vs. Villanova (1/28): Notre Dame starts off strong and opens up a seven-point advantage with 5:18 to play in the first half, before Villanova closes out the final five minutes with an 18-10 run to take a 35-34 halftime lead ... The Wildcats outscore Notre Dame 24-8 in the first nine minutes of the second half and hold a 17-point advantage (59-42) with 10:42 to play ... Notre Dame holds Villanova scoreless for more than five minutes and cut the deficit to 11 points (61-50) with 7:08 to play ... Notre Dame then goes on a 16-2 run and take the lead 66-63 with 1:38 to play ... Villanova cuts the lead to one on two free throws, but two free throws by Russell Carter gives the Irish a 68-65 adavantage with 1:03 to play ... The Wildcats take a 69-68 lead after two free throws from Randy Foye and a layup by Allan Ray ... Torin Francis knots the game at 70-70 on a layup with 13 seconds remaining, but Kyle Lowry's tip-in with less than two seconds gives Villanova the victory.

at West Virginia (2/1): Notre Dame trails by as many as 15 (29-14) with 6:50 to play in the first half, but the Irish close out the stanza with a 21-10 run, including a three-pointer by Chris Quinn as time expires ... The Irish jump out to a three-point advantage early in the second half, but the Mountaineers lead by five with 13:30 to play in the contest ... The game remains close for the final 13 minutes ... Notre Dame enjoys a one-point lead (62-61) with 5:14 left to play, but the Mountaineers take a six-point lead 71-65 with 1:40 remaining ... The Irish hold West Virginia scoreless for the remainder of the contest and close to within the final 71-70 outcome on a jumper by Russell Carter with 1:26 to play and a three-pointer by Quinn with 49 seconds left ... A missed layup by Johannes Herber gives Notre Dame the final position with 15 seconds to play ... Quinn is unable to convert a jumper with four seconds left as West Virginia holds on for the victory.

at Louisville (2/4): Two free throws by Chris Quinn give Notre Dame an 80-77 lead with 11 seconds to play ... Taquan Dean's three-pointer with one second remaining sends the game into overtime ... The Irish take a one-point lead 20 seconds into the overtime session ... With 2:43 remaining, David Padgett's tip-in gives the Cardinals an 86-82 advantage ... Notre Dame ties the game with 50 seconds left in overtime on back-to-back jumpers by Quinn and Russell Carter ... Brandon Jenkins scores the last three points of the game for Louisville with a layup at 22 seconds and then on a free throw with eight seconds left.

at Connecticut (2/21): Trailing by 16 (48-32) at the half and by as many as 19 in the second half, Notre Dame goes on an 18-0 and 25-2 run in the second half ... Trailing 58-41 with 15:49 to play, the Irish make up the deficit in just over five minutes and take a 61-60 lead with 10:35 to play ... Notre Dame goes up by as many as six on two occasions and hold a six-point advantage (69-63) with 5:19 to play ... Connecticut holds the Irish scoreless in the final 3:43 and Marcus Williams' jumper off of a missed free throw with nine seconds remaining sends the game into overtime ... Notre Dame is just 1-5 in the overtime session and misses two key free throws, but does have a chance to win the game ... Trailing 75-74 with 46 seconds remaining, a shot attempt by Russell Carter is blocked and Chris Quinn's running floater misses with one second remaining.

A 'Quinn'tessential Performance:
Senior co-captain Chris Quinn's career-high 37 points against Pittsburgh in Notre Dame's double-overtime nailbiter on Jan. 4 was a single-game record for the Petersen Events Center (the Panthers' home arena) ... From the 4:02 mark of the second half - when the Irish were down 64-55 - Quinn scored 16 straight Notre Dame points to bring them within three, 77-74, with 14 seconds left in regulation and then picked up the assist on Colin Falls' game-tying three-point field goal in regulation ... On top of those gaudy scoring numbers, Quinn also tied a career-high by dishing out nine assists and chipped in six rebounds. Quinn also set personal bests in field goals (12), field goals attempted (23) and minutes played (49) in the contest ... The 37 points also was a Petersen Events Center single-game record ... The point total matched Pat Garrity's 37-point performance against Seton Hall on Jan. 17, 1998 and Troy Murphy's 37-point effort against Rutgers on Jan. 6, 2001 as the most points scored by an Irish player in a BIG EAST game ... It also was the first 30-point plus effort by a Notre Dame player since Chris Thomas scored 39 points against Saint Louis in the second round of the NIT on March 22, 2004.

