Notre Dame Basketball: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss to Indiana

Notre Dame Basketball had a huge victory just one week ago when they knocked off the 10th ranked Kentucky Wildcats in South Bend. The Irish looked to build off that big win against an in-state rival in Indiana. Notre Dame just could not put up enough points as the Hoosiers were able to come away with an eight-point victory.

All the momentum that Notre Dame had with their win over Kentucky is now gone after the loss to Indiana on Saturday in downtown Indianapolis. It is back to the drawing board for Mike Brey and the staff with two non-conference games before they ramp up and dive into ACC play after the holidays.

The Irish were looking good early on in this matchup and leading the majority for the fifteen minutes of the first half before the Hoosier used a 15-3 run to end the half and take a three-point lead heading into halftime.

The offense was not there way too often for Notre Dame on Saturday during stretches of the game, especially after halftime where they only made two field goals for the first few minutes. This led to a double-digit lead for the Hoosiers and it seemed like they were on their way to making this an ugly second half. The Irish did not go away quietly as they clawed their way back using an 11-1 run following a Prentiss Hubb three to tie the game at 46-46.

The last ten minutes of the game it was all Hoosiers as they were able to simply just make more shots, grab loose balls, and just play a better brand of basketball down the stretch. The Hoosiers outscored Notre Dame 18-10 down the stretch which was enough to get the in-state victory.

Indiana finished the contest with four starters in double figures led by star forward Trayce Jackson- Davis who ended the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Notre Dame had three starters in double figures led by senior guard Dane Goodwin. The Ohio native scored 15 points and recorded six rebounds. Goodwin has now scored in double figures in all nine games this year which is a new career-high for him.

With Saturday being the final Crossroads Classic means that Notre Dame finished going 4-7 overall. While the Hoosiers had a much better success rate going 8-3 throughout the 11 years it was held.

Here are a few takeaways from the disappointing loss for Notre Dame.