Irish 3-Point Play

Sophomore Jerian Grant is 3-for-20 from the field in the last two games

The Notre Dame (20-10, 12-5 Big East Conference) men’s basketball team, currently ranked 20th in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and 19th in the ESPN/USA Today poll, is on a two-game skid for the fourth time this season. It was a fruitless trip east with an unexpected loss to St. John’s (61-58) Saturday and an eye-opening defeat Monday at Georgetown, 59-41.

Notre Dame hosts 3-13 Providence Friday night to wrap up the regular season schedule. Syracuse (16-1) has clinched a regular season crown, Marquette is alone in second place at 13-3 and Georgetown and Notre Dame share the third spot. The top-four teams earn a double-bye in next week’s league tournament in New York City. Marquette travels to Cincinnati Wednesday and hosts Georgetown Saturday. Head-to-head matchups are used to break ties for tournament seeding. South Florida (11-5) is on the outside looking in with a trip to Louisville Wednesday and a home game versus West Virginia Saturday remaining.

• Monday’s game in Washington D.C. was the 28th meeting between Notre Dame and Georgetown, with the Fighting Irish boasting three consecutive victories over the Hoyas.

After starting the year 4-0 with starter Tim Abromaitis serving a four-game suspension handed down by the NCAA, the Irish dropped back-to-back games in the Progressive CBE Classic to Missouri and Georgia with Abromaitis back in the lineup. The fifth-year senior was lost for the season soon after that with a knee injury. Notre Dame temporarily stopped the bleeding with a win over Bryant at home before losing on the road at Gonzaga and Maryland. The Irish fell to Connecticut and Rutgers in consecutive games in mid-January after starting out 3-1 in Big East play.

• Notre Dame's 41 points tied the fewest in head coach Mike Brey’s 12 years with the program. The Irish registered 41 points in a 61-41 setback against Washington State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Monday’s effort at No. 11/12 Georgetown was the lowest point total since Notre Dame joined the Big East Conference in 1995-96. Notre Dame’s previous record for futility in conference play was also a loss to Georgetown (66-48) on Jan. 6, 2007.

• Notre Dame's 23 rebounds matched a season-low total. The Irish also had 23 boards versus Georgia back in November. Georgetown shot 52.3 percent (23-44) from the field — the first time this season a league opponent has shot above 47 percent from the field against the Irish. The Fighting Irish were 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range. The three triples were a season-low for the Irish in conference play.