Football and basketball
Notre Dame Getting Inside
A two-win week, capped off by Saturday's 66-61 victory over DePaul, gave the Irish the 12th and final spot in the conference tournament.
That may not sound like much, but four weeks ago the team had a 1-8 record in the league and going nowhere at all. After the promising start to Chris Quinn, Torin Francis and Rick Cornett's college careers with an NCAA bid as freshmen, followed by two disappointing NIT bids, this campaign looked like an unmitigated disaster in the making.
To their credit, they persevered, and a 5-2 finish leaves the Fighting Irish with at least one, and probably two postseason tournaments to play. At 15-12, the Irish would seem to be an NIT lock regardless of how the team does at Madison Square Garden.
But watch this team carefully. It's one of the hottest teams in the league heading into the postseason, and could easily upset a top team or two in New York.
2006 Home Football Kickoff Times Announced
The University of Notre Dame has announced kickoff times for its seven home football games for the 2006 season:
| Date | Opponent | Time | |
| Sept. 9 | PENN STATE | 3:30 p.m. EDT | |
| Sept. 16 | MICHIGAN | 3:30 p.m. EDT | |
| Sept. 30 | PURDUE | 2:30 p.m. EDT | |
| Oct. 7 | STANFORD | 2:30 p.m. EDT | |
| Oct. 21 | UCLA | 2:30 p.m. EDT | |
| Nov. 4 | NORTH CAROLINA | 2:30 p.m. EST | |
| Nov. 18 | ARMY | 2:30 p.m. EST |
Michigan, Purdue and Stanford all last played at Notre Dame in 2004. Penn State will be making its first trip to South Bend since 1992 and its eighth visit to South Bend overall. UCLA will be playing at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time since 1964 -- with trips to South Bend in 1963 and '64 marking its only previous games against the Irish. North Carolina has made 10 previous trips to Notre Dame Stadium - the first in 1950 and the last in 1971. Army has played eight previous times in Notre Dame Stadium, the most recent in 1998. Three of the '06 visitors to Notre Dame Stadium played in postseason bowl games following the 2005 season - Penn State (won FedEx Orange Bowl), Michigan (MasterCard Alamo Bowl) and UCLA (won Vitalis Sun Bowl). Road opponents who played in bowl games a year ago included Georgia Tech (Emerald Bowl), Navy (won San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl) and USC (Rose Bowl).
Please note that South Bend now observes Eastern time (including DST) all year around. That's a switch from past years when South Bend residents never changed their clocks.
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Get Ready for Friday
Wednesday night we gave you a half-dozen games worth watching Thursday. We only hope we have as much success picking games in our tournament pool next week — or at least have as much excitement.
Here's a quick review:
Syracuse vs. Connecticut: We all know what's happened here by now. The Orange are now safely in the field, while UConn may lose its overall No. 1 spot depending on what Villanova and Duke do.
Temple vs. George Washington: The Atlantic 10 basically imploded Thursday — and probably cost the Colonials a top-four seeding.
Georgetown vs. Marquette: A solid, close game with the Hoyas winning and moving above Marquette in the Big East pecking order.
Wyoming vs. Air Force: On the bubble all season, Air Force is now off after losing to a team that came in with a six-game losing streak.
West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh: The tough late-season schedule takes its toll on West Virginia.
Oregon vs. Washington: Oregon finally realized expectations — even without its starting point guard.
So if you're looking for Friday's best games, here's a quick list: Duke vs. Miami: Hurricanes aren't the usual pushover No. 8 team in the ACC. Indiana vs Wisconsin: Will the Hoosiers' late-season run continue?
Syracuse vs. Georgetown: Classic Big East.
Houston vs. Memphis: Tigers have looked a little vulnerable lately and a No. 1 is at stake.
Both A-10 games: Winner gets the bid, even Fordham has a shot!
We'll be bringing you a new projected bracket each morning until the real one is picked late Sunday afternoon.
Bracket projection as if the season ended after Thursday night's games.
