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Notre Dame Basketball: 3 takeaways from huge upset win over Kentucky

By Danny McCormick

Dec 11, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Dane Goodwin (23) dunks in front of Kentucky Wildcats guard Davion Mintz (10) as time expires in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Dane Goodwin (23) dunks in front of Kentucky Wildcats guard Davion Mintz (10) as time expires in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame Basketball Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame Basketball Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

This was mentioned in my preview of Notre Dame Basketball vs Kentucky the other day but thought this was a good time to bring it up again. Basketball is great because anybody can beat anyone really at any given time. It just has to be that teams night to secure the win. Saturday night was Notre Dame’s night indeed as they were able to knock off the 10th ranked Kentucky Wildcats 66-62 in front a rowdy crowd in South Bend.

The Irish needed a resume win badly after their disappointing 3-4 start heading into Saturday night against Kentucky. Christmas is still a few weeks away but Notre Dame definitely got an early present with the victory. It was a cold and windy day in South Bend but definitely was worth the trip for those Irish fans who braved the elements.

Mike Brey mentioned it post-game that the crowd was a huge factor down the stretch. Big blue nation traveled well for this matchup which is not shocking to anybody who follows the sport but the Irish crowd showed up in forces and were loud all game long especially down the stretch. Those that attended got to give new head football coach Marcus Freeman a standing ovation in his first game as he came out to introduce himself and say a few words during a tv timeout in the first half. Irish great LaPhonso Ellis was inducted into the Notre Dame ring of honor at halftime as well.

This was a back and forth game from start to finish. Neither Notre Dame or Kentucky had a lead get larger than five in either half. The Irish for years were known for knocking off top teams at home in the past until the last few years. They went through a huge dry spell of coming up short down the stretch against the top teams in the country. The Irish maybe are heading back in direction of knocking off ranked teams again on their home court as they now have won back to back games over ranked teams against Florida State last year and Kentucky on Saturday night.

For Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe was a huge problem all game long for Notre Dame. The West Virginia transfer literally got everything he wanted all game long for the Wildcats scoring 25 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Forward Keion Brooks Jr. was the only other Wildcat player to reach double figures. Notre Dame finished with four players in double figures led by senior guard Dane Goodwin who finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist. Trey Wertz had a very productive game coming off the bench scoring 12 points, 2 rebound, and 2 assists.

Here are my takeaways from the huge win over Kentucky for Notre Dame.

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