Read more for our full Virginia vs Notre Dame prediction and preview.
Virginia basketball welcomes Notre Dame to Charlottesville for an ACC battle. The Cavaliers are coming off a win over Boston College, while the Fighting Irish last played in a loss to Syracuse.
General Information:
Teams: Virginia (9-10, 2-6) and Notre Dame (8-10, 2-5)
Tip time: 6:30 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Virginia Sports Radio Network
Latest on Notre Dame basketball:
The Fighting Irish are coming off a 77-69 loss to Syracuse on Jan. 18. Notre Dame had a 17-point lead in the first half and led by nine at the break, but Syracuse made a furious comeback to sink the Fighting Irish. Sophomore guard Markus Burton led Notre Dame with 28 points against the Orange, but only six of them came in the second half. In the final seconds, head coach Micah Shrewsberry was given a double technical foul and ejected from the game.
Burton leads the Fighting Irish with 19.8 points per game. He’s missed time due to injury, so he doesn’t qualify among ACC leaders, but he would rank second in the conference in scoring if he did.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Fighting Irish. They’ve had two winning streaks of at least three games, but also two losing streaks of at least four games.
There’s no one specific trait that the Fighting Irish do particularly well, but they play slow like Virginia and their defense isn’t great. They’re allowing 1.042 points per possession, 206th in the country. Notre Dame doesn’t force turnovers or block shots and allow a lot of assists, all traits that Virginia needs to exploit. If the Cavs can keep the ball moving and look for the extra pass instead of going isolation — which has been a problem this year for the Cavaliers — they should be able to control Notre Dame’s defense.
Latest on Virginia basketball:
The Cavaliers finally got off the mat in 2025, defeating Boston College 74-56 Tuesday. It snapped Virginia’s five-game losing streak. It was Virginia’s longest losing streak since 2009-10.
After losing to Louisville on Jan. 6, junior guard Isaac McKneely said that Virginia had to “find a way to play the full 40 minutes.” Repeatedly this season, the Cavaliers had stretches in games where they looked out of sync, and it cost them some wins. Against the Eagles, the Cavaliers did play a full 40 minutes and they looked like a team that was clicking on all cylinders.
Virginia led from the opening tip and never looked back. The Cavs won the rebound margin for the first time since the American game on Dec. 22. McKneely scored 21 points and buried six threes. Junior guard Andrew Rohde had the best game of his UVa career, scoring 16 points, grabbing four boards, dishing six assists and not turning it over once. It was a refreshing, easy game for a team and fanbase that hadn’t had much of them this year.
But it’s important to keep it in perspective. Boston College is a very bad team and the win does nothing but keep Virginia’s ACC Tournament hopes alive. The Cavaliers sit 16th in the conference, ahead of just the Eagles and Miami. If the season ended after the Boston College game, Virginia wouldn’t make the ACC Tournament. Virginia has plenty of work to do over the next six weeks if they want to go to Charlotte for the tournament, and it starts tonight against the Fighting Irish.
As with most Virginