The 2007–08 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represent the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in the

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

season of 2007-08, competing in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. The team is led by eighth-year

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American basketball coach (sport), coach. Currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, he was previously the men's head basketball coach at the Universit ...

, and play their home games in the Edmund P. Joyce Center in

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

. The previous year's team finished with a 24–8 record and 11–5 record in Big East games. They competed in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Big East men's basketball tournament The Big East Men's Basketball Tournament is the championship tournament of the Big East Conference in men's basketball. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As part of the 2013 deal in which seven schools ...

and received an

at-large bid At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

in the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament, where they lost their first game. The team graduated its two top-scorers between the seasons, but returned three starters and added four recruits for 2007–08. They were picked to finish ninth in the Big East. Notre Dame began the season playing an out of conference schedule that included the

Paradise Jam tournament The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is an NCAA college basketball tournament that takes place annually in late November. The men's tournament typically takes place the week before Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving, with the women's tou ...

and reached their conference games with a 10–2 record. Currently the team is

ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

14th in the Associated Press (AP) Poll and 15th in the

Coaches Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has ...

, and has a 24–7 record overall. The 14–4 record in conference places the team tied in second in the conference, and is the most conference wins in the history of the school. Dating to 2006, the team won 37 consecutive home games, the second longest active winning streak in the nation.

Preseason

The 2006-07 Notre Dame team finished their season with a 24–8 record that included a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Irish made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003 and the 24 wins tied the 1973-74 team for the most ever wins at Notre Dame. Because of the team's accomplishments, Mike Brey was named Big East Coach of the Year.

Roster changes and recruiting

Notre Dame lost its two top scorers, Russell Carter and

Colin Falls Colin Falls (born June 9, 1985) is an American basketball player who spent the 2007–08 season with Orlandina Basket of Italy. A shooting guard born in Park Ridge, Illinois, Falls starred at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois and played fo ...

, to graduation in 2007. In addition to Carter and Falls, freshman, Joe Harden, who played in only 14 games throughout the season, decided to transfer from Notre Dame. Kyle McAlarney, a junior, who was suspended for most of the 2006–07 season because of an arrest, was re-instated onto the team. With McAlarney's return, the team returned four former starters. In addition to the returning players, the Irish signed four recruits for their new class. Although the class was not highly ranked, it included two three–star athletes.

Pre-season outlook

With three former starters that had experience in the NCAA tournament, the Irish hoped to have another run to the tournament. However, with only five returning upperclassmen, including only one senior, the Big East's coaches picked the team to finish ninth in the conference. Even so, the team entered the season with a 20 home game winning streak, dating to the end of the 2005–06 season.

Regular season

Roster

Notre Dame began the season with 12

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

players and two walk-ons. Rob Kurz, the only senior on the team, was named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

prior to the season. In the 2006–07 season, Tory Jackson took over the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position after Kyle McAlarney was suspended. With McAlarney's return, Brey dissolved the position and both are listed as guards.

Coaches

Notre Dame was coached by Mike Brey and his staff. In his eighth-year at the position, Brey accumulated a 142–78 (.646) record at Notre Dame before the season.

Schedule

Notre Dame's schedule was announced on September 5, 2007. The Big East expanded all of its teams' schedules from 16 games to 18 games in conference so that all of the teams would play each other. Notre Dame added 12 games out of conference to precede them. Notre Dame played 17 home games, eight away games, and four games on a neutral court, prior to the Big East tournament. , - !colspan=9, Big East tournament , - !colspan=9, NCAA tournament

Out of conference games

Notre Dame opened the season with a win at home against the Long Island Blackbirds. They next traveled to the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

to face the Monmouth Hawks in the first round of the

. After beating the Hawks, they went on to lose in the

semifinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

to the Baylor Bears, and lose in the

third place game Many sports playoffs and knockout tournaments include a third place playoff, third place match, bronze medal game, or consolation game to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. This game is typically com ...

to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to leave the tournament with a 2–2 record. The Irish returned home for three games and went on to win against the Youngstown State Penguins, the Colgate Raiders, and the Eastern Michigan Eagles, to move to 5–2 on the season. They next traveled to New York to face the Kansas State Wildcats in the Jimmy V. Classic, their first televised game of the season. After a close first half, Notre Dame pulled away to get the win. Returning home once again, they beat the Northern Illinois Huskies before taking two weeks off for

final exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

s. After finals, they played three more home games, beating the San Francisco Dons, the Brown Bears, and the North Florida Ospreys, to finish their non-conference schedule with a 10–2 record.

