After bouncing back from their second loss of the season with a come-from-behind win in Chapel Hill on Monday night, the Wahoos return home this weekend for the first of two games in three days when No. 4 UVa hosts Notre Dame tomorrow (2 p.m., Raycom).
The Cavaliers (21-2, 9-2 ACC) have cemented their place among the nation's best even though both of their losses to date have come against Duke. Still, there's a long way to go in league play starting with this rematch against the Irish.
When these teams met a few weeks ago, it wasn't much of a game. The Cavaliers jumped on them early and never really let up. Since then, Notre Dame has gone 2-2 with losses to the Blue Devils and Miami as well as wins over Boston College and Georgia Tech. Needless to say, this will still be a huge test for ND.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-11, 3-8 ACC)
Head coach: Mike Brey, 24th year (515-265, 412-213 in 19 years at ND)
Series: UVa leads the all-time series 12-2.
Last Meeting: The Cavaliers beat the Irish 82-55 in South Bend last month.
Three Things We Know
1. Virginia had no problem with the Irish in the first meeting.
On January 26th, UVa went into South Bend and dominated wire to wire. The Wahoos began the game on a 12-0 run and the Irish cut into the lead a time or two but never really threatened. Virginia led by as many as 30 points and even had an opportunity to empty the bench to get some minutes for the walk-ons before time expired. UVa had four double-figure scorers in the win, led by De’Andre Hunter who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Starters Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and Mamadi Diakite all reached double figures as well, and the Hoos got a nice lift from Kihei Clark, who had 12 points off the bench. The win was UVa’s 18th of the year and its third 80-point effort in conference play.
2. John Mooney was the only Notre Dame player in double figures in Round 1.
Few Notre Dame players found success against Virginia in the first meeting, but the Irish got their best contribution from Mooney. He is averaging a double-double on the season (14.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game) and had one in the blowout loss to the Hoos. Mooney’s 15 points and 10 rebounds paced the Irish, as did his three made 3-point attempts. He was still held in check to some degree, missing nine more shots in the loss, but without his contributions the game would’ve been even more lopsided. Mooney will be a player to watch again tomorrow as his ability to score inside and stretch the defense makes him a dangerous matchup at times. UVa moved Diakite on him when the Irish got going in the second half and he effectively shut Mooney down the rest of the game.
3. The Irish live and die by the 3.
Part of Notre Dame's woes in ACC play has been poor shooting. On the season, the Irish are shooting just 32.1 percent from 3, which is 283rd best in Division I. In ACC games, those averages get even worse: They have shot 29 percent from 3 in their 12 league games, which is 13th best in the conference. In their recent loss at Miami, the Fighting Irish shot 4-of-28 from deep and it wasn’t the first performance of its kind this season. As Virginia found out last weekend, though, teams that don’t typically shoot high percentages from long range can from time to time get hot and play above their norm.
