When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend
Records: No. 17 Notre Dame 14-1, 2-0 Big East; Connecticut 11-3, 1-1
TV: Big East Network
Radio: 1480 AM
Notre Dame leaders: Jack Cooley (15.2 ppg); Cooley (11.2 rpg); Eric Atkins (7.3 apg)
Connecticut leaders: Shabass Napier (17.4 ppg); Napier (4.5 rpg); Ryan Boatright (4.5 apg)
Key matchup: The Irish and Huskies guards will likely have the most say on who wins today’s game. Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant, a 6-foot-5 junior, and Atkins, a 6-2 junior, average 12.7 points and 11.2 points, and Grant is No. 2 on the team in assists behind team-leader Atkins with 5.3 per game. Napier, a 6-1 junior, is sixth in the Big East in scoring. Boatright, a 6-foot sophomore, is UConn’s second-leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points.
The skinny: Cooley, who leads the Big East in rebounding, was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. … The Irish are on a 12-game winning streak and have started conference play 2-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
