By CURT RALLO South Bend Tribune Staff Writer WSBT-TV

8:22 p.m. EST, February 1, 2012
Notre Dame's rebounding numbers speak for themselves.

The intensity the Irish display in battling on the boards speaks even louder.

Against Connecticut, the Irish and Huskies each had 43 rebounds. In
its next game, Notre Dame outrebounded Georgetown, 40-36, thanks to a
second-half surge. Against Cincinnati, Notre Dame owned a 37-30
rebounding edge.

Since then, coach Muffet McGraw's emphasis on boxing out and
rebounding has kicked in. After the Cincinnati game, Notre Dame owned
a (+8.8) rebounding edge against opponents. In its last five games,
Notre Dame owns a whopping (+20.6) edge.

Two of those games were against the Nos. 9 and 11 teams in the
country, Tennessee and Rutgers.

McGraw hopes to see the trend continue Sunday, when No. 2 Notre Dame
(22-1 overall, 9-0 Big East) plays No. 23 DePaul (17-6, 5-4). The
game, which is being telecast on ESPNU, is set to start at 1 p.m. EST.

Notre Dame has outrebounded opponents 46.6-26 in that five-game
stretch. Devereaux Peters, a 6-foot-2 senior, snared a career-high 17
rebounds Tuesday in a 71-41 victory against Rutgers. Peters pulled
down 16 rebounds against Tennessee last week, and had 15 rebounds