Notre Dame (18-12, 8-9) at No. 1 Virginia (27-2, 16-1)
Notre Dame (18-12, 8-9) at No. 1 Virginia (27-2, 16-1)
Date: March 3rd
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: John Paul Jones Arena
TV: ACC NETWORK
QUICK FACTS
- Virginia leads the ACC series 5-1.
- Notre Dame beat Virginia 71-58 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament a year ago.
- Mike Brey is one win away from 500 in his coaching career
- Sophomore guard TJ Gibbs has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games.
- The Notre Dame senior class has won 51 ACC games.
- Bonzie Colson has 842 career rebounds. He would be the 11th player Notre Dame player to grab 850.
- Matt Farrell has become the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career.
THE STARTERS
Notre Dame
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Matt Farrell | 17.1 | 2.5 | 5.4 |
| TJ Gibbs | 15.9 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
| Rex Pflueger | 8.3 | 4.0 | 3.2 |
| Bonzie Colson | 20.7 | 10.3 | 1.1 |
| Martinas Geben | 11.1 | 8.1 | 1.1 |
Virginia
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Devon Hall | 11.7 | 4.3 | 3.1 |
| Kyle Guy | 14.3 | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Ty Jerome | 10.5 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| Isaiah Wilkins | 5.9 | 6.4 | 1.7 |
| Jack Salt | 3.4 | 4.2 | 0.3 |
National Rankings
| Category | Notre Dame | Virginia |
| Scoring Offense | 76.2 (100) | 67.5 (308) |
| Scoring Defense | 68.5 (84) | 52.6 (1) |
| Rebound Margin | 2.1 (109) | 2.2 (108) |
| Assist Per Game | 14.5 (117) | 13.6 (180) |
| FG% Offense | 45.4% (146) | 46.1% (106) |
| FG% Defense | 42.8% (108) | 37.6% (3) |
| Three-Pointers Per Game | 8.7 (82) | 7.5 (193) |
| Three-Point Percentage | 37.8% (61) | 38.8% (36) |
| Free-Throw Percentage | 75.5% (44) | 75.8% (38) |
| Assist-Turnover Ratio | 1.43 (18) | 1.52 (10) |
Preview
It's been a few months since Notre Dame has played a big-game but on Saturday it's going to be as big as it gets for the Irish at No. 1 Virginia. Bonzie Colson is back and Mike Brey's squad will have a chance to get to 9-9 in the ACC to improve its chances at the NCAA Tournament.
It clearly won't be easy as Virginia boasts the top-ranked scoring defense in the nation as the Hoos give up just 52.6 points per game. In fact, Virginia hasn't given up 70 points in any game this season, which is incredible heading into the last game of the regular season.
Brey knows his Irish are in for a challenge but his team gained confidence a year ago knocking off Virginia in the ACC Tournament.
"We respect them and the whole bit," stated Brey. "But we played pretty well against them in Brooklyn the last time we played. We need to watch some of that and learn. That really helps.”
Martinas Geben and Colson will need to come up big on the glass on Saturday but also show patience on the offensive end of the floor.
"We’ve got to guard them and then rebound,” said Brey. “We’ve got to get to the offensive boards because you’re going to miss some first shots against them. We have to really get up on the backboard, and we’ve been pretty good at that this year. Can we get to the backboard and get second shots? We have to make it one of those grinders that it is when you play there.”
“They’ve always been a double-team the post team. Bonzie hasn’t seen that in a long time. If we throw it in to him or Marty, it’s automatic double team. Your bigs have got to be good playmakers and passers out of the post."
Virginia has the ACC wrapped up and just came off an incredible win at Louisville on Thursday, but in the end, it still might be too much for Notre Dame.
Prediction: Virginia 64 Notre Dame 51