Gameday Information: 2015 NCAA Tournament - No. 14 Northeastern vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
When	Thursday, March 19  |  12:15 p.m.
Where	CONSOL Energy Center  |  Pittsburgh, Pa.  |  Directions  |  Tickets
Broadcast and stats	TV: CBS Radio: WRBB (104.9 FM)  |  Westwood One  |  Sirius 84, XM 201 Online: Live Stream  |  Live Stats  |  Live Blog
Game Notes	Northeastern (PDF)
Pre-Game Event	Pre-game rally (PA West Room, Westin Convention Center)
Tournament Central	NCAA Tournament Central  |  Bracket
Social media	@GoNUmbasketball facebook.com/GoNUmbasketball instagram.com/GoNUathletics Join the conversation, use #GoNU and #NUmadness

PITTSBURGH – Making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991, the Northeastern men's basketball team (23-11) will look to make a statement in front of a national audience when it battles No. 3 seed Notre Dame (29-5) on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. Brian Anderson, Steve Smith and Lewis Johnson will have the call live on CBS.

STORY LINES
• Northeastern is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991, and its eighth trip to the Big Dance overall. The Huskies own a 3-7 record in seven prior trips, with their last win coming 31 years ago during the Preliminary Round of the 1984 tournament, a 90-87 triumph over Long Island. That result also came in the state of Pennsylvania, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

• The champions of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Northeastern finished in a four-way tie for first place in the CAA regular season standings with William & Mary, UNCW and James Madison. By virtue of a tiebreaker, NU entered the CAA tournament as the No. 3 seed, before knocking off No. 6 Delaware, No. 2 UNCW and No. 1 William & Mary to become just the fourth team in CAA history to beat the top two seeds en route to the championship. 

• The Huskies' 23 wins in 2014-15 are the most in a single season since the 1986-87 campaign when NU won 27 games (27-7) under head coach Karl Fogel and the late, great Reggie Lewis. In the program's 95-year history, only six teams have won at least 23 games in a season.

• Northeastern's 12-win turnaround from 2013-14 (11-21) to 2014-15 (23-11) is the best mark the program has achieved since improving by 13 wins between the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The Huskies' turnaround is also the largest a CAA team has witnessed since Towson won 17 more games during the 2012-13 campaign than it did in 2011-12.

• NU is making its third appearance as a No. 14 seed in the Big Dance. The No. 14 Huskies fell to No. 3 Illinois, 76-57, in the 1985 First Round, and dropped a 104-95 decision against No. 3 Purdue in the 1987 First Round.

• Northeastern and Notre Dame have met once before during the 1997 regular season. In a game played on Nov. 25 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fighting Irish rolled to a 72-45 win behind a 24-point performance from Pat Garrity.

• The Huskies and Fighting Irish have faced three common opponents this season: Florida State, Navy and UMass. Northeastern won at FSU (76-73) and downed Navy (68-44) on a neutral court, before falling to the Minutemen on the road, 79-54. Notre Dame beat all three common opponents, taking care of FSU by 20 (83-63), Navy by 39 (92-53), and UMass by 13 (81-68).

• Northeastern and Notre Dame have more in common than three opponents. The Huskies' assistant coach, Chris Markwood, played at Notre Dame from 2000-03, before transferring to the University of Maine for the final two years of his collegiate career. Markwood suited up for the Irish in the opening round of the 2002 NCAA tournament, an 82-63 Notre Dame win over Charlotte in Greenville, S.C.

A WIN WOULD...
• Give NU its first NCAA tournament victory since 1984.
• Give NU its first win over a ranked opponent since 1986. 
• Give NU its first win in the Big Dance since the field expanded to 64 or more teams.
• Give NU its first-ever win over Notre Dame.
• Give NU a season-long, five-game winning streak.
• Improve the Huskies' record to 2-0 vs. the ACC this season.

WINNINGEST CAA PROGRAM SINCE 2006-07
Since head coach Bill Coen took over the program in 2006, Northeastern has won the most combined CAA regular season and CAA tournament games of any league member.

Most CAA wins in regular season/tournament since 2006-07

1. Northeastern - 101 (92 regular season, 9 tourn.)
t-2. VCU - 97 (83 regular season, 14 tourn.)
t-2. George Mason - 97 (86 regular season, 11 tourn.)
4. Drexel - 96 (92 regular season, 4 tourn.)
5. Old Dominion - 92 (83 regular season, 9 tourn.)

Northeastern's 92 regular season CAA wins since 2006-07 are tied with Drexel for the most among conference members in that span. 

CAA SUCCESS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Northeastern will look to become the latest in a long line of successful CAA teams in the national tournament. George Mason (2006) and VCU (2011) both made Final Four runs as members of the CAA, while Old Dominion advanced to the Round of 32 in 2010 after beating No. 6 seed Notre Dame, 51-50. Since 2006, CAA teams have won 14 games in the NCAA tournament, and own a 3-0 record vs. ACC opponents: No. 11 George Mason beat No. 6 UNC in 2006, No. 11 VCU beat No. 6 Duke in 2007, and No. 11 VCU beat No. 10 Florida State in 2011.

COEN RETURNS TO POSTSEASON
Now in his ninth season at the helm of the program, head coach Bill Coen will be guiding the Huskies to their fourth postseason appearance since 2006 (2009 CBI, 2010 NIT, 2013 NIT). This is Coen's eighth appearance in the Big Dance, but first as a head coach; Coen previously helped Rhode Island make two tournament appearances as an assistant coach (1993, 1997), while helping Boston College to five tournaments as an assistant/associate head coach (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). 

