Winningest Senior Class Honored With Team MVP Award

April 9, 2018

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team held its annual ‘An Evening With Notre Dame Basketball’ event in Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Monday, April 9, 2018. A celebration of the 2017-18 season, hundreds of Notre Dame fans were able to tour the team’s facilities, meet and greet each member of the Irish coaching staff and roster, then witness the team awards ceremony to cap the evening.

In a first for the Notre Dame men’s basketball program, the entire senior class of 2018 was named the Monogram Club Most Valuable Player. Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben, Matt Gregory and Austin Torres helped the Irish claim a program-record 103 wins over the past four seasons, 45 Atlantic Coast Conference victories and eight wins in the ACC tournament.

Among the other award winners on the evening, Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell earned the Captains Award, Martinas Geben was named the Most Improved Player, T.J. Gibbs was selected for the inaugural ‘Empty The Tank’ award, Matt Gregory was the Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete selection, Rex Pflueger was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and Austin Torres took home the Team Irish Award.

A full review of the team’s award winners and their achievements during their careers with the Irish (note: team awards are not necessarily presented each season, reflective in some gaps in the year-by-year award history) –

2017-18 Senior Class – Monogram Club Most Valuable Player

Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, Martinas Geben, Matt Gregory and Austin Torres

Career Highlights –

• 8 ACC Tournament Wins – Second-best in the ACC (UNC 10)
• 103 Wins – Fourth-best in the ACC (UNC 118, Duke 117, Virginia 113)
• 45 ACC Wins – Tied Fourth-best in the ACC (Virginia 57, Duke and UNC 50, Louisville 45)
• 20 ACC Road Wins – Tied third-best in the ACC (Virginia 26, UNC 21, Duke 20)
• 25 ACC Home Court Wins (seventh-best in ACC)

• 2017 Maui Invitational Tournament Champions
• 2017 ACC Championship Runner-Up
• 2017 NCAA Second Round
• 2016 NCAA Elite Eight
• 2016 Legends Classic Tournament Champions
• 2015 ACC Champions
• 2015 NCAA Elite Eight

2017-18 Highlights –

• Led the nation in fewest personal fouls per game (13.1). Also fourth in the nation in fewest total fouls (470) and seventh in the nation in turnovers per game (9.9).
• 21-point rally against Virginia Tech is the program’s greatest come-from-behind victory, surpassing the 20-point rally against Villanova in 2012.
• 2017 Maui Invitational Tournament Champions – second-consecutive season with an in-season tournament title (2016 Legends Classic).

Monogram Club Team Most Valuable Player Award History

Captains Award

Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell

Colson 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 19.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, .761 FT%, .503 FG%

Career Statistics: 13.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, .772 FT%, .528 FG%

• 2018 ACC All-Tournament Second Team Selection
• Two-time ACC Player of the Week (Dec. 26, 2017 and March 5, 2018)

• 2017 Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team
• 2017 Preseason ACC Player of the Year
• 1,600 points, 850 rebounds and 150 blocks in his career – only other Notre Dame player to accomplish those career numbers is Ryan Humphrey.
• Fifth Notre Dame player to reach 1,600 points and 850 rebounds, the 11th Notre Dame player to reach 850 rebounds.
• Finished career ninth on the all-time double-double list (34).

Notable 2017-18 performances:

• 24 points and 14 rebounds at No. 1/1 Virginia (sixth 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the season)
• 22 points and 17 rebounds vs. Georgia Tech
• 37 points and 11 rebounds vs. Dartmouth
• 29 points, 11 rebounds and two steals vs. Indiana
• 25 points, 11 rebounds vs. No. 6/6 Wichita State in Maui

Farrell 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 16.3 ppg, 5.5 apg, .816 FT%, .410 FG%, .377 3FG%

Career Statistics: 10.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, .813 FT%, .421 FG%, .387 3FG%

• 2018 All-ACC Third Team Selection
• 2017 Maui Invitational Tournament MVP
• Led the ACC in three-point field goals per game (3.31).
• Sixth Notre Dame player to reach 400 assists with 150 made three-point field goals.
• Sixth Notre Dame player to average over 2.5 made three-point field goals per game started.
• Finished 11th in the Notre Dame record books for career assist (417) and 10th in three-point field goals made (191).
• Became the 62nd (and 23rd Mike Brey player) to surpass 1,000 points in a career.
• Matched the school-record with 10 three-point field goals at Boston College on Feb. 17, setting the Conte Forum record, the most for an Irish player in ACC play, the most for an Irish player on an opposing team’s court.
• Also among the records in his 10 three-point field goal game, most in a first half (eight), most consecutive (9) and also set the Notre Dame record for individual points in an ACC game (37).
• Averaged 17.0 ppg and 6.7 apg in the ACC tournament.

