After a much-needed win over Louisville on Monday night, the Hoos head back on the road this weekend for a Saturday evening clash with Notre Dame in South Bend (6 pm, ACCN). The Cavaliers improved to 6-4 with their win over the Cardinals, bouncing back from a rough loss at NC State over the weekend. Virginia’s 6-4 league mark puts them 1.5 games back of first-place Miami (7-2), in seventh place overall, with half of their conference games remaining.

Virginia’s opponent this weekend is a bit closer to the top of the standings. The Irish enter with a 6-2 ACC mark, 13-6 overall. While Virginia has bounced back and forth between winning and losing, the Irish seem to have found the winning touch. Notre Dame has won 10 of their last 11 games heading into Saturday’s contest, with the lone loss coming against Virginia Tech, a result that is more confounding by the day. The Irish lost their league opener to Boston College back in early December, but have found success in league play since the start of the new year, with wins over UNC, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Clemson, NC State and Louisville.

The Irish look like an NCAA Tournament contender after a disappointing 11-15 2020-21 season that saw them lose to UVa twice, both home and away.