Opponents Take Notice:
Freshman Kyle McAlarney has scored double figures in eight games this season ... The Irish rookie has played in all 29 contests and made 10 starts (nine in BIG EAST play) ... He earned his first career start against IPFW when Chris Quinn missed the contest due to an ankle injury and has been in the starting lineups against Marquette, Georgetown, Louisville and Rutgers ... McAlarney is the fifth-leading scorer, averaging 6.6 points and is shooting 46.6 percent from the field ... McAlarney had scored in double-figures in four straight games before the Pittsburgh contest on Jan. 4 ... The last freshman to have four consecutive double-figure scoring outings was Chris Thomas in 2001-02 when he had streaks of nine and seven straight games in double figures.

Carter Cutting Loose:
Russell Carter's three outings against Marquette, Providence and DePaul were the most productive of his career based on a three-game stretch ... He had a combined point total of 63 points over the last three games (the most of his career) after scoring 20 against the Golden Eagles, 21 in the win over the Friars and 22 versus DePaul ... He has twice registered a combined 41 points in back-to-back performances - against Louisville (24) and Rutgers (17) and against Marquettte (20) and Providence (21) ... In the Louisville game, Carter scored a career-high 24 points (the first 20-point effort of his career) in the overtime loss while playing 38 minutes and grabbing six boards ... He shot 8-11 (.727) from the field and was 4-6 (.667) from three-point range ... In the win over Rutgers, he netted 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds ... Carter was 5-11 from the field and 3-7 from beyond the arc in 31 minutes ... Prior to his scoring eight points against Connecticut, he had been in double figures in four consecutive games (a first in his career) ... He topped the 20-point mark for the second time in his career last Saturday night against Marquette as he was 5-9 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range and third time in Wednesday's win at Providence when he converted 5-8 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc ... Against DePaul, he finished with 22 points as he was 7-13 from the field and 3-7 from three-point range.

Points Are Plenty:
Notre Dame has topped the 80-point mark 12 times in 29 games this season and scored 90-plus points on four occasions ... The Irish averaged 79.5 points in BIG EAST play ... Their 85-49 (36 points) victory over Fordham was their largest of the season ... Last year, Notre Dame reached the 80-point plateau only once - an 88-73 win over Marist on Dec. 22, 2004 ... The 36-point margin of victory against Fordam on Dec. 28 was the largest for an Irish team since a 44-point win against IUPUI on Nov. 18, 2002.

Close Calls:
Notre Dame has played in 18 games that have been decided by seven or fewer points ... The Irish are 7-11 in those contests ... Notre Dame was involved in 15 games last season that were decided by seven points or less ... The Irish finished with a 9-6 record in those contests.

Francis Collects 900th Rebound:
With his 10 rebounds against Seton Hall on Feb. 18, Torin Francis became just the seventh player in Notre Dame history to grab 900 rebounds ... Francis stands fifth on the all-time Irish rebounding charts ... He currently has 960 career boards in 112 games.

Francis Ranks Among Best In Double-Doubles:
Senior co-captain Torin Francis' 30 career double-doubles rank him 10th in school history ... While LaPhonso Ellis' record of 54 double-doubles may be out of reach, Francis is within striking distance of some of Notre Dame's greatest players as he continues to climb the list.

Double Delight:
In the win over IPFW, Notre Dame had two players register double-doubles in the same game ... Torin Francis recorded his third double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while teammate Russell Carter earned his first career double-double with an 11-point and 14-rebound effort ... The 14 boards were a career high for Carter ... Ironically, the last time two Irish players posted double-doubles in the same game was against the Mastodons in a 73-45 victory on Nov. 23, 2004 ... In the contest, Chris Thomas finished with 10 points and 11 assists, while Dennis Latimore had 12 points and 11 rebounds ... Against Syracuse, Francis again recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Colin Falls registered his first career double-double as he netted 18 points and handed out a career-high 10 assists.

