Game Thread | Virginia at Notre Dame

Virginia (12-8, 6-4) at Notre Dame (13-6, 6-2)

Date: Jan. 29th

Time: 6:00 PM ET 

Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.

TV: ACC Network | Jay Alter and Malcolm Huckaby 

Line: Notre Dame -3.5

O/U: 124.5

Quick Facts 

- Virginia leads the all-time series 16-2 and a record of 6-0 at Purcell Pavilion. 

- Mike Brey is 1-11 against Tony Bennett.

- Virginia has won six straight games against Notre Dame. 

- There is only one major conference player in America shooting .500 (.512) from FG, .400
(.489) from 3FG, .900 (.897) from FT and averaging over 15 (15.3) points per game - senior Dane Goodwin.

- Goodwin has scored in double figures in 19 straight games. 

- Notre Dame has won nine straight games at Purcell Pavilion. 

PROJECTED STARTERS

Notre Dame

Virginia 

Preview

Notre Dame hasn’t found much success against Virginia over the years as the Cavaliers hold a dominating 16-2 edge in the all-time series. In fact, Notre Dame has beaten Virginia just once since joining the ACC (1-11), but there is good news as Tony Bennett’s team is a far cry of the suffocating teams of recent years. 

Virginia still plays pesky defense as opponents scores just 59.4 points per game, but the 12-8 record reflects a team that struggles to score the ball. 

Mike Brey and his Irish have somewhat been on a revenge tour by knocking off teams Notre Dame has struggled with in ACC play. The Irish have rare wins over NC State and Louisville, but Brey hasn’t made it a point to bring up the past with his veteran team. 

Saturday will be a test of patience and execution after playing an up and down game on Wednesday against the Wolfpack. 

"At this point in the season, we have developed an identity," said Brey. “We play a certain way on both ends of the floor. You don't want to get into wholesale changes even the styles are extremely different. 

"We also played in a tournament in Vegas where you're playing back-to-back days and just about every style is coming at us in league play, we've seen in non-league. 

"When you have an identity, you kind of want to stick to that." 

The identity is lean on Dane Goodwin and Blake Wesley, but also have a veteran step up whether that's Prentiss Hubb, Nate Laszewski or Paul Atkinson Jr. Notre Dame’s veterans outside of Goodwin have struggled with consistency on offense, but someone has also stepped up in the majority of the games to get to 13 wins. 

"I give a lot of credit to our seniors who wanted to deliver and have a good year," explained Brey. “They have fought, scratched, clawed and worked to get better and taken big punches. It's neat to see them come together and set a great tone. When a group can take ownership of itself, you are way more than halfway there as a leader of the group in my position. I think this group really has ownership of itself. 

"Those seven guys are our rotation and they know who they are. I think they've figured out how to play off of each other. They've been in tough spots. They're extremely battle-tested. They've been through a lot, not only through their careers, but this particular team has played an unbelievable schedule and played in some tough places. 

"We've been good in game situations and different guys making big plays - courageous plays. I want to keep bottling that." 

Virginia 
Louisville - 64-52 W 
@ NC State - 77-63 L 
@ Pitt - 66-61 W
Wake Forest - 63-55 L
Virginia Tech - 54-52 W

Notre Dame Last Five
NC State - 73-65 W
Louisville - 82-70 W
Howard - 71-68 W 
@ Virginia Tech 79-73 L
Clemson - 72-56 W