Game Thread | ACC Tournament | Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame
ACC Tournament | No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Notre Dame
Date: March 10
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Barclays Center | Brooklyn, N.Y.
TV: ESPN2
Line: Virginia Tech -1.0
O/U: 130.5
Quick Facts
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-5.
- Mike Brey is 2-1 against Mike Young.
- Notre Dame is 17-2 when it shoots better than its opponent.
- Notre Dame is 14-1 when it makes 10 (or more) three-point field goals.
- The Irish are 16-1 when outrebounding the opponent
- An Irish win would extend Notre Dame’s ACC Tourney first-game win streak to eight games.
- Notre Dame is 4-2 at Barclays Center.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Prentiss Hubb | 8.6 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| Blake Wesley | 14.8 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| Dane Goodwin | 14.0 | 4.8 | 1.3 |
| Cormac Ryan | 8.0 | 4.9 | 2.0 |
| Paul Atkinson Jr. | 12.6 | 7.1 | 1.6 |
Virginia Tech
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Storm Murphy | 7.8 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| Naheim Alleyne | 10.0 | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Hunter Cattoor | 9.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 |
| Keve Aluma | 15.5 | 6.7 | 1.8 |
| Justyn Mutts | 10.3 | 7.6 | 3.3 |
Preview
| Category | Virginia Tech | Notre Dame |
| Points | 69.8 | 72.3 |
| Opponent Points | 61.7 | 66.2 |
| FG% | 46.7% | 46.0% |
| Rebounds | 32.2 | 34.3 |
| Assists | 14.4 | 14.1 |
| Blocks | 3.3 | 1.9 |
| Steals | 5.3 | 5.2 |
It’s time to roll for No. 2 Notre Dame as the Irish will get ACC Tournament play started on Thursday night against No. 7 Virginia Tech.
The Hokies and Irish met just once this season and it was an ugly game for Mike Brey’s club. Notre Dame jumped out to 40-32 halftime lead, but Virginia Tech outscored the Irish 47-33 in the second half.
Virginia Tech hit 10-of-20 threes, but Brey saw the Hokies turning it around with its frontcourt as they entered the game just 1-4 in ACC play.
“Their frontline was really hard for us to handle, the two big guys,” Brey said. “Proud of our group, we kept giving ourselves a chance we just couldn’t get over the hump. But I’m very impressed with Virginia Tech. I know they’re only 1-4 in the league, but they’re very good.”
The Hokies worked inside-out, which gave the Irish issues. Notre Dame will need to control the boards and close out on the arc to limit the three-ball.
“I think they really went inside on us, and we were so worried about helping and giving up three-point shots, even though they made 10 3s,” Brey said after the loss. “So I don’t know if we did a very good job of either today. The two big guys are relentless. They’re really good and physical and athletic and they’re just hard to guard, one-on-one. We kind of told Atkinson and Laszewski we’re not going to help you much because we don’t want them kicking it out to shooters. But they’re just hard to deal with.”
As for the Irish offense, the showing in Blacksburg was fairly good as four starters were in double figures with Paul Atkinson Jr. leading the way with 19. Notre Dame shot 8-for-20 from three, but in terms of this team’s winning marks, the Irish fell for short of 10+ made threes (14-1 record) and outrebounding the opponent (16-1).
| Virginia Tech Last 5 | Notre Dame Last 5 |
| Clemson (76-75) W/OT | Pitt (78-54) W |
| at Clemson (63-59) L | at Florida State (74-70) L |
| Louisville (75-43) W | Georgia Tech (90-56) W |
| at Miami (71-70) W | Syracuse (79-69) W |
| at Georgia Tech (62-58) W | at Wake Forest (79-74) L |