HOOPS: UCLA vs. Notre Dame Preview
UCLA (7-3) VS. NOTRE DAME (7-3)
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend, Ind.
Time/TV/Internet: Today, 3 p.m. EST; Available on ABC, UND.com, Sirius/XM Radio Channel 989
Line: Notre Dame -6 (139 over/under)
Prediction: Notre Dame 75, Detroit Mercy 70
Series Facts: A game not played as frequently as yesteryear, one of the prouder longstanding rivalries in Notre Dame history rekindles today.
The Bruins lead the all-time series 29-20 and beat Notre Dame 65-62 last season in a competitive game at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins have won two straight games. Its losses are by 10 points to Hofstra, 15 to BYU and 13 to Michigan State.
NOTRE DAME OVERVIEW
Using a negative to illustrate a positive to how Notre Dame runs its offense, in the losses to Maryland and Boston College, the Irish combined for 32 assists and 30 turnovers, yet, still led the nation afterward in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.62.
“That’s where we belong,” said Brey, whose teams routinely rate nationally in the top-five of this category.
A program record 33 assists on 41 baskets against Detroit Mercy — with 10 turnovers — only padded Notre Dame’s lead as the best passing team in the country with a 1.78 assist-turnover ratio.
“When you get 33 assists, I don’t care who you’re playing,” Brey said, “that’s pretty powerful.”
UCLA OVERVIEW
The calendar date, Jan. 3, 1971, will forever live in infamy at Notre Dame. It was on that day that legendary Irish guard Austin Carr scored 46 points to help beat the Bruins 89-82. UCLA would not lose again for 88 games. Carr’s 46 points ended up the most any single player scored against a team coached by John Wooden.
The next time Wooden’s Bruins would lose came on Jan. 19, 1974, when the Irish erased an 11-point deficit over the last 3:32 of the game to claim a 71-70 win, arguably the most historic victory in Notre Dame program history.
GAME OUTLOOK
*Timing and television are a couple of reasons that this long-distant relationship between Notre Dame and UCLA blossomed into a great rivalry.
These two played 17 times through the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s as two of the better teams in the country. And all of those games were nationally televised, as is today’s game.
*Brey will meet a familiar foe and a good friend today in first-year UCLA head coach Mick Cronin.
These two coaches have a strong relationship that dates back to the old Big East days when Cronin was coaching at Cincinnati. Brey is 7-3 all-time versus Cronin.
QUICK HITS:
*Senior forward John Mooney has already posted seven double-doubles in nine games this season. Mooney led the ACC with 20 last season, a mark he’s one pace to shatter this season.
*With five blocks against Detroit Mercy, Irish senior forward Juwan Durham moved into third place in the ACC with 2.8 per game. Durham is one of three players in program history to average more than 2.0 blocks per game (Ryan Humphrey and LaPhonso Ellis).
*Irish senior Rex Pflueger is one of just 10 players since 1996-96 (the year Notre Dame joined a conference) to record 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career. Senior teammate T.J. Gibbs is also in this elite club.
QUOTEABLE:
“Forget the history, I’ll deal with that. We’ll talk about it Friday, read about it on the Internet, whatever. For me personally, it will be an awesome day. It brings back a lot of memories and it’s an honor to be part of it. I know the history of it,” — Brey on his personal feelings of the UCLA rivalry compared to his players.
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