On Saturday, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team will host Pittsburgh to wrap up a three-game homestand.
Irish at rock bottom
The Irish hit what head coach Micah Shrewsberry described as “rock bottom” after their most lopsided loss of the season to ACC newcomer SMU. In the 24-point defeat, the Irish gave up a season-worst 97 points. The second-year head coach took responsibility in another emotional postgame presser, apologizing to those who built the program and the fans who stuck around despite his team’s struggles.
In his first season, Shrewsberry looked to build a strong defensive identity and had success in doing so, holding teams to 67.2 points per game. However, his group has taken a step back on that goal this year, giving up 71.9 per game in 2024-25. Rather than hitting its stride down the stretch, Notre Dame has played some of its worst basketball in February, dropping five of its last six games, including an inexplicable loss to last-place Miami and two straight double-digit defeats.
Now sitting at 11-15 and 5-10 in the ACC, the Irish will need to find a response to guarantee a spot in the ACC Tournament, which cuts the bottom three teams in light of the conference’s expansion. As it stands, Notre Dame would make it as a 14 seed but has Boston College and NC State nipping at its heels only two games back. They will close out the three-game homestand with NCAA Tournament hopeful Pittsburgh in desperate need of a bounce-back game.
Panthers on the bubble
The Panthers are 2-8 in their last 10 against the Irish across the past decade but won the most recent matchup 70-60 at home last season. They catch the Irish at the best possible time, looking to extend their winning streak to three. Every game down the stretch is pivotal for a Panthers team that finds itself on the outside looking in among teams in the NCAA Tournament bubble. Their hopes are hanging on by a thread as they rank sixth in the ACC in NET and have dropped eight of their last 11 games. In a major down year for the conference, sending five teams may be an ambitious expectation, leaving Pitt with work to do in their final five regular-season matchups heading into conference tournament season.
After enduring four seasons of struggles, head coach Jeff Capel has turned things around for Pitt basketball the last two seasons, going 26-14 in ACC play, reaching an NCAA Tournament in 2023 and just missing out in 2024. Looking to make it two tournament berths in three years, the Panthers have leaned on a blend of returning talent and valuable transfer additions in the offseason. The dynamic duo in the backcourt of sophomore Jaland Lowe and graduate student Ishmael Leggett has been the catalyst for the team’s success on the offensive end. The two have combined to average 32.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game this season. Florida State transfer forward Cameron Corhen and Houston transfer guard Damian Dunn have slotted in as key contributors in the new-look starting lineup, which is rounded out by returning senior forward Zach Austin. Seven-footer Guillermo Diaz Graham has also been a welcome return to the frontcourt rotation.
Capel has put together an exciting blend of young talent in guys like Lowe with experienced veterans like Leggett who have complemented each other well all season. With several winnable games down the stretch — the upcoming contest with Notre Dame being one of them — his team will hold out hope for a late-season surge.
Tip-off for the ACC clash is set for 2:15 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 22, with The CW providing the national broadcast.
