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Notre Dame Basketball

Hoops Preview: No. 12 Virginia vs No. 14 Notre Dame

January 23, 2017
3,284

No. 12 Virginia vs No. 14 Notre Dame


Date: January 24
Where: Purcell Pavilion
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ACC Network/Watch ESPN
ACC Network Affiliates: Link http://www.theacc.com/news/acc-basketball-on-the-acc-network-virginia-at-notre-dame-01-24-2017

Quick Facts

- Tuesday will make the 11th meeting between the two programs.
- Virginia leads the series 9-1.
- The Cavaliers are the only team Notre Dame hasn’t defeated since joining the ACC.
- Notre Dame has four players averaging over 14 points per game (Colson, Beachem, Vasturia and Farrell).

The Starters

(Per Game Averages)
Notre Dame
Matt Farrell: 14.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 5.7 APG
Steve Vasturia: 15.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 3.2 APG
VJ Beachem: 14.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.2 APG
Bonzie Colson: 15.4 PPG, 10.9 RPG and 1.9 APG
Martinas Geben: 4.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 0.9 APG

Virginia
London Perrantes: 11.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 3.9 APG
Devon Hall: 8.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 1.7 APG
Marial Shayok: 10.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 1.1 APG
Isaiah Wilkins: 6.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 1.7 APG
Jack Salt: 4.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 0.4 APG

How They Matchup

(National Rank)
Scoring Offense: Virginia: 69.6 PPG (267) – Notre Dame: 81.2 PPG (39)
Scoring Defense: Virginia: 53.2 PPG (1) – Notre Dame: 67.5 PPG (70)
Rebound Margin: Virginia: 4.2 (71) – Notre Dame: 1.7 (151)
Field-Goal Percentage: Virginia: 49.8% (11) – Notre Dame: 47.1% (62)
Three-Point Percentage: Virginia: 39.9% (16) – Notre Dame: 41.0% (9)
Three-Pointers Made: Virginia: 6.7 (237) – Notre Dame: 10.0 (12)
Free-Throw Percentage: Virginia: 69.4% (172) – Notre Dame: 82.9% (1)

Notre Dame will look to continue its conference play momentum on Tuesday against a team they have never beaten in league play. To beat the Cavaliers, the Irish offense will need to come ready to play, as Virginia boasts the No. 1 ranked scoring defensive in the country.

The Cavaliers will make things tough on the perimeter, but also close down the driving lanes that Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia love to attack. VJ Beachem’s three-point shot needs to fall for the Irish, as it could very well open those driving lanes up a little bit more.

On the defensive end, Notre Dame should be able to hold Virginia in check with the Cavaliers being an average team on that end of the floor. Much like Notre Dame, the Cavaliers don’t really have a go to guy and don’t really have a “great” scorer.

One thing to watch is if Notre Dame is able to go small with Colson playing the five. If Notre Dame can get away with that for a large portion of the game, I think the Irish have a great shot to win the game. The Hoos are a good rebounding team, but I think Notre Dame will need Rex Pflueger and TJ Gibbs on the floor to able to spread the court and try to take advantage of having more players able to drive and kick.

I believe Notre Dame will finally get the much-awaited win against Virginia and it will be because the Irish offense will be too tough to defend for the Cavaliers.
 
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