Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
UNDER THE DOME 60 Years Ago: March 12, 1954 For the first time since the inception of weekly basket- ball rankings in 1949, the Notre Dame men's basketball team defeats the No. 1 team with a 65-64 upset of de- fending national champion Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, held in the Iowa City Field House. Senior All-American Dick Rosenthal (Notre Dame's ath- letics director from 1987-95), a 6-5 center, scores 25 points, including two free throws in the closing seconds for a 65-62 lead, and grabs 15 rebounds. He also limits three-time All-American Don Schlundt, a 6-10 center, to one field goal and 10 points. With the victory, Notre Dame: • Advances to the "Elite Eight" for the second year in a row after first accepting an NCAA Tournament bid in 1953. Indiana ended the Irish run the previous year en route to its national title. • Extends its winning streak to 18 games (22-2 overall), the longest in school history. The closest any Notre Dame team has come since then was the 1973-74 team that had two 12-game winning streaks during the season. • Made No. 5 Notre Dame the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament because it was the highest ranked of the eight teams remaining and had the momentum. Alas, in a classic example of a letdown, the Fighting Irish lose to Penn State 71-63 the next day. La Salle goes on to capture the national title. The senior Rosenthal also becomes the first Notre Dame player to average at least 20 points per game in a season (20.2). Adding to the firepower were 6-2 guard Jack "Ju- nior" Stephens and 6-3 forward Joe Bertrand, who tallied 16.8 and 16.5 points per game, respectively. Rounding out the starting five were John Fannon and Bill Sullivan. 50 Years Ago: March 7, 1964 John Dee is introduced as Notre Dame's new head basketball coach, with the promise that within the next four years a brand new sparkling basketball arena will replace the Old Fieldhouse in an effort to upgrade recruiting and finances in the sport. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: March Top to bottom, All-American Dick Rosenthal combined with Joe Bertrand and Jack Stephens to lead a school-record 18-game winning streak in 1954. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS