ACC Tournament Preview: Notre Dame vs. #17 Virginia
Dominating Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament has earned Notre Dame (20-12) a matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers (23-7) in the quarterfinals.
GAME INFO
Start Time: 7:00 PM (Eastern)
TV: ESPN
THE OPPONENT
We saw what this Virginia team would be all about in the first game of the season when it beat Syracuse by a 48-34 score. This Cavalier team was not going to score like the national championship squad from the previous season could, but it was going to be just as good, if not better, on defense.
Virginia has won five games this season while scoring less than 50 points in regulation.
Tony Bennett’s squad started off well, winning its first seven games and nine of its first ten. That included wins over Syracuse, Arizona State and North Carolina. Virginia went 4-5 over its next nine games, including a three-game stretch that included a loss to Boston College.
Virginia fell to 12-6, and 4-4 in ACC play, after a 53-51 home loss to NC State. Following that defeat to the Wolfpack the Cavaliers weren’t even on the NCAA Tournament radar according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi.
Virginia responded with an 11-1 finish to the regular season that got the Cavaliers all the way up to the #2 seed in the ACC and a #17 national ranking in the latest polls.
The big difference between Virginia and Notre Dame down the stretch was the Cavaliers could finish games off while the Irish could not. Of Virginia’s 11 wins during its late season stretch, eight were by three points or less and another was by just five points. That included a 50-49 victory over Notre Dame, a game in which Virginia held the Irish without a field goal in overtime.
Virginia ranks dead last in the ACC in scoring offense (57.0 PPG), but it ranks first in scoring defense (52.4 PPG), shooting defense (36.9%) and three-point defense (28.6%).
Senior forward Mamadi Diakite leads the Cavaliers in scoring at 13.7 points per game. He averaged 14.7 points per game during the late season surge.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Notre Dame remains in survive and advance mode after its win over Boston College. If the Fighting Irish are going to get into the NCAA Tournament it needs to win the conference tournament, and Virginia is the next team in its way.
Virginia is a very long team and their defensive philosophy has been kryptonite to Notre Dame’s shooters. Notre Dame must be aggressive against Virginia, probing its defense as much as possible, the Irish must be sharp and crisp with its ball movement, and anytime Notre Dame can get out and run it must do so.
Of course a strong game from forward John Mooney would be a plus, but if Notre Dame is going to pull off this upset it needs its guards - TJ Gibbs, Prentiss Hubb and Dane Goodwin - to make shots and score.
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