After coughing up a 17-point lead in last Saturday’s 77-69 loss at Syracuse, Notre Dame men’s basketball will go back on the road this weekend. At 8-10 overall and 2-5 in ACC play, the Irish will visit Virginia for a 6:30 p.m. start on Saturday. Notre Dame, seeking its first win away from home in more than three months, has never won in nine games at John Paul Jones Arena.
What went wrong at Syracuse?
Notre Dame couldn’t have drawn up a much better start to Saturday’s game at the JMA Wireless dome. The Irish opened up an 11-0 lead just over three minutes in and eventually led by a 38-21 margin in the final minutes of the first half. Though the Orange closed to within a 42-33 score at halftime, Notre Dame still appeared in great shape with a nine-point cushion on the road.
As per usual, Markus Burton’s dynamic play catalyzed the Irish. The sophomore guard turned in 22 first-half points, accounting for more than half of his team’s scoring. As a whole, Notre Dame shot the ball efficiently, going 16 for 32 from the field and five for nine from three-point range. Advantages of 18-6 in painted area points and 11-0 in points off turnovers also helped the Irish to their commendable first half.
Syracuse would instantly put pressure on Notre Dame out of halftime, starting on a 7-0 run before finally tying the game with five minutes to play in regulation. The Orange ended the game on a 24-9 scoring run, reawakening the tight-game troubles that have plagued Micah Shrewsberry’s first two teams in ACC play.
With Burton’s touch going cold in a six-point second half, Notre Dame’s offense went into a tailspin. The Irish shot just 32% from the floor and did not make a single three-pointer, missing what had allowed them a strong finish in the previous Saturday’s loss at No. 4 Duke. The performance of Tae Davis, arguably Notre Dame’s most encouraging player over the past month and a half, symbolized the team’s struggles. Though he tallied a respectable 11 points and seven rebounds, the junior forward got there by making just three of his 14 shots and turning the ball over four times.
The Irish also couldn’t get much of anything out of their bench once the starters slowed down in the second half. Notre Dame’s four bench players, who saw the floor for a combined 38 minutes and 25 seconds, attempted only two shots combined across the entire game and did not score a point. Notre Dame also gave Syracuse far too many free looks at the basket during the second half, committing nine turnovers and 16 personal fouls.
A view of Virginia
Virginia’s season started, of course, with the shocking news that 15-year head coach Tony Bennett would retire. Bennett, who had guided the Cavaliers to six ACC regular-season titles and a 2019 national championship victory, stepped away just 18 days before tipoff on Oct. 18.
Ron Sanchez, whom Bennett intended to take over, has led the 2024-25 season since as the interim head basketball coach. He has Virginia in similar standing to Notre Dame at 9-10 overall and 2-6 in league play. A program that filled the 2010s with NCAA Tournament appearances, Virginia hasn’t quite been the same since their Round of 64 upset loss to No. 13-seeded Furman in 2023. The Cavaliers did reach the big dance last year at 23-11 overall and 13-7 in the ACC but did not advance beyond the First Four.
Even with the coaching change, Virginia’s identity hasn’t changed one bit. It’s still about slugfest basketball, as the Cavaliers score the fewest and allow the second-fewest points per game in the ACC. They haven’t cleared 75 points scored in any game this season but come off a 74-56 home win against Boston College on Tuesday. Virginia does not have a ranked win this season and has lost by double digits to SMU, Louisville (twice), Stanford and Cal in conference play.
Tuesday’s win snapped a five-game losing skid, Virginia’s longest such streak since the 2009-10 season. The Cavaliers put the game to bed early, building up an 18-point lead at halftime and finishing the night in the same position. Isaac McKneely (12.3 points per game) and Andrew Rohde (9.1 points per game), two of Virginia’s most productive offensive players, returned to form against the Eagles. Typically an elite outside shooter, McKneely was 1 for 11 from deep in the two games before Boston College. He finished with six threes and a game-high 21 points against the Eagles. Rohde tallied 16 more points, making both of his three-point attempts.
The Cavaliers put forth a respectable night of rebounding against Boston College, grabbing 30 of the 53 available boards, but that’s not typical for them. Virginia bottoms out the ACC with 30.6 rebounds per game and struggles even more comprehensively on the offensive glass. The Cavaliers average 6.8 offensive rebounds per game. The next-worst team averages 9.4. If junior forwards Tae Davis and Kebba Njie bring their intensity on Saturday, Notre Dame should soundly control the interior.
Last year, Virginia and Notre Dame split the season series, with the Irish winning 76-54 in South Bend and the Cavaliers claiming a 65-53 victory in Charlottesville.