Captains Award History

Most Improved Player

Martinas Geben

Geben 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 11.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, .850 FT%, .606 FG%

Career Statistics: 5.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, .825 FT%, .608 FG%

• 2017 Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award
• Scored in double figures 21 times with six double-doubles.
• Led all ACC players in offensive rebounds during the ACC tournament (13 in three games, 4.3 per game).
• Dominated the Louisville front line to scored a career-high 22 points with a career-best 17 rebounds.
• Set the Notre Dame school-record with 11 offensive rebounds against Louisville.
• Connected on the game-tying, then game-winning free throw with three seconds remaining against No. 6/6 Wichita State in the 2017 Maui Invitational championship game
• Shot .606 from the field (157-259), the ninth-best single-season effort in Notre Dame history.
• Shot .568 from the field (96-169) in ACC play, the second-best single season mark in Notre Dame history (.570, Zach Auguste, 2014-15).
• Shot .850 (85-100) at the free throw line, the 13th-best single-season effort in Notre Dame history.
• Shot .840 from the free throw line in ACC play 2017-18, the eight-best single-season ACC mark.

Most Improved Player Award History

Empty The Tank Award

T.J. Gibbs

Gibbs 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 15.3 ppg, 2.9 apg, 2.8 rpg, .838 FT%, .403 3FG%, .411 FG%

Career Statistics: 10.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.1 rpg, .836 FT%, .386 3FG%, .402 FG%

• 2017 Notre Dame Newcomer of the Year
• Finished 10th in the country in total minutes played (1,348) and fourth in the ACC.
• Improve his points-per-game average 10.6 (4.7 to 15.3) – the second-best mark in the ACC.
• Led the ACC in free throw percentage (in league games) at .893.
• Averaged 19.4 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.6 rpg and 39.6 minutes played with Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell out of the lineup due to injuries.
• ACC Player of the Week on Jan. 8, 2018 after averaging 20.0 ppg and 4.5 apg in wins at Syracuse and over NC State.
• Scored 26 points with six three pointers and four assists in the Maui Invitational semi final victory over LSU.

Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award

Matt Gregory

• 2017 National Association of Basketball Coaches Academic Honor Roll
• 2015, 2016, 2017 ACC Academic Honor Roll
• Played in a career-high 16 games in 2017-18, scoring six points.
• Will graduate in May with degrees in psychology and environmental science.

Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award History

Defensive Player of the Year

Rex Pflueger

Pflueger 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 8.0 ppg, 3.2 apg, 4.3 rpg, .775 FT%, .317 3FG%, .358 FG%

Career Statistics: 5.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.9 rpg, .777 FT%, .342 3FG%, .386 FG%

• 2017 Notre Dame Defensive Player of the Year, joining Steve Vasturia (2015, 2016) and Pat Connaughton (2013, 2014) as the only two-time winners of the team award.
• 2017-18 All-ACC Academic Team
• Tied for the team lead in steals (37), while finishing second in assists (112) and third in rebounds (151).
• Scored in double figures in 14 games, including first career double-double vs. Mount St. Mary’s.
• Drew the assignment to cover the opposing team’s most capable perimeter scorer.
• Scored a career-high 19 points with six rebounds and four assists vs. Florida State.
• Named team captain on January 3, 2018.
• Tipped in the game-winning basket at Syracuse with 2.3 seconds remaining, playing all 40 minutes of the game.
• Scored 15 points on six of seven shooting at No. 3/3 Michigan State with two steals.

Defensive Player of the Year Award History

Team Irish Award

Austin Torres

Torres 2017-18 Highlights –

2017-18 Statistics: 2.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .350 FT%, .635 FG%

Career Statistics: 1.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .414 FT%, .607 FG%

• 2017 Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete Awardwinner
• 2016 ACC Academic Honor Roll
• Set career-highs for minutes played (321), points scored (67) and field goals made (30) in 2017-18.
• Grabbed a career-high six rebounds and played 13 minutes in the come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament.
• Scored six straight points off the bench against Miami in just 1:08 of game time.
• Started a career-best five games in 2017-18.
• Played a career-high 27 minutes wit nine points and six rebounds at NC State.
• Graduated in May of 2017 with a degree in management consulting from the Mendoza College of Business.

Team Irish Award History