Double The Pleasure:
Torin Francis' 22 points and 13 rebounds against Michigan marked his second straight double-double following a 13-point and 11-rebound effort against North Carolina State ... It also marked the third time in four games that he had grabbed 10-plus rebounds (he also had 14 in the season opener against Lafayette) ... Francis only recorded back-to-back double-doubles once last season - 16 pts./10 rebs. vs. Pittsburgh and 21 pts./13 rebs. vs. Rutgers ... His third double-double of the season came against IPFW as he netted a season-high 24 points (one off of his career high) and grabbed 11 rebounds ... He registered his fourth of the season in Notre Dame's win over Wofford as he scored 12 points and grabbed 11 boards and had his fifth against Syracuse with 13 points and 10 rebounds ... Against Marquette, he scored 16 points and grabbed a season-high 15 boards and had 18 points and 12 rebounds versus Providence ... Francis has scored in double figures in 64 career games, netted 20-plus points in 14 contests and registered 31 career double-doubles (good for 10th in school history) ... He has eight double-doubles overall in 2005-06.

Rookie Ball:
With Chris Quinn out of the lineup against IPFW due to an injury, freshman Kyle McAlarney started at point guard for the Irish ... Also in the starting lineup was another first-year player - Luke Zeller ... Zeller has been in the starting rotation for nine games and earned his first career start against Alabama ... The last time two freshmen were in the starting lineup in the same game was during the 2001-02 campaign when Chris Thomas and Jordan Cornette made starts together six different times throughout the season.

The Irish All-Time:
The 2005-06 men's basketball campaign marks the 101st season of basketball and 11th as a member of the BIG EAST Conference ... In 100-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1581-876 record for a .643 winning percentage ... In BIG EAST play, Notre Dame owns an 90-94 (.489) record all-time in conference regular-season play.

The Captains:
Guard Chris Quinn and forwards Torin Francis and Rick Cornett are serving as captains for the 2005-06 season ... It marks the second straight year that Francis and Quinn have served in that role ... The duo are the 11th and 12th players to serve as two-time captains.

Home Sweet Home:
Since the inaugural season in 1968-69 at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 456-140 record all-time for a .765 winning percentage ... The Irish are 71-27 (.724) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey's five seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 119-42 mark for a .739 winning percentage ... Notre Dame's 11-5 mark this season at home marks the eighth time in nine years that the Irish won 10 or more home games.

Welcome To The Club:
With his career-high 26-point performance against Michigan on Dec. 3, Chris Quinn became the 44th player in Notre Dame basketball history to score 1,000 career points ... In 122 (he played in his 100th career game against Florida International) career outings, Quinn has scored 1,436 points for an 11.8 career scoring average.

Francis Gets To 1,000:
With his first basket of the game against Florida International on Dec. 10, Torin Francis became the 45th player in Notre Dame basketball history to score 1,000 points, joining teammate Chris Quinn who just a week earlier reached the mark against Michigan on Dec. 3 ... In 112 career games, Francis has scored 1,266 points and owns an 11.3 career scoring average.

1,000-Point Duo:
Teammates Chris Quinn and Torin Francis became the 44th and 45th players, respectively, in Notre Dame basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau ... The senior co-captains reached the mark on successive Saturday outings ... Francis has 1,266 career points in 113 outings for an 11.2 average, while Quinn has scored 1,436 points in 122 games in an Irish uniform for a 11.8 career average ... The last time two players from the same class scored 1,000 points was Notre Dame's Class of 2002 - Troy Murphy and David Graves ... Murphy had reached the 1,000-point mark in his sophomore season and finished his career with 2,011 points before leaving after his junior year for the NBA ... In 94 career games, he averaged 21.4 points per game ... Graves finished his career with 1,746 points and reached the 1,000-point mark in his junior year (2000-01), the same season that Murphy topped the 2,000-point mark.