New schools in (Thursday): Syracuse, Saint Joseph's.
Old schools out: Michigan, Florida State.
Chris Quinn Receives BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Notre Dame men's basketball guard Chris Quinn - a first team all-BIG EAST honoree whose impressive senior season includes currently ranking as one of only eight players in all of Division I with at least 150 field goals and 150-plus assists - has added another prestigious postseason honor to his trophy case, after receiving the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award for the 2005-06 men's basketball season.
In making the announcement, the official BIG EAST press release praised Quinn for being an accomplished "two-year team captain who has carried himself with class." His never-ending leadership of the Irish squad has helped Notre Dame fashion its late-season surge. Along the way, the first team Academic All-American has emerged as one of the top all-around players in the BIG EAST and nationwide:
* His ability as both a pure scorer and effective set-up player has resulted in Quinn ranking as one of eight players in all of Division I who entered the week with at least 150 field goals made (158) and 150-plus assists (161). That list includes three players from the BIG EAST (no other league has more than one team represented) - with the others including Marquette's Dominic James (165 field goals; 156 assists) and Syracuse's Gerry McNamara (153; 171). Iowa State teammates Will Blalock (171; 177) and Curtis Stinson (214; 161) also are on the elite scoring/assists list, as are Marist's Jared Jordan (167; 247), Northeastern's Jose Juan Barea (209; 244) and Wisconsin-Green Bay's Ryan Evanochko (170; 160).
* Among BIG EAST players, Quinn ranks fifth in overall scoring average (18.2) while leading the league in assists (6.19) and minutes played (39.73), ranking second in three-point pct. (.462), third in free-throw pct. (.881) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.44), 11th in field-goal pct. (.455), 12th in three-point field goals (2.58) and 14th in steals (1.62). He is the only player ranked among the BIG EAST's top-five in scoring and assists (no other player is even among the top-nine on both lists) while joining Quincy Douby of Rutgers as the league's only players currently ranked 11th or higher in all three overall shooting percentage statistics.
* In league games only, Quinn led all BIG EAST players in minutes played (41.31) while ranking second in assists (6.31), third in scoring (20.6), free-throw pct. (.871) and three-point shooting (.455), sixth in three-point baskets (3.13) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.30), ninth in field-goal pct. (.475) and 14th in steals (1.44). He joined Marquette's Steve Novak as the only players ranked among the top-13 in all three shooting percentage categories during league play. Just as was the case in the overall stats, Quinn was the BIG EAST's only player ranked eighth or higher in both scoring and assists during league play. Quinn and RU's Douby are the only players ranked in the top-15 of all six shooting percentages (FG, FT and 3-point, each overall and in league play).
* The third-year starter has reached double-figures scoring in 25 games this season while topping the 30-point mark four times (all in BIG EAST play). He is one of just three players in Notre Dame history to score 30-plus points in four conference games in a single season. Pat Garrity was the first Irish player to record four 30-point games in BIG EAST play (in 1997-98) while Troy Murphy registered his four 30-point performances during the 1999-2000 season.
* Quinn (20.6) also joined Garrity (20.1, in '96-'97; 24.1, in '97-'98) and Murphy (21.7, in '99-'00; 22.8, in '00-'01) as the third Irish player to average better than 20 points per game in BIG EAST play.
* He has played in 120 games during his career (missing just two to injury) and is one of eight players in Notre Dame history to total more than 1,000 points (1,413) and 300 assists (402).
* A marketing major in the Mendoza College of Business, the 6-2 guard owns a 3.24 overall grade-point average. He had his highest semester GPA in the fall of 2005, when he finished with a 3.83.
The Sportsmanship Award marks the eighth time that a Notre Dame player or coach has received a major BIG EAST postseason honor. Garrity was the BIG EAST Player of the Year in 1996-97 and received the league's Scholar-Athlete Award in '97-'98 while Murphy was the 1998-99 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year (1999-2000; '00-'01). Chris Thomas became the program's second BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 2001-02 while John MacLeod was the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 1996-97.
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