IN GOOD COMPANY
In program history, only Jim Calhoun has led Northeastern to more postseason appearances (five) than Bill Coen (four). Calhoun guided the Huskies to five NCAA tournament appearances in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, and 1986.

LAST DANCE
Northeastern last made the NCAA tournament in 1991 after winning the North Atlantic Conference (now the America East) title with a 57-46 win over Maine in the championship game. The Huskies entered the Big Dance as a No. 16 seed in the East Region and faced No. 1 North Carolina in the opening round. Led by coaching legend Dean Smith and future NBA star Rick Fox, the No. 1 Tar Heels coasted to a 101-66 win at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

NOW I FEEL OLD
None of the 11 current Northeastern players had been born  when the Huskies secured their last NCAA tournament appearance in 1991. NU head coach Bill Coen was midway through his second assistant coaching job under Al Skinner at Rhode Island the last time the Huskies went dancing.

CAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN REVIEW
The Huskies won their first-ever CAA tournament title with a 72-61 win over William & Mary in the championship game on March 9 in Baltimore, Maryland. Northeastern made a season-high 12 3-pointers and shot 59 percent to build a 22-point lead in the second half. William & Mary used a late 16-0 run to close the gap to 67-61 with a minute to play, before Northeastern was able to salt the game away at the foul line. Redshirt junior Quincy Ford was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring a season-high 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting against the Tribe.

NU PLACES THREE ON ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Scott Eatherton, Quincy Ford, and David Walker were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team following Northeastern's 72-61 victory against William & Mary in the league championship game. NU has garnered three All-Tournament Team members only once before–in 1991–when Ron Lacey, Marcellus Anderson, and Dexter Jenkins earned North Atlantic Conference (America East) recognition.

TRIPLE TROUBLE
Northeastern shot 55.3 percent from three-point territory during the CAA tournament, converting 26 of 47 triples against Delaware, UNCW and William & Mary. Redshirt junior Caleb Donnelly hit seven of 10 triples during the tournament to lead all NU players with a 70-percent clip. Junior David Walker made nine of his 17 three-point attempts during the CAA tournament, including three apiece in both the semifinals and finals. Redshirt junior Quincy Ford made 7-of-12 three-pointers, including four in the title game, while freshman Devon Begley knocked down all three of his three-point attempts in the tournament. As a team, NU ranks 26th in the nation with a 38.8 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc.

THREE THOUSAND-POINT THREATS
Northeastern boasts three 1,000-point scorers in senior Scott Eatherton, redshirt junior Quincy Ford, and junior David Walker. Eatherton has amassed 1,518 career points, including 515 in two seasons with St. Francis (Pa.). The senior became the 35th player in program history to hit 1,000 points in a Northeastern uniform when he sank a layup in the second half vs. William & Mary on March 9. Walker  (1,025 career points) also surpassed the milestone in the CAA tournament when he nailed a 3-pointer against UNCW in the semifinals on March 8. Ford (1,131 career points) hit 1,000 on Jan. 31 vs. Elon with a first-half free throw. Senior Reggie Spencer has a chance at giving NU a fourth 1,000-point scorer as he enters the NCAA tournament with 984 career points. 

SKYWALKER ENERGIZES HUSKIES
Junior David Walker has been on a roll entering the Big Dance. Nicknamed "Skywalker" for his high-flying dunks, or "Mr. Energy" for his ability to fire up his team, Walker has scored in double-figures in 11 straight games and has averaged 16.8 points and 39.4 minutes per game during that span. 

THE MAGIC NUMBERS
Northeastern is 13-0 this season when it scores 70 points or more in a game; conversely, the Huskies are 10-11 when scoring 69 points or fewer. 

The Huskies are 15-0 in 2014-15 when shooting 50 percent or better, compared to 8-11 when making less than half of their field goal attempts. As a team, NU is shooting 48.6 percent this season, good for the 12th-best mark in the nation.

BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
The Huskies lead all CAA teams in rebounding defense with 28.3 boards allowed per game. NU has pulled down at least as many rebounds as its opponent in 26 of 32 games, and owns a 22-4 record in those contests. Northeastern's +4.8 rebounding margin ranks 38th in the nation this season.

CLEAN CONTACT
The Huskies rank sixth in the NCAA in fewest fouls committed per game with 14.2. Only 20 teams in the nation have committed fewer total fouls than Northeastern (484) this season. In playing this way, NU has attempted 233 more free throws than its opponent in 2014-15, and has scored 187 more points than its adversaries at the foul line. 

EFFICIENT EATHERTON
Senior forward Scott Eatherton has become a model of efficiency in the paint, ranking 10th in the nation with a 59.4 percent shooting clip this season. Eatherton went 10-for-10 from the floor in a win against Towson on Jan. 10 to become the first player in program history to make all 10 field goal attempts in a game. 

BETTER CALL STAHL
Junior Zach Stahl, the Huskies' Mr. Do-It-All, posted an impressive stat line of five points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Northeastern's win over William & Mary in the CAA Championship. The five assists tied a career high for the Chanhassen, Minnesota native.

DONNELLY DYNAMITE FROM DOWNTOWN
Walk-on Caleb Donnelly leads the team with a 55.1 percent three-point shooting clip. Twenty seven of Donnelly's 31 made field goals this season have come from beyond the arc, good for 87 percent of his total field goal production. Donnelly tied a career high with 13 points in the CAA championship game, including 12 from downtown (4-for-6). 

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