 set against Loyola of Chicago on November 22, 2000. In that game, the Irish attempted 22 from beyond the arc, hitting on 72.7 percent. Against the Red Storm, the Irish made 45.9 percent of their three-point attempts as their 37 attempts also established a school mark. Also, Notre Dame’s 27-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a BIG EAST game.

Twenty-Something:
Chris Thomas’ string of four straight games in double figures marked a first for the Irish point guard in his career. Over the course of those four contests (Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Syracuse), Thomas averaged 26.3 points in scoring 105 points. It represented the largest four-game consecutive scoring output of his career. The last Irish player to net 20-plus points in five consecutive games was Troy Murphy – he scored 20-plus points in the first six games of the 1999-2000 campaign.

In Good Hands: Chris Quinn owns an impressive 3.09 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has played 1074 minutes, dished off 102 assists and turned the ball over just 33 times, which translates into one turnover every 32.5 minutes. He had a string of 159:00 minutes on the floor without a turnover snapped in the first half vs. Villanova. His previous turnover came in the first half of the DePaul game on December 14. Quinn dished off a career-high eight assists against Miami in 37 minutes and turned the ball over just one time.

Taking Care Of The Basketball:
When the Irish have been successful, the key to their success has been limiting the turnovers. The Irish have committed 10 turnovers or fewer on 18 occasions this season. Notre Dame had a season-low four turnovers against Connecticut on February 9 in its victory, as the Irish did not commit a turnover in the second half. Notre Dame has had more assists than turnovers in 17 of the last 21 games and is averaging 10.4 turnovers and 14.0 assists per game this season.

Irish Assist Leader:
Chris Thomas became Notre Dame’s career assist leader against Connecticut as he passed David Rivers’ (1984-88) mark of 586. Thomas, who has 633 assists to his credit, achieving the record in the 87th game of his career, compared to Rivers achieving his total in 118 career outings. Thomas owns a 6.5 career-assist average, while Rivers averaged a 4.97 assist average.

Double The Pleasure:
Torin Francis’ 22 points and 16 rebounds against Virginia Tech marked the 17th double-double of his career and his seventh of the season. He also had double-doubles against Northern Illinois (24 points, 19 rebounds), Central Michigan (10 points, 12 rebounds), Indiana (13 points, 13 rebounds) , Quinnipiac (19 points, 11 rebounds), Morehead State (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Syracuse (17 points, 10 rebounds). Francis’ scoring (24 points) and rebounding (19 rebounds) totals in the Northern Illinois game were the second-highest of his career. Francis has scored in double figures 35 times during his career and grabbed 10 or more rebounds on 20 occasions.

Cornette’s Century Mark:
Jordan Cornette blocked his 100th career shot against Marquette and has 148 to his credit for a 1.6 career average in that category. He is one of just four players in Notre Dame history who has blocked 100 or more shots during his career. LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) holds the school mark with 200, followed by Ryan Humphrey’s (2000-02) 166. Cornette is third all-time, followed by Troy Murphy (1998-01) who blocked 126 shots in three seasons.

Irish Backcourt Duo Reaches 100 Assists:
Notre Dame’s backcourt duo of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn have combined for 247 of Notre Dame’s 419 assists (58.9 percent). Thomas leads the Irish with 145 assists, while Quinn has 102. They are the first backcourt tandem since Martin Ingelsby (193) and Matt Carroll (114) in 2000-01 to each have 100-plus assists in a single season.

Mr. Jones:
Torrian Jones registered his fourth double-double of the season in Notre Dame’s win at Syracuse as he scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds and also equalled a career-best with four steals in the victory over Connecticut at the Joyce Center. Jones had a four-game double-figures scoring streak snapped in the loss at Connecticut on February 23. It had marked the first time in his career that he had posted double digits in four straight games. Jones scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and matched a career-high with six assists in the win over Seton Hall. He registered his first career double-double in Notre Dame’s first BIG EAST game of the season against West Virginia as he netted 17 points and grabbed 14 boards. The 17 points equalled his career best, while the 14 boards established a new personal best. Jones followed up that performance with another double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. Villanova. He has reached double figures in 13 contests in 2003-04 and 15 times during his career. Jones has played in more games (121) than any other player on the roster.

The Jones Factor This Season:
Senior Torrian Jones had averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game in his first three seasons. In 29 games in 2003-04, he is averaging career bests of 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 32.6 minutes per game. Prior to the start of the season, he had scored in double figures on just five occasions. Jones played all 40 minutes for the first time in his career against Rutgers.

