Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2017 11 UNDER THE DOME .800 Percentage of free throws converted by Notre Dame men's basketball in 2016-17 (489 of 611) — which finished No. 1 nationally and also is an Atlantic Coast Conference record. The Fighting Irish were 17 of 17 in their 83-71 loss to West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The previous single-season school record of 77.6 percent (567 of 731) set in 1985-86 was shat- tered. Senior guard Steve Vasturia also set a single-season Notre Dame record of 91.0 percent (91 of 100), breaking Ryan Hoover's mark of 90.5 percent (76 of 84) in 1993-94. 1 Notre Dame was the lone school invited to the NCAA Tournament in men's bas- ketball, women's basketball and men's hockey in 2017. Notre Dame, Minnesota and Providence were the only three programs invited in men's basketball and men's hockey. Notre Dame and Ohio State were the lone schools in both women's basketball and the men's hockey brackets. The Fighting Irish were one of 25 schools in both the 2017 NCAA Championships for men's basketball and women's basketball. It was the sixth time all three Irish teams made the NCAA brackets in the same year. 3 Frozen Four appearances by Notre Dame men's hockey the past 10 years, with this past season's team joining the 2008 and 2011 squads. The only two schools with more in that time were superpowers Boston College and North Dakota with five apiece. 7 NCAA Tournament victories by Notre Dame's graduating senior class that featured guard Steve Vasturia and forward V.J. Beachem, plus center Austin Torres, who will return for a fifth season. Only one other player in school history graduated with as many NCAA Tournament wins: 1975-79 center Bruce Flowers with one in 1976 and 1977, three in 1978 and two in 1979. Current juniors Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell and Martin Ge- ben also have seven apiece, and they can take the all-time lead for a four-year class with just one NCAA Tournament win in 2018. 13 Ranking from Athlon on the degree of difficulty for Notre Dame's 2017 football schedule. The 12 opponents combined for a 94-63 (.599) record last year, led by 10-3 marks from Pac-12 rivals USC and Stanford. That overall .599 winning percentage is identical to Notre Dame's record since 2003 (106-71) under head coaches Tyrone Will- ingham, Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly. 18 Ranking of Notre Dame in the update of the all-time top 100 men's basketball teams/ programs in the country by the Associated Press. The AP rating was based mainly on the Fighting Irish having appeared in 32.49 percent of all AP polls since its inception in 1948. 137 Games played by graduating Notre Dame senior guard Steve Vasturia. Only Pat Connaughton from 2011-15 played more (139) among Fighting Irish men. Vas- turia's 117 consecutive starts to conclude his career are third all time, behind 2001-05 guard Chris Thomas (128) and Connaughton (120). 149 Consecutive starts by graduating Notre Dame senior point guard LINDSAY ALLEN, which is believed to be an NCAA record. Allen started every game from her opener as a freshman and helped lead the Fighting Irish to a 139-10 record (.933 winning percentage). The third-team AP All- American and team MVP this season set Notre Dame and ACC records in assists for a single season (282) and career (841), with her 1,279 minutes of action ranking third nationally. On April 13 she became the No. 14 overall pick in the WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty — whose coach is Notre Dame graduate Bill Laimbeer, who helped lead the Irish to the 1978 Final Four before starring in the NBA, where he won two championships at Detroit. BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND