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Three things we learned from Notre Dame’s 77-73 loss to N.C. State

More of the same I suppose. This year is not ideal.

NCAA Basketball: N.C. State at Notre Dame Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

I feel like we just keep watching the same game each week. Because of that, it also feel like we keep hitting on the same points each week for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A good fight against the N.C. State Wolfpack is just another loss - a loss.

THIS SEASON IS DETERMINED TO KILL YOU!

Let’s make this quick:

JOHN MOONEY IS BETTER THAN PEOPLE THINK

Not you people, but they people. John Mooney just doesn’t strike the fear in the hearts of opposing fans like a Zion Williamson. I get it, but that shouldn’t distract people from the fact that Mooney leads the ACC (which is a fairly decent conference) in double doubles this season with 9. Against the Wolfpack, Mooney scored 19 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

Most fans are probably wanting to forget this season as quickly as possible, and that’s why I’m so bullish on Mooney. He’s giving tremendous effort each week, and the stat line shows he’s one of the best, even if the win/loss column doesn’t. We need to respect that.

ALL HAIL JOHN MUTTON!

YOU CAN REALLY START TO SEE THAT THIS YEAR IS CRUSHING BREY

The title of “loosest coach in America” may not belong to Mike Brey right now. Brey has never been a pushover, but during the last two games he has become much more animated with the refs. I mean... you can’t blame him. For the second year in a row, injuries have hindered the team’s ability to win games down the stretch. Five games lost by 6 points or less... it has an effect.

Mike Brey is still Mike Brey, and any pressure he feels is most likely of his own making, but it kind of hurts to see him hurting on the court like that. BREAK OUT THE SHORTS!

NOTRE DAME IS GOING TO STEAL TWO

Call it blind optimism or just a guy out here fanning like a boss... but I think ND still gets 2 big wins this year. The Irish play Virginia twice, Duke, Virginia Tech, and Florida State. All of those games will see ND as a fairly big underdog. I think that at some point, it starts to come together for the young and short-handed Irish. At some point, they just have a couple of games where everything drops.

I know, I know... but it’s all I have right now.