Notre Dame basketball: 3 takeaways from crucial close win over Virginia

1. This is Dane Goodwin’s team

Let me first start off by saying that this is no offense to Blake Wesley who is a huge part in why Notre Dame is playing so well as of late. With that being said this is Dane Goodwin’s team right now.

What makes Dane Goodwin so fun to watch is that he does not need to always score to make a difference. Sometimes just his presence on the floor itself helps the team play well.

The senior guard in Goodwin is a great scorer but that is not all he can do for this Notre Dame team. A few years ago he was mainly just known as a spot-up shooter, but over the years as his game has matured he has extended his scoring to now be inside and out including a really good mid-range game. Goodwin also really seems to enjoy going in and competing on the glass against bigger opponents.

The Upper Arlington native has scored in double figures in all twenty games so far this season which is a very impressive stat. After only having a three-point first half Goodwin played a great second half scoring thirteen points to keep the streak of double-digit scoring alive. Right now there are only two players currently in division one basketball that is shooting over 50% from the field, at least 40% from 3-point range, and over 90% from the charity stripe while averaging 15 points per game. Dane Goodwin is currently one of the players.

There still is a lot of basketball to be played this season, but Dane Goodwin has to find himself in the ACC Player of the Year conversation from the year he is having up to date at the moment. Notre Dame has a quick turnaround as the highly anticipated matchup against Duke awaits on Monday night in South Bend. Can the Irish stay hot and knock off the Blue Devils? We will have to wait until Monday evening to find out.