Dutch Treat:
Like Torrian Jones, Tom Timmermans is having his best season in an Irish uniform, averaging 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. He had his best outing in an Irish uniform in the win at UCLA on March 6 as he scored a career-high 20 points and matched a career best with eight boards. Timmermans connected on 9-15 shots from the field in the contest. He has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games and grabbed eight rebounds in four of those contests. Timmermans registered double figures for the first time in his career (spanning 73 games at the time) against Syracuse on January 17 when he scored 16 points. Timmermans hit on 7-10 shots from the field, both career highs. In addition to playing a then-personal-best 32 minutes, he matched his career best with eight boards and dished off a personal high four assists. In Notre Dame’s second meeting with the Orangemen, Timmermans proved to be just as dangerous as he connected on 4-9 shots from the field in scoring 12 points, in addition to grabbing eight boards while playing a career-best 36 minutes. He has scored in double figures in six games overall this season. Prior to this season, he had never scored in double figures.

Irish Looking For The Scoring Groove:
Notre Dame has scored 74 points or more just 12 times in 30 games this season and has topped the 80-point mark on four occasions. The Irish are averaging 70.6 points per contest, the fewest ever by an Irish team under Mike Brey. Notre Dame has scored 80-plus points four times this season – Morehead State (84), Connecticut (80), Syracuse (84) and St. John’s (89). In Mike Brey’s first three seasons, Notre Dame averaged 78.1 ppg. (2000-01), 78.8 ppg (2001-02) and 79.2 ppg. (2002-03).

Team Defense:
Notre Dame is yielding 673. points per game and has held 18 of its 30 opponents to fewer than 70 points. Marquette, American, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Syracuse (twice) and Kentucky have been the only teams to hit the 70-point plateau against the Irish this season. In Mike Brey’s first three seasons, Notre Dame allowed 69.5 ppg. in 2000-01, 68.3 ppg. in 2001-02 and 71.3 ppg. in 2002-03.

Thomas Reaches Assist Milestone:
Chris Thomas surpassed 500 career assists on Dec. 1 against Marquette. In 97 career contests, he has 633 for a 6.7 career average. He is one of just three players who has scored more than 1,000 points and dished off more than 500 assists in their career and the only player with more than 600 assists and 1,600 points. Thomas has 1,7126 career points for a career scoring average of 17.8. The other two players who have scored 1,000 career points and dished off 500 assists are David Rivers (1984-88 – 2,058 points, 586 assists) and Elmer Bennett (1988-92 – 1,488 points, 516 assists).

Ironman:
Chris Thomas has started all 97 games of his Irish career and is second all-time in consecutive games started. Pat Garrity (1994-98) started all 111 games of his Notre Dame career, while John Paxson (1979-83) made 85 consecutive starts (86 total during his career) and stands third on that list. Paxson started every game in his final three seasons.
In The Spirit Of Giving: Chris Thomas’ unselfish play is one of the reasons why the Irish have been successful while he has been in the Notre Dame backcourt. In the 97 games he has directed Mike Brey’s teams, Thomas has helped the Irish compile a 64-33 record for a .660 winning percentage As a freshman, he averaged 7.64 assists to rank fifth nationally. Thomas then dished off 6.9 assists (eighth in the nation) as a sophomore. He is the only player in Notre Dame history to record 200-plus assists in consecutive seasons. He has distributed 10-plus assists in 15 games during his career.

Block Party:
Notre Dame’s 189 blocked shots in 2002-03 set a single-season team record with a per-game average of 5.59. The former mark of 178 was set during the 2000-01 season in which Notre Dame averaged 5.93 blocks. The Irish finished the 2001-02 campaign with 163 blocks for an average of 4.94 per game. Notre Dame’s block totals each of the last three seasons rank as the top three all-time. Notre Dame has 130 blocks in 2003-04 for an average of 4.3 per game.

Brey In The NIT For Second Time As A Coach:
This is the second time Mike Brey has guided one of his teams to an appearance in the NIT. In his final season at Delaware, the 1999-2000 Blue Hens played Villanova in the first round of the tournament and dropped a 72-63 decision. He is 1-1 in NIT games.

Brey Versus Ranked Opponents:
As a head coach at both Notre Dame and Delaware, Mike Brey has coached in 43 games against ranked opponents and owns a 14-29 record in those matchups. In three-plus seasons at Notre Dame, he has faced ranked opponents on 36 occasions and his teams are 14-22 in those contests. Last season, his team was 5-6 versus ranked teams. The Irish were 3-6 and 4-3 during the 2001-02 and 2000-01 campaigns, respectively.

