By Staff
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame will play Connecticut, Louisville and St. John's twice as part of its 2008-09 Big East Conference men's basketball slate.
For the second year, the league is employing an 18-game schedule, with all teams playing each other at least once and three opponents twice (home and away).
In addition to playing the Huskies, Cardinals and Red Storm at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame will play host to Georgetown, Marquette, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida and Villanova. The nine-game Irish conference road slate – in addition to Connecticut, Louisville and St. John's – also will include visits to Cincinnati, DePaul, Pittsburgh, Providence, Syracuse and West Virginia.
Notre Dame finished the 2007-08 campaign with a 25-8 record overall and tied for second in the final Big East Conference standings with a program-best 14-4 record.
That record marked the fifth time in eight seasons that the Irish won 10-plus contests in league play. Prior to last season, the Big East had utilized a 16-game slate since the 1999-00 campaign and had not played an 18-game conference schedule since 1998-99 when the league had 13 members.
The format was used for eight years from 1991-99.
Notre Dame will carry a 37-game home win streak at the Joyce Center into the upcoming season, the second-longest active streak among Division I institutions.
The Irish have produced back-to-back undefeated seasons at home during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns and have won 18 straight Big East games at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame is within three wins of breaking Pittsburgh's consecutive home win streak of 20 league games.
Notre Dame is the only school in league history to register back-to-back undefeated seasons at home. Dates and times of all Big East games as well as the entire 2008-09 season schedule will be released at a later date.