Big East games

Notre Dame began their conference play with two home games before the students returned from Christmas break. With wins over the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Connecticut Huskies, they began conference play with a 2–0 record. They next traveled to face the 16th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles for their first true road game of the season, however they lost by 26 points to give Mike Brey his worst loss as Notre Dame coach. The team returned home to beat the Cincinnati Bearcats, before once again losing on the road against the sixth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. They finally got their first road win a week later against the 18th-ranked Villanova Wildcats to move to 4–2 in the Big East with a 14–4 overall record. Notre Dame next returned home to face the Providence Friars, and, although the Friars were 3–4 in conference play, the game stayed close and the Irish only won after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

period. They continued at home and beat DePaul in the first of two games against the Blue Demons, to move into the rankings for the first time in the season. As the 21st-ranked team in the country, the team traveled to Seton Hall to face the Pirates. They got their second road win of the season, and returned home to face 16th-ranked Marquette once again. With a win over the Golden Eagles, they moved up to 18th in the rankings. They next traveled to Connecticut to face the 17th-ranked Huskies for the second time. Although the Irish led for much of the game, they lost in the end. Despite winning another road game later in the week against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, they dropped back to 21st in the rankings with a 19–5 record overall. The Irish next returned home to face the Pittsburgh Panthers who had beaten them in five straight games. Although trailing at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

, Notre Dame came back and scored 52 points in the second half to win the game. The team stayed at home to play the Syracuse Orange and led the whole game to get another conference win, however lost another away game the same week at the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals. They next traveled to face DePaul, and with the win, swept the Blue Demons in the season. The Irish returned home for their final home game of the season, and, although were held to under 69 points for only the fifth time in the season, beat the St. John's Red Storm. For their final regular season game they traveled to South Florida and defeated the Bulls to win their fourteenth Big East game, a school record. With a 14–4 record in the Big East, Notre Dame finished the regular season tied in second in the conference with Louisville.

Post season tournaments

Big East tournament

With Marquette's loss to Georgetown on March 1, and Notre Dame's win over DePaul on March 2, the Irish clinched a bye in the first round of the

. They played their opening game, as the third seed of the tournament, on March 13 at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. Marquette, the sixth seed in the tournament, defeated Seton Hall in the first round to advance and play the Irish in the second round. Despite leading scorer, Luke Harangody, only playing for seven minutes in the first half, the Irish held a six-point lead at half-time. However, late in the second half Marquette took a 10-point lead, the largest of the game, and held on to the lead for the 89–79 win, dropping Notre Dame out of the tournament.

NCAA tournament

Although teams are not officially invited to the NCAA tournament until Selection Sunday (March 16, 2008), multiple publications predicted before the selection that the Irish would receive an

. The NCAA announced that the team would receive a five seed in the tournament and face the George Mason Patriots in Denver on March 20, whom they beat. The Irish went on to play

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, to whom they lost.

Statistics

As a team, Notre Dame averages over 80 points per game and have a 45.9%

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

. Top scorer, Luke Harangody, averages over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

. At the end of the regular season, he led the Big East in scoring. Additionally, he was second in the conference in rebounding and led the league in each category during conference play. Besides Harangody, two other players average over 10 points per game, Kyle McAlarney and Rob Kurz. McAlarney also leads the conference in

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

percentage. Thirteen players have accumulated statistics in games for the Irish.

After the season

Legacy

Dating to February 2006, the Irish have won 37 consecutive home games and 18 Big East home games. The 18 wins is the second longest streak in conference history, while the 36 total wins is the second longest current streak in the country behind the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

. With the win over St. John's on March 5, the Irish became the first Big East team to go undefeated at home in conference games in consecutive seasons.

Award winners

After the season ended, Luke Harangody was named the conference

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

. Additionally, Mike Brey was named conference Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Harangody was also named to the 1st Team All Big East squad, along with Kyle McAlarney.

Transfers

Notre Dame had two players transfer in following the season. Both will sit out the 2008–09 season per NCAA rules for transfer students. * Scott Martin, a 6-8

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

, transferred after his freshman season at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. Playing mainly off the bench, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. He has three years of eligibility remaining. *

Ben Hansbrough Ben Hansbrough (born December 23, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player and a former assistant coach for Western Kentucky University. He resigned from WKU on October 16, 2017. He is the younger brother of former NBA player ...

, a 6-3

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, transferred after his sophomore season at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, and will have two years of eligibility at Notre Dame. The younger brother of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

superstar

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well as internationally. In college, Hansbrough was a star with t ...

, he comes off a sophomore season in which he averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a regular starter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Team Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball seasons Notre Dame

Fight Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...