Notre Dame VS Pittsburgh: Three Things We Learned

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped the final regular season game against the Pittsburgh Panthers by a score of 56-53. It was yet another boring basketball game that included two teams that are very limited offensively. The Irish were yet again close midway through the second half but just could not get over the last hurdle. This is what we learned.

All About The Lessons

Notre Dame has been awful this season in close games. They cannot seem to make that one run that is needed to get a win. We will all remember these close losses if next year Notre Dame is winning the same type of games? The obvious answer is no. Notre Dame is not talented or experienced enough to win these games. Our only hope is that all the close losses are lessons for next year.

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Freshman Flash

Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski both played great games for Notre Dame. It is these games that make you somewhat optimistic. Goodwin needs to improve his jump shot and play more aggressively. Laszewski will need to play with a little more passion and develop some consistency game to game. Each freshman this year has shown they can play competitive basketball in the ACC. The little glimpses of promise are what us fans need to hold on to.

Postseason Will Be Telling

Look, if Notre Dame bows out in the first round of the ACC tournament it won’t be telling of anything. But if they can win a game or two and show some progress, that would mean something. If this team can prove that winning a close game is possible I will feel better about next year. I think it would also do this team’s psyche a favor. All this losing has to be exhausting. It seems like a win could go a long way right now.

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Notre Dame will take on Georgia Tech in the first round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday. It is a very winnable game. I’m sure it will be a close, low scoring game. The Irish will have to pull out a close one if they want to move on.