Terriers Visit First Ranked Team in Notre Dame Saturday
December 12, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2008
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BOSTON - Traveling to the Midwest for the first time since earning road victories over Michigan in both 2003 and 2004, the Boston University men's basketball team (5-3) visits No. 12 Notre Dame (6-2) for the third time in program history on Saturday (Dec. 13) at 7 p.m. at the Joyce Center. Fans will be able to watch a free webcast through the Irish's home website.
The contest marks the first meeting with a nationally-ranked opponent for the Terriers since they lost last season to then-No. 11 Pittsburgh, 80-53. Their last win over a team found in the polls came in 1959, when BU defeated No. 18 Navy in overtime to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Notre Dame has won both of the previous meetings with an 89-63 victory in 1981 against Rick Pitino and a 74-49 win in 1987 against Mike Jarvis. Though the two schools have not met in over 20 years, the current head coaches are familiar with one another, as the Irish's Mike Brey led former America East member Delaware between 1995-2000.
In two of their hard-fought meetings, 15th-year head coach Dennis Wolff's 1997 NCAA tournament-bound team defeated the host school Blue Hens, 69-65, in the semifinals of the conference championship, but fell 66-58 the following year in the 1998 championship game at Delaware.
Picked to finish fourth in this year's Big East preseason poll, the Irish were ranked seventh in the nation before dropping a 67-62 decision to Ohio State last Saturday. They enter the game with the second-longest home-game winning streak in Division I with 40 consecutive wins, having not dropped a contest since the end of the 2005-06 season.
Following victories over USC Upstate and Loyola Marymount, the Irish entered the Maui Invitational, picking up quality wins over Indiana (88-50) and Texas (81-80) before falling to No. 1 North Carolina, 102-87, in the title game. They rebounded with home victories over Furman and South Dakota before facing off with the Buckeyes in Indianapolis. Notre Dame has outscored opponents by an average of 15.5 ppg and has only committed 10.1 turnovers per game.
2008 Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody is a 6-foot-8 forward and averages a double-double with 23.0 ppg and 12.0 rpg. When he's not scoring inside the paint, the Irish are hurting teams from beyond the arc, averaging 10.9 treys per game. Senior Kyle McAlarney has a higher percentage from 3-point land than inside the line, 47.6% (39-of-82) compared to 46.8% (51-of-109). He averages 18.9 points, while Ryan Ayers and Tory Jackson average 13.0 ppg and 12.6 ppg, respectively.
BU is off to its best start since beginning the 2004-05 season with a 5-2 record. The Terriers have yet to lose in double digits, with their biggest loss, 78-69, coming on the road at Northeast conference champion Mount St. Mary's. They rebounded from the tough 84-80 loss against Marshall last Saturday with a gritty defensive performance against Yale on Wednesday, holding the Bulldogs to just 15 points in the second half en route to a 55-43 victory.
Freshman Jake O'Brien scored a game-high 13 points, which included a 3-point dagger with 1:24 to go in regulation, while Corey Lowe had 12 points in the contest. The junior sharpshooter currently has 990 career points and is just 10 away from becoming the 28th Terrier to reach the 1,000-point benchmark. Also in the game, Tyler Morris had a career-high seven rebounds along with a game-high four assists.
Following their longest trip of the season to Notre Dame, the Terriers get a week off before hosting Delaware next Sunday (Dec. 21) at the Roof in a game to be televised by CN8. Tip-off set for 12 p.m.
