Virginia Basketball vs. Notre Dame Game Preview

After squeaking by with a disturbingly-close win at Louisville on Wednesday, No. 7 Virginia will look to put a more complete and convincing performance together when Notre Dame, the team with the second-worst record in the ACC, comes to Charlottesville on Saturday.

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Notre Dame, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, game notes, and a score prediction.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (20-4, 12-3 ACC) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-16, 2-13 ACC)

When: Saturday, February 18th at 12pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ESPN2

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 84, SXM App 84 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: Virginia leads 16-3

Last meeting: Notre Dame defeated Virginia 69-65 on January 29th, 2022 in South Bend.

Opponent Scouting Report: Notre Dame

2022-2023: 10-16, 2-13 ACC
Notable results: Michigan State 70-52 W, Syracuse 62-61 L, at Florida State 73-72 L, Miami 75-65 L, at Boston College 70-63 L, Georgia Tech 73-72 (OT) W, at Syracuse 78-73 L, at NC State 85-82 L, Louisville 76-62 W, at Georgia Tech 70-68 L, Virginia Tech 93-87 L, at Duke 68-64 L

In Mike Brey's 23rd and now final season as the head coach at Notre Dame, things have not exactly gone how Brey or the Fighting Irish expected or hoped. After getting picked to finish 6th in the ACC in the preseason poll, Notre Dame finds itself 10-16 overall and just 2-13 in conference play with five games left in the season.

The Irish started the season with five-straight home wins against a relatively soft slate of non-conference opponents. They lost to St. Bonaventure in late November, but bounced back quickly with a big win over Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Then came a one-point home loss against Syracuse and things started to unravel from there. Notre Dame suffered back-to-back 15-point losses to Marquette and Georgia and then a tough one-point defeat at Florida State. The season has only gotten more frustrating for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish since then. Notre Dame is 2-11 over the last 13 games with those two wins coming at home against Georgia Tech and Louisville. The Irish come into this game on a four-game losing streak that includes defeats to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and most recently, a four-point loss at Duke on Tuesday. That 68-64 loss to the Blue Devils in Cameron showed what the Irish are capable of, even in a game in which they shot just 28.6% from beyond the arc.

Notre Dame had a few notable losses from last season's roster - namely Blake Wesley, Paul Atkinson, and Prentiss Hubb - but several key contributors returned, headlined by Nate Laszewski, Dane Goodwin, and Cormac Ryan.

Laszewski leads a group of four players who average in double figures for the Irish. The 6'10" graduate forward is averaging 14.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and is the team's best three-point shooter at 42.9% from three. Laszewski certainly presents a matchup problem for the Cavaliers given his ability to stretch the floor and also pound it inside. Ben Vander Plas might have his hands full guarding Laszewski, so look for Kadin Shedrick to have an opportunity to see extended playing time in this one.

The graduate guard duo of Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan are back yet again in Notre Dame's back court. The 6'6" Goodwin averages 12.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 39.2% from three. Ryan, a 6'5" guard, is averaging 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He is shooting 38.0% from three. Joining Goodwin and Ryan in the back court is 6'4" freshman guard JJ Starling, who is averaging 11.7 points per game in his first season in South Bend.

Notre Dame runs primarily four-guard lineups to go along with Nate Laszewski. 6'5" graduate guard Trey Wertz started the first 18 games of the season, but the Irish have opted for Marcus Hammond over the last eight games. Hammond is a 6'4" transfer from Niagara, where he was a First-Team MAAC selection in 2022 after averaging 18.1 points per game last season. Hammond is averaging 8.8 points per game on 39.0% from beyond the arc and 42.8% from the floor. Wertz now comes off the bench and gives the Irish 8.2 points and 3.0 assists per game.

Notre Dame doesn't have a ton of depth, running a tight seven-man rotation. 6'8" freshman Ven-Allen Lubin is the only other forward on the roster who gets minutes besides Laszewski. Lubin is averaging 6.5 points on 58.5% shooting from the floor to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game.

What the Irish lack in depth, they certainly make up for in the area of experience. Five of Notre Dame's seven key rotation players are graduate students, including four of the five starters. The other two players are true freshmen.

The strength of Notre Dame's team is its three-point shooting, as the Irish shoot 36.7% from three as a team, good for for 3rd in the ACC. But, the Irish do have a tendency to live and die by the three-pointer, averaging more than 24 three-point attempts per game.

The biggest disappointment has been Notre Dame's lackluster defensive play. The Irish rank 71st on KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, but are a lowly 309th in adjusted defensive efficiency. A big part of that has to do with rebounding, as the Irish are one of the worst rebounding teams in the ACC. Notre Dame ranks last in the ACC in total rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game and the Irish have the conference's second-worst rebounding margin, losing the rebounding battle by an average of 3.7 rebounds per game.

Game Notes

Virginia leads the all-time series with Notre Dame 16-3, dating back to 1980-1981.
UVA is 11-1 against Notre Dame in regular season games since the Irish joined the ACC.
Virginia is 7-0 against Notre Dame in games played in Charlottesville.
Tony Bennett is 12-2 against Notre Dame as a head coach.
Virginia is 12-1 at home this season, including 7-0 at home in ACC play.
Virginia is tied for first in the ACC standings at 12-3 and Notre Dame is 14th at 2-13.
Kihei Clark is one start away from becoming UVA's all-time leader in starts and he is three assists away from passing John Crotty for most assists all-time at Virginia.

Prediction

Virginia and Notre Dame are both comfortable playing at a slow pace, with both teams ranking outside the top 300 in terms of adjusted tempo. Both teams can also shoot the ball from three at a high percentage, so it's easy to see this low-possession game ending up being closer than you'd expect if the Fighting Irish can get going from beyond the arc.

With that said, the Cavaliers have a few significant advantages in this matchup. Virginia should have a distinct rebounding edge that could lead to extended possessions and second-chance opportunities that should give UVA the upper hand. Additionally, UVA is much better on the defensive end of the floor than Notre Dame and Virginia also has more depth in its bench unit. If the Cavaliers can limit Notre Dame's open looks from the perimeter, that should be more than enough to overwhelm the Fighting Irish on Saturday.

Score prediction: Notre Dame 62, Virginia 74

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