Quinn and Francis In Elite Company:
Senior forward Torin Francis collected his 700th career rebound in the season opener verus Lafayette, reached the 800-rebound mark against Pittsburgh on Jan. 4 and grabbed his 900th rebound against Seton Hall on Feb. 18 ... With 1,266 points, he is the 10th player in Notre Dame history to collect 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds, joining this select company:

Francis' classmate Chris Quinn dished out his 300th career assist in the win over Wofford and his 400th versus DePaul on March 4 ... With 1,436 career points to his credit, the Dublin, Ohio, native is the eighth player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points and hand out 300 assists, entering into this select company:

Where Charity Prevails:
Notre Dame connected on a season-high 92.3 percent from the foul line against Marquette in the first meeting between the two teams as the Irish hit 12 of their 13 attempts ... Notre Dame's previous season high was against IPFW (17-19 for 89.5 percent) ... The Irish shot a season-low 47.1 (8-17) percent in their second matchup against DePaul ...The 45 free throws attempted by Notre Dame in their win over Columbia constitute a high mark in the Mike Brey era ... In that contest, Notre Dame was 28-45 (.622) ... The 33 free throws made against Seton Hall were the most ever by an Irish team in a BIG EAST game ...Notre Dame finished 33-38 (.868) from the charity stripe in the contest and was 27-90 (.900) in the second half ... In the last five minutes, the Irish were 22-23 as Chris Quinn converted all 12 of his attempts and Rob Kurz finished 9-10 ... As a team, Notre Dame is 437-603 (72.5 percent), while opponents are 334-484 (69.0 percent).

Shuffling The Starting Five:
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has used six different starting lineups this season ... Senior forward Torin Francis and junior guard Colin Falls have been mainstays in the Irish starting lineups ... Chris Quinn missed a game due to injury

Hitting The Boards:
Notre Dame owns a +2.8 advantage over its opponents on the boards as the Irish are averaging 38.1 rebounds per game, compared to 35.3 by their opponents ... Notre Dame has outrebounded 20 of their 29 opponents ... The only teams to outrebound the Irish are Hofstra (40-39), Columbia (39-37), Pittsburgh (51-43), Marquette (33-27), Georgetown (45-42 and 41-31), Louisville (42-37), Connecticut (56-46) and DePaul (36-31) with the Irish owning a 3-9 record in those games ... Notre Dame has outrebounded six opponents - Lafayette (43-29), North Carolina State (38-27), IPFW (40-29), Fordham (43-31), Wofford (37-26), West Virginia (41-22) and Providence (39-27) by double digits ... Notre Dame had a streak of outrebounding opponents come to an end at six games against Columbia ... The last time an Irish team outrebounded at least six straight opponents was a stretch that spanned the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons when they bested nine straight teams on the boards: Georgetown (51-29), Rutgers (35-28), Miami (Fla.) (31-29), Michigan (30-26), Xavier (40-31), BYU (29-22), Penn State (38-25), Wake Forest (37-32) and Sacred Heart (48-33) ... The Irish held Fordham to 13 defensive rebounds, the lowest total in the Mike Brey era ... In a testament to their team rebounding prowess, four Irish players - Torin Francis, Luke Zeller, Russell Carter and Rob Kurz - all had seven rebounds at DePaul to help the Irish win the rebound battle 36-35 ... Notre Dame held West Virgnia to just 22 boards, the fewest ever by an Irish opponent during Mike Brey's tenure.

New Faces In Irish Starting Lineup:
When the starting five took the court for Notre Dame's season-opening game against Lafayette, two of the Irish players were relatively new additions to the starting lineup ... Junior guard Russell Carter made just his second career start, while sophomore Rob Kurz was in the starting lineup for the first time in his collegiate career and has started four games overall this season ... In contrast, the other three Irish starters - senior guard Chris Quinn, senior forward Torin Francis and junior guard Colin Falls - carried 166 combined starts into the 2005-06 opener ... Freshman Luke Zeller has started nine games, while another rookie, Kyle McAlarney was in the starting five against IPFW in place of injured co-captain Chris Quinn and has made 10 startering appearances overall this season ... Senior Rick Cornett earned his second career start, and first of the season, in the Columbia game and he also started the regular-season finale at home against DePaul.

For The Defense:
Notre Dame's defense has yielded 2,034 points in its 29 games for an average of 70.1 points per game ... Last season, the Irish held opponents to just 64.1 points per contest, the fewest in head coach Mike Brey's five seasons ... Notre Dame has held three opponents to 50 points and under - (Hofstra, Florida International and Fordham).

