Game Thread | No. 20 Virginia Tech at Notre Dame
No. 20 Virginia Tech (11-3, 5-2) at Notre Dame (5-8, 2-5)
Date: January 27th
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: ACC Network Extra | Evan Lepler and Brian Oliver
Line: Notre Dame -1.5
Quick Facts
- Mike Brey is 2-1 against Mike Young and 9-4 against Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-5.
- The Irish fell to the Hokies 77-63 on January 10th.
- Nate Laszewski leads the ACC in field goal percentage (64.6%) and three-point percentage (55.1%).
- Prentiss Hubb leads the ACC in assists per game in conference play (6.2).
- The Irish are 14th in the country and third in the ACC in free throw percentage at .783.
- Juwan Durham is the sixth Notre Dame player to go over 150 blocks (152) for his career.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 14.1 | 3.1 | 5.3 |
| Cormac Ryan | 9.1 | 4.1 | 3.0 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.8 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
| Nate Laszewski | 16.6 | 7.8 | 0.5 |
| Juwan Durham | 8.8 | 5.2 | 1.5 |
Virginia Tech
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Alleyne | 10.5 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
| Wabissa Bede | 4.6 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| Hunter Cattoor | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Keve Aluma | 13.9 | 7.1 | 1.6 |
| Justyn Mutts | 7.4 | 6.0 | 2.1 |
Preview
Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 71.3
Virginia Tech: 73.3
Opponent Points Per Game
Notre Dame: 73.4
Virginia Tech: 65.6
FG%
Notre Dame: 45.4%
Virginia Tech: 44.9%
Rebounds Per Game
Notre Dame: 32.1
Virginia Tech: 35.6
Assists Per Game
Notre Dame: 14.8
Virginia Tech: 13.1
Blocks Per Game
Notre Dame: 3.1
Virginia Tech: 3.4
Steals Per Game
Notre Dame: 4.1
Virginia Tech: 4.6
It’s a unique situation for Notre Dame to be the favorite, but on Wednesday, the Irish will be the favorite against a ranked program. 2021 is crazy, right?
Virginia Tech starting guard Tyrese Radford (11.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg) was arrested for DUI on Sunday and has been charged with one misdemeanor count of first-offense driving while intoxicated and one misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon. Virginia Tech has been indefinitely suspended from the program.
However, Radford scored just nine points in the first meeting as the Irish fell 77-63 after leading by seven points at halftime.
Offense will be the name of the game for the Irish as they shot just 10.5% from the field in the second half earlier this month, but Mike Brey is focused on defense with his group to provide offensive energy.
"A two-game win streak in our league and to win a road game no matter who you're playing - you kind of feel a little bit differently and feel more confident,” Brey said following Sunday’s win over Miami. “We've been searching for a little bit of a vibe and confident body language. We had a little bit more of that in the second half."
Notre Dame had just two starters in double-figures at Virginia Tech and that’s the concern in this game. Virginia Tech is still more athletic than the Irish, even without Radford, so it will be on Prentiss Hubb to jumpstart the offense.
The junior point guard is coming off two solid games and will be back in the starting lineup on Wednesday. (Assuming Brey doesn’t do anything crazy)
"I thought offensively we were in a good rhythm,” said Brey. “I thought Prentiss was fabulous. Prentiss may have played his best overall game last Saturday and I didn't start him.”
This game is personal for the Irish as they felt they should have won the first game. A three-game winning streak would also be quite the statement as it would end a 27-game losing streak to ranked teams.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 71 Notre Dame 66