Brey And The Irish In Overtime Games:
Notre Dame is 3-0 in overtime games (two on the road and one at home) under head coach Mike Brey. The Irish did not play in an overtime affair in Brey’s first season. The first overtime game played by Notre Dame under Brey (during the 2001-02 campaign) was the epic four-overtime classic in 2002 against Georgetown at the MCI Center in which the Irish defeated the Hoyas 116-111. The Irish played two overtime contests in ’02-’03 at Boston College (101-96) and at home against Georgetown (93-92 in double overtime).

Tough Ticket:
Notre Dame played host to 10 sellouts at the Joyce Center during the 2002-03 season – the most since the 1985-86 campaign when 14 of the team’s 17 games drew a capacity crowd. Three games last season – Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Syracuse – produced the largest crowds to ever witness a Notre Dame basketball game – 11,480. This season, eight games sold out – Indiana, Syracuse, Kentucky. Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Providence and Georgetown. This year, student tickets (2,800 to students, 400 to band and Notre Dame student-athletes) were sold out in 5-1/2 hours. Last season, student ticket packages were sold out in 36 hours.

Happy Homecoming For Cornett and Falls Against Blue Demons:
The December 14th win against DePaul at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., snapped Notre Dame’s three-game losing streak and provided a happy occasion for two Chicagoland natives – sophomore Rick Cornett and freshman Colin Falls. Both started the contest and were instrumental in the victory. Cornett, making his first career start, scored a personal-best 10 points (all in the first half) as he converted on 4-6 field goals. In playing a career-high 15 minutes, he also grabbed a career-high five rebounds and finished with two steals. Falls, earning his second start of the season, also notched a career best in scoring 12 points. All four of his field goals and all eight of his attempts came from beyond the three-point arc.

Sensational Six:
Jordan Cornette led six Irish players in double figures in the victory over DePaul. He tallied a team-high 17 points, while Chris Thomas netted 13 points. Torin Francis, Colin Falls and Chris Quinn each finished with 12 points, while Rick Cornett chipped in 10. It marked the first time since Jan. 27, 1990, in a 107-60 win at the Joyce Center that six Irish players had 10 or more points. In that game, Kevin Ellery tossed in 17 points to lead the Irish, while Joe Frederick added 14 points and Keith Robinson netted 12 points. In addition, Elmer Bennett and Daimon Sweet each finished with 11 points, while LaPhonso Ellis round out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.

Facing The Defending National Champions:
Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse on February 16 marked the second straight year that Notre Dame has knocked off a team that the previous season had won the NCAA crown. Notre Dame’s matchup last season with Maryland on December 7, 2002 in the first round of the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center marked the 31st time an Irish team had played a team that had won the NCAA crown the previous year. Notre Dame owns an 9-24 mark versus teams which have won the NCAA crown in the previous season. The 1999-2000 Irish squad beat Connecticut twice – 75-70 at the Hartford Civic Center and 68-66 at the Joyce Center – the season after the Huskies claimed the ’99 NCAA title.

Irish Men And Women Join Elite Group:
With its win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, Notre Dame became just the fourth school since the inception of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 1982 to have both its men’s and women’s basketball teams defeat the defending national champions in the same season. On January 13, the Irish women’s team defeated Connecticut 66-51 at the Joyce Center. The three other schools to have accomplished this have been Duke (1998-99), Tennessee (1999-2000) and Michigan State (1999-2000).

Keeping It Close:
In the 43 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s three seasons, only 12 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 326 points for an average of 7.58 points. Notre Dame’s 17-point losses at Pittsburgh and against Arizona in the NCAA Sweet 16 last season were the two worst by an Irish team under Brey. Prior to those two setbacks, the worst defeat was a 16-point decision at Connecticut during Brey’s first season. Notre Dame’s 11 losses during the 2001-02 season were by a combined 49 points for an average margin of defeat of 4.45 points. Only one loss (vs. Georgetown 83-73) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five points or less.

177 And Counting:
Heading into tonight’s game against Saint Louis, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 177 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut in the Hartford Civic Center (Jan. 12, 1999) as Notre Dame finished 0-7 in the contest.

Web Site (www.und.com):
Notre Dame’s official athletic department web site can be found at www.und.com, with the extensive offerings including live audio for all Irish men’s basketball games (home and away), as well as real-time statistics for all Notre Dame home games.

Irish In Barbados:
Notre Dame spent its fall break (Oct. 18-25) in Barbados and played three games. The Irish finished with a 2-1 record on its foreign tour. Notre Dame became the first-ever college team to play a game in Barbados. Coach Mike Brey and his team got a head start on the season with the first of its 10 practices (allowed by the NCAA before a tour) on Sept. 4. ESPN Magazine followed the Irish on their seven-day trip and it was featured in the magzine’s college basketball preview issue. Notre Dame played the Milton Keynes Lions, a member of the British Basketball League, twice, and face off against the Barbados National Team in its other contest.