Hot Stuff:
Notre Dame shot a then season-best 55.2 percent from the field against Niagara on Dec. 21 ... The Irish connected on 32-58 from the field and were 17-28 (.607) in the second half ... It was also the best a Notre Dame team has shot since February 22, 2003 versus Virginia Tech (98-76 Irish victory) when that Irish squad was 36-65 from the field for 55.4 percent ... The Irish connected on 56.9 (29-51) percent from the field against Providence on Jan. 14 marking the third game this season that they have shot better than 50.0 percent ... Notre Dame connected on 54.7 (29-53) percent against Fordham ... The Irish shot a season-best 58.9 percent from the field (33-56) against Rutgers and were 27-52 (51.9 percent) against Seton Hall which marked the fifth game this season shooting better than 50.0 percent ... In the win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night, Notre Dame connected on 55.1 percent from the field (27-49).

McAlarney Magic:
Freshman Kyle McAlarney has played in all 29 games for the Irish and is averaging 6.6 points and 2.5 assists and is one of Notre Dame's top scorers off the bench ... In eight of the last 21 games, he has scored in double figures, netting a career-high 16 points against Niagara, 14 points versus Columbia, 10 points against Fordham, 12 in the wins over Wofford and Providence and 13 in the loss to Villanova ... McAlarney enjoyed a stellar shooting performance in consecutive outings against Niagara, Columbia, Fordham and Wofford as he shot a combined 17-24 (.708) from the field and 12-19 (.632) from three-point range.

Russellmania:
Prior to the Marquette game on Jan. 20, guard Russell Carter had been in the starting lineup for 16 straight games dating back to last season ... He had been in the starting lineup for each of Notre Dame's first 15 contests and earned his first career start in the first round NIT matchup against Holy Cross in what was the final game of the season ... After not starting the Marquette and Georgetown contests, he returned to the starting lineup against Villanova ... He has started 27 games this season and 28 overall during his career ... Carter produced his best performance in an Irish uniform against Louisville as he scored a career-high 24 points on 8-11 shooting from the field, including a 4-6 performance from three-point range ... In addition, he grabbed six rebounds while playing 38 minutes ... He reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season against Marquette when he scored 20 points and followed that up with a 21-point effort against Providence on Wednesday evening ... He followed that up with 22-point effort on March 4 against DePaul ... Carter has posted 17 double-figure scoring efforts in 2005-06.

Big Luke:
Freshman Luke Zeller has performed well for the Irish this season and is averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds ... He keyed Notre Dame's victory over Hofstra when he scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds (eight in the second half) and was instrumental in the Irish second-half comeback against Michigan with two three-pointers as he finished with eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes of action ... He was held scoreless and without a rebound in the first half against Niagara, but responded with four points and seven boards in the final stanza ... He chipped in three offensive rebounds en route to a five-board night against Columbia ... Against Fordham, he scored a career-high 11 points and was one rebound away from being the first Notre Dame freshman to record a double-double since Torin Francis in 2002-03 ... Against Pittsburgh, he turned in his second consecutive 11-point effort to help the Irish battle the Panthers in a double-overtime shootout ... In the loss to Syracuse , he matched his career-high as he grabbed nine boards.

Irish Among Best In Wins Average:
Over the last six years, Notre Dame is one of 25 teams nationally that has averaged better than 20 wins per season ... The Irish have compiled a 123-71 record for a .634 winning percentage after finishing 22-15 (1999-2000), 20-10 (2000-01), 21-11 (2001-02), 24-10 (2002-03), 19-13 (2003-04) and 17-12 (2004-05).

Keeping It Close:
In the 69 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey's four seasons, only 16 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 455 points for an average of 6.6 points ... Notre Dame's biggest losses have been on the road at Pittsburgh (72-55 on January 6, 2003) and against Arizona (88-71 on March 27, 2003) in the West Regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif.... Prior to those 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 4.5 points ... Only one loss that season (versus Georgetown at the Joyce Center) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five or less points.

Not So Lucky:
Notre Dame is the only team from one of the six major conferences to have a winning record in league play in 2003-04 and 2004-05, yet fail to make the NCAA Tournament ... 20 teams from the Big Six (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC) had a winning record in both 2003-04 and '04-05, while 19 other schools made the tournament both seasons.

