Game Thread | Notre Dame at No. 7 Virginia
Notre Dame (10-16, 2-13) at No. 7 Virginia (20-4, 12-3)
Date: Feb. 18th
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Where: John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.
TV: ESPN2 | Doug Sherman, Cory Alexander
Line: Virginia - 12.0
O/U: 130
QUICK FACTS
- Virginia leads the all-time series 16-3.
- The Irish are 0-7 all-time at Virginia.
- Notre Dame forward Ven-Allen Lubin has scored in double figures in three straight games.
- The Irish have not won an ACC road game this season.
- Dane Goodwin is averaging 12.8 ppg in February.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Marcus Hammond | 8.8 | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Dane Goodwin | 12.1 | 5.2 | 2.2 |
| Cormac Ryan | 11.6 | 4.1 | 2.5 |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | 6.5 | 4.5 | 0.5 |
| Nate Laszewski | 14.5 | 7.1 | 1.4 |
Virginia
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Kihei Clark | 11.7 | 2.8 | 5.9 |
| Armaan Franklin | 12.8 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
| Reece Beekman | 8.7 | 3.1 | 5.0 |
| Jayden Gardner | 11.3 | 4.9 | 0.5 |
| Ben Vander Plas | 7.5 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
Preview
| Category | Notre Dame | Virginia |
| Points | 70.7 | 69.6 |
| Opponent Points | 72.5 | 60.3 |
| FG% | 45.1% | 45.9% |
| Rebounds | 31.0 | 32.0 |
| Assists | 12.1 | 16.3 |
| Blocks | 2.7 | 4.3 |
| Steals | 4.6 | 6.9 |
Virginia hasn’t been kind to Notre Dame through the years as the Fighting Irish program has never won in Charlottesville. Mike Brey’s team hasn’t won an ACC road game this season, so John Paul Jones Arena isn’t likely the place the Irish are excited to see on the schedule.
That said, Virginia is beatable despite leading the ACC heading into the weekend. The Cavaliers held off Louisville 61-58 earlier this week and the Cardinals program is one of the worst in the country this season.
Notre Dame will still need to find a way to score against the No. 10 scoring defense in the country. The Irish have struggled to get points on the board in recent weeks, which isn’t a great sign heading into a clash with Virginia.
In Tuesday’s loss to Duke, Notre Dame shot just 28.6 percent from three and a repeat performance will likely lead to an ugly game against Virginia. Notre Dame will need to find a way to hit threes, but also get to the foul line as the Irish shot just eight free throws against Duke.
Dane Goodwin showed fight on Tuesday as he scored 17 points in a row in the second half on his way to a game-high 25 points. Yet, he and freshman Ven-Allen Lubin were the only players to score in double figures. Notre Dame will need a better team effort scoring to pull an upset, but it’s hard to point to someone who seems likely to do so.
Nate Laszewski seems like the most likely candidate as he leads the Irish in scoring at 14.5 ppg, but he’s also coming off scoring just five points at Duke. The five points wasn’t necessarily the glaring issue for Laszewski. The 6-foot-10 forward only took four shots at Cameron Indoor and the Irish will need him to be much more aggressive against the Cavaliers.
It will be interesting to see Brey’s game plan as neither team ideally wants to run, but it could be a strategy Notre Dame considers as Virginia will make life extremely tough in a half court game, especially given the lack of movement from the Irish on offense. Freshman guard JJ Starling has shown he can get the rim off the dribble, but he’s had an issue finishing. Yet, he’s the only consistent Irish player to beat defenders off the dribble and that is a significant advantage for Virginia.
For Notre Dame, Saturday will come down to threes and winning the glass. If the Irish can’t hit from deep, it could be a long afternoon.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Audible Windshirt Quarter-Zip Jacket
