Notre Dame basketball: 3 takeaways from crucial close win over Virginia
The Notre Dame basketball program picked up a very big win on Saturday night by knocking off the Virginia Cavaliers in South Bend in conference play.
Beating Virginia has not been easy at all for Notre Dame in the Mike Brey era at Notre Dame as they were 1-11 overall with a six-game active losing streak entering Saturday. This was a hurdle that the Irish just were not able to overcome minus a 2017 ACC Tournament win over Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers before the victory on Saturday night. Being 2-11 is not something to be proud of, but it is sure better than being 1-13.
With the victory on Saturday, the Irish are not only one of the hottest teams in the ACC conference. It may be time to start including them in being one of the hotter teams in the country as they are winners of their last ten of eleven contests overall. Notre Dame also improved its record at home to stay undefeated at 9-0.
Notre Dame is a “live by the three” type of team. When they are able to hit their shots from behind the three-point line they are a very dangerous unit. On Saturday they were able to make ten 3-point field goals against Virginia. An interesting stat is that the Irish are now 10-0 when they make at least ten 3-point field goals in a game.
The Irish took a 34-27 halftime lead into the locker room thanks to big first halves by freshman guard Blake Wesley and senior transfer Paul Atkinson Jr. The seven-point halftime lead is impressive when you factor in that their leading scorer Dane Goodwin only scored three first-half points.
Anybody that follows Virginia basketball knows they are a feisty and competitive bunch. This is just what Tony Bennett-led teams do every year. The Cavaliers fought and clawed their way back on Saturday night in South Bend. The Irish extended their lead at one point in the game to fifteen in the second half, but after multiple runs, Virginia found themselves within a basket or two down the stretch in crunch time.
A key factor in why Virginia was able to get back into the game overall was them having a +13 rebounding advantage over Notre Dame on the glass. It was also due to the great game by forward Jayden Gardner. The first-year Cavalier in Gardner finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Cavaliers finished in double figures including center Francisco Caffaro who like Gardner finished with a double-double.
Notre Dame had four starters finish in double figures scoring on their end as well. Seniors Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski led the way for the Irish finishing with 16 points each. The duo also combined for eight total rebounds.
The betting line for this game was right on par with it closing at Notre Dame was favored by just three points. It went down to the wire thanks to Virginia’s full-court press that made Notre Dame fans uneasy in the final minutes. Prentiss Hubb nailed both free throws to make it a four-point game with under 5 seconds left in the game to make it a 69-65 game and put it out of reach for the Cavaliers.
Here are three takeaways from the nice home win over Virginia for Notre Dame.