Road Warriors:
In Mike Brey's five-plus seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 47-42 (.528) ... That includes a 32-30 mark (.516) in true road games and a 15-12 (.556) record in neutral site contests.

BIG EAST Formula For Success Under Brey:
Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Brey has led Notre Dame to a 55-41 (.573) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 2-6 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 57-47 (.548) against league foes ... In Brey's first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the BIG EAST West Division title with an 11-5 mark ... Prior to Brey's arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record since joining the league in 1995-96.

236 And Counting:
Heading into today's game against Michigan, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 236 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 a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in the game.

Over The Century Mark:
The 102-91 victory over Seton Hall on Feb. 18 marked the sixth time Notre Dame scored 100-plus points during the Mike Brey era ... The last 100-point effort by an Irish team prior to that game was in a 101-96 overtime decision at Boston College on Jan. 25, 2003.

Threes Fall For Falls:
In 90 career outings, 230 of Colin Falls' 272 field goals have come from three-point range ... That translates into 84.6 percent ... One hundred of his 124 field goals this season have come from three-point range (80.6) ... Overall during his career, he has connected on 230 of 571 three-point attempts for 40.3 accuracy from the field.

Another Way To Get His Three Points:
While Colin Falls is considered Notre Dame's three-point threat and leads the team in three-point field goals, the junior sharpshooter has also found another way to get his three points ... In 2004-05, Falls was fouled a total of 16 times while shooting from beyond the arc and converted on 43-48 (.896) of his free-throw attempts ... This season, he was fouled twice in the Hofstra game and made 4-6 from the charity stripe ... He was also fouled while shooting from beyond the arc versus DePaul and made 2-3 from the line ... Falls was fouled against Providence and Marquette and connected on all three of his free throws in both of those contests ... Against Georgetown in the regular-season matchup, he nailed his first-ever four-point play to send the game into overtime ... Against Rutgers, he also was fouled, but missed all three of his attempts ... In the Seton Hall game, he was fouled once and made all three of his attempts ... In last Wednesday's first-round matchup against Georgetown, he was fouled once and hit all three of his attempts ... For the season he is 19-25 (.760) from the line after being fouled.

Kurz Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors:
Rob Kurz was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the week of Nov. 21 after finishing with career bests of 18 points and eight rebounds in Notre Dame's 84-66 win over Lafayette ... Kurz played a career-high 25 minutes in the game and shot 8-10 from the field.

Francis Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors Three Times:
Senior Torin Francis was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll in consecutive weeks ... He earned the recognition for the first time the week of Dec. 12 after averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in wins over Alabama and Florida International ... Against the Crimson Tide, he scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds and followed up that performance with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists versus the Golden Panthers ... Francis also was named to the honor roll this week after scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against IPFW in Notre Dame's 65-63 win ... He copped his third honor Feb. 8 following his 21-point and seven-rebound effort against Rutgers.

McAlarney's Garners BIG EAST Honor Roll Recognition:
Freshman Kyle McAlarney's performances against Niagara and Columbia earned him recognition on the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week of Dec. 27 ... In the two wins, the rookie averaged 15.0 points as he scored 16 against Niagara on six-of-eight shooting from the field, including a four-of-seven performance from three-point range ... Against Columbia, he netted 14 points as he hit five of his eight field goal attempts and was three-of-six from three-point range ... In the two games, he shot a combined 11-16 (.688) from the field and 7-12 (.583) from three-point range.

Quinn Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors On Three Occasions:
Chris Quinn has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll three times this season ... Quinn earned the honor after averaging 26.5 points, 9.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in losses to Pittsburgh and DePaul ... In losses to West Virginia and Pittsburgh, he averaged 27.5 points, shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 63.2 percent from three-point range ... In Notre Dame's 2-0 week against South Florida and Seton Hall, he averaged 23.0 points and 5.0 assists in the two victories.

Carter Cops BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors In Final Week:
Russell Carter earned BIG EAST Honor Roll honors in the final week of the regular season after averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in leading Notre Dame to wins over Providence (82-75) and DePaul (66-61) that helped the Irish earn a berth in the 2006 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Championship ... He scored 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals in win over the Friars and then finished with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals against DePaul as he was named the winner of the Wendell Smith Award as the MVP of the game.

