Notre Dame Vs. Wisconsin In Sweet 16: 10 To 1 Countdown

10 Turnovers averaged per game by Notre Dame (10.0 exactly) to rank 10th nationally in fewest per game. Only two teams in the Sweet 16 had a better average — Virginia at No. 4 (9.3) and Duke at No. 8 (9.9). The Fighting Irish had 13 turnovers in the second-round win over Stephen F. Austin, but the Lumberjacks are No. 1 in the nation in turnovers forced per game (18.56). Keeping it to a dozen or less would help against Wisconsin.

9 Field goal attempts needed, at minimum, by Notre Dame senior center Zach Auguste to qualify as potentially No. 1 in best field goal percentage in NCAA Tournament history. In seven career tourney games, Auguste is 43 of 61 to put him at 70.5 percent. The record is 68.6 percent by UCLA’s Bill Walton (1972-74), which included the mind-boggling 21-of-22 performance in the 1973 national title win over Memphis State.

8 Ranking of Notre Dame in all-time wins with 1,818 — only two behind UCLA (1,820), according to the Fighting Irish media relations department. The top six are: Kentucky (2,205), Kansas (2,182), North Carolina (2,167), Duke (2,087), Temple (1,869) and Syracuse (1,836). Notre Dame is the lone school that ranks in the top 10 in both the number of football victories (No. 2 with 892) and basketball (No. 8 with 1,818). Under Mike Brey, it has improved from 12th to eighth.

7 Ranking nationally of Notre Dame’s offensive efficiency rating as computed by KenPom.com. Notre Dame has played 11 games this year in which it scored 70 or fewer points, and it is 3-8 in those contests — highlighted by the 70-63 first-round win over Michigan. Wisconsin ranks 18th nationally in scoring defense at 63.9 points allowed per game. The only two teams in the Sweet 16 with a better mark are Virginia at No. 2 (59.5) and Villanova at No. 15 (63.6). SFA was 11th at 63.3, but the Irish put up 76 in their one-point win.

6 ACC teams in the Sweet 16 — an NCAA Tournament record for one season. Joining the Fighting Irish are Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia. Another ranked team, Louisville, made itself ineligible for the tournament while imposing a self-sanctioned probation upon itself.

5 Wisconsin, Gonzaga and Indiana are tied for fifth place in history for most consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament with 18 apiece — with the Badgers and Bulldogs achieving it from 1999 to present, while Indiana did it from 1986-2003. The only longer streaks ever are Kansas (1990-present) and North Carolina (1975-2001) with 27 apiece, Duke with 21 (1996-present) and Michigan State with 19 (1998-present). Notre Dame’s longest such streak was seven from 1974-81. Particularly incredible about Wisconsin’s run is it did not make the NCAA Tournament 47 consecutive years from 1947-93. The Badgers advanced to the Final Four in 2000, 2014 and 2015, losing to Duke in the championship game last year.

4 Points scored by V.J. Beachem in four NCAA Tournament games last year as a sophomore. This year, he is the leading scorer with a 16.5 average, tallying a game-high 18 points in the overtime win over Michigan (7 of 7 from the floor, including all four beyond the arc) and 15 in the one-point win over Stephen F. Austin.

3 Times among Notre Dame’s 36 all-time NCAA Tournament victories when it won after trailing at halftime. The comeback from a 12-point halftime deficit (41-29) against Michigan was easily the largest in Notre Dame’s tournament history. The only other two times it achieved it was in its second ever NCAA Tournament game ever, a 69-57 win over Penn after trailing 31-30 at halftime, and then a 79-78 win over Cincinnati in 1976 after falling behind 39-37 at the intermission.

2 This marks only the second time Notre Dame has ever won five NCAA Tournament games over a two-year span. The other was by the 1978 (three) and 1979 (two) teams that featured as many as eight future NBA players, including four on both teams who played more than 10 years in the NBA: Bill Hanzlik, Bill Laimbeer, Kelly Tripucka and Orlando Woolridge. A sixth victory, versus Wisconsin, would be a two-year school record.

1 Meeting between Notre Dame and Wisconsin since the start of the 1969-70 basketball season. The Fighting Irish defeated the Badgers 58-51 in the title game of the 2010 Old Spice Classic held Thanksgiving Weekend in Orlando, Fla., to improve its series record over Wisconsin to 18-10. That Notre Dame team finished No. 5 in the final Associated Press regular season poll with a 26-6 record, before losing in round two of the NCAA Tournament to future ACC foe Florida State.