Notre Dame VS Virginia: Three Things We Learned

Notre Dame men’s basketball turned a corner on Saturday. It was not with a win, but by playing a highly competitive basketball game at Virginia. The Virginia Cavaliers beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a score of 60-54. Notre Dame was in the game the entire time. It was different than when Virginia came to South Bend and they easily beat the Irish, with the game in hand before halftime. This is what we learned:

Still Have Fight

This is what I admire most about this years Notre Dame basketball team. There is no quit in this team. They are barely above .500 but nobody is giving in. Games like this one make you excited about the future. Mike Brey has a young team that wants to win and is showing the passion it will take. A big upset might be in Notre Dame’s future if they continue to play like they did on Saturday.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Shooting Still Lacking

This would be a whole different article if Notre Dame could have knocked down a few more three pointers. The glaring weakness of this team is that they cannot shoot. It took away a chance at a major upset. The Irish finished 8-30 from behind the arc, which is just over 26%. That won’t get it done most of the time. Notre Dame will need to continue to improve on this the rest of the year.

T.J. Gibbs Emerging?

This was a glimpse of the T.J. Gibbs from last year. He scored 17 points against one of the best defenses in the country. He was 6-14 from the field and 3-8 from deep. This is a sign of something bigger. Notre Dame needs T.J. Gibbs to be the lead guard and scorer on this team, and next year’s team. It was nice to see TJ Gibbs lead the Irish in scoring.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame now sits at 13-12 and 3-9 in the ACC. There are some winnable games down the stretch for Notre Dame. If this game is any indicator, it could be an exciting last 6 games of the season for the Irish.