Mastodons Hit National Spotlight on Monday against Ranked Irish

PREGAME NOTES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW basketball team hits the court on Monday evening in a game broadcast on ESPN U against No. 22/24 Notre Dame, as the Mastodons look for their first win in the series with the Fighting Irish.

Opponent: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1)
When: Monday, December 17, 2012 | 7 p.m.
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. | Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9.149)
Television: ESPNU (Mike Couzens, play-by-play; LaPhonso Ellis, analyst)
Radio: WKJG ESPN 1380 AM (Kent Hormann, play-by-play; Jeff Parrish, analyst)
Live Stats: Notre Dame Gametracker
Streaming Video: WatchESPN.com

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH

Notre Dame comes into the Monday evening meeting after an 81-68 win over Purdue to improve the team to 9-1 on the season. Jack Cooley scored 18 points for Notre Dame, with Eric Atkins scoring 17, and Pat Connaughton 16. Cooley pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Irish, who out-rebounded the Boilermakers 35-to-26. Atkins dished out seven assists and picked up three steals.

Cooley leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.6 and 11.1 rebounds, as three others - Jerian Grant, (12.5) Atkins (11.5), and Garrick Sherman (10.2) - average double-figure points on the season. Three more, Cameron Biedscheid, Scott Martin, and Pat Connaughton average over 7.9 points per contest.

Martin is second on the team averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, while Atkins and Grant have 70 and 54 assists, apiece, to lead the team. Cooley has 17 blocked shots, while Atkins has 18 steals.

ALL-TIME SERIES

IPFW and Notre Dame have met three previous times on the basketball court, with the Fighting Irish holding a 3-0 advantage in the series. Notre Dame took the opening meeting 73-45 on November 23, 2004 at home, and won the most recent meeting, also in Notre Dame, Ind. by a 92-49 score on November 10, 2006.

Sandwiched between those to match-ups was a thrilling 65-63 Notre Dame win in Fort Wayne on December 18, 2005. In that game, the Irish never trailed; however, the Mastodons got a shot by Brad Pompey that was blocked by Russell Carter, to keep IPFW from tying the game.

In that game, DeWitt Scott scored 14 points for IPFW, while Quintin Carouthers scored 13, Tyler Best 12, and Pompey 10. Torin Francis scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Irish in the game, while Russell Carter scored 11 and poulled down 14 boards.

IPFW VS. THE BIG EAST

Monday's game against Notre Dame is IPFW's eighth against programs currently in the Big East Conference. Of those seven previous meetings, IPFW has faced Marquette and Notre Dame three times each. IPFW is still looking for its first win over a team from a “Big Six” conference (ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12), and is 0-37 all-time against schools currently in those leagues, including an 11-point loss at Auburn to open the 2012-13 season.

AGAINST NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS

IPFW is 0-8 all-time against teams ranked inside of the top-25, with the last such meeting coming at the opening of the 2011-12 season with an 86-63 loss at Xavier. Of the eight games, seven have been on the road, with the lone home game coming on November 19, 2008, when the squad hosted Michigan State, the highest ranked team the program has played since becoming an NCAA Division I member in 2001-02. Below is a game-by-game listing of IPFW's games against ranked opponents

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS

IPFW senior Frank Gaines currently has 1,409 career points, fourth most in a career in IPFW history, recently passing former teammate Ben Botts for fourth all-time. The career school record is 1,765 held by IPFW Hall of Famer Sean Gibson. Below are the top five scorers in IPFW history.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Mastodons Hit National Spotlight on Monday against Ranked Irish

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