McDonald's All-Americans:
Notre Dame's 2005-06 team features two McDonald's High School All-Americans - Torin Francis and Luke Zeller ... A total of 15 players who have donned an Irish uniform have been McDonald's All-Americans ... Zeller, a freshman from Washington, Ind., is the most recent McDonald's All-American, following Francis who earned McDonald's accolades in 2002 ... Francis also was named the recipient of the Morgan Wootten Award as the McDonald's National Boys Player of the Year ... Zeller played his McDonald's All-American game at the Joyce Center on March 30, 2005 ... Former Irish players who were also McDonald's All-Americans include: Tim Andre (1979-83), Ken Barlow (1982-86), LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92), Ryan Humphrey (2000-02), Tracy Jackson (1973-77), Tim Kempton (1982-86), Dan Miller (2001-03), John Paxson (1979-83), David Rivers (1984-88), Keith Robinson (1986-90), Tom Sluby (1980-84), Barry Spencer (1980-84), Chris Thomas (2001-05), Torin Francis (2002-present) and Luke Zeller (2005-present).

Mr. Indiana:
When former standout Chris Thomas (2001-05) entered Notre Dame in the fall of 2001, he became the first Mr. Indiana Basketball to play for the Irish. Thomas, who graduated in May of 2005 and finished as the school's career leader in nine categories, earned the honor in 2001. History repeated itself four years later when current freshman Luke Zeller copped the state's top honor in 2005.

Irish Sign Two In Early Signing Period:
Irish head coach Mike Brey signed two players during the early signing period on Wed., Nov. 9 - Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) and Tory Jackson (Saginaw, Mich.), Harangody, a 6-8, 250-pound forward attends Andrean High School in Merrilville, Ind ... As a junior, he led his team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 23.2 points and 12.3 rebounds ... He ranked 11th and third, respectively, in scoring and rebounding among all Indiana players in his junior season ... Named the 2005 Post Tribune Northwest and The Times Northwest Player of the Year, he led Andrean to a 21-3 record and to the Gary (Ind.) Class 3A sectional championship ... Jackson, a 5-10, 175-pound guard, was named the '05 Michigan Class C Player of the Year and was a unanimous all-state selection ... He paced his Buena Vista High School team to a 17-6 record in '04-'05 while averaging 30.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals ... This past summer, he played for the Blue Team which garnered the silver medal at the '05 Youth Development Festival as his squad finished with a 3-1 mark.

All In The Families:
Sophomore Rob Kurz' sister Laura is a sophomore on the Duke women's basketball team ... Freshman Ryan Ayers' father Randy is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic ... He formerly was the head coach at Ohio State and with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Irish Successful On And Off The Court:
The University of Notre Dame men's basketball team is enjoying success both on the court and in the classroom this season ... The 12 members of the Irish basketball program combined to produce a 3.244 grade-point average during the 2005 fall semester - its highest GPA ever and the fourth straight semester the team has been over a 3.000 grade index ... It also was the first time that the Irish had a team average of better than 3.200.

Nine members of the team were over a 3.000 grade-point average - Ryan Ayers (3.250), Russell Carter (3.083), Rick Cornett (3.250), Colin Falls (3.333), Zach Hillesland (3.500), Chris Murphy (3.400), Kieran Piller (3.600), Chris Quinn (3.833) and Luke Zeller (3.400).

Kevin White Radio Show:
Look for the Kevin White Radio Show on ESPN 1000 AM radio in Chicago ... The hour-long show, which debuted on Sept. 4, is in its sixth season and will run for 30 weeks throughout the year.

Guests regularly will include familiar names from all facets of college athletics ... The show features White, Notre Dame's director of athletics, and ESPN 1000's Dave Juday ... It can be heard regularly at 11:00 p.m. Central time on Sunday evenings ... ESPN 1000 in Chicago can be heard in more than 30 states around the country.

Sponsors of the show include Gatorade, Xerox, adidas, Comcast, McDonald's, Chase, Coca-Cola, Sirius Satellite Radio, Jordan Industries and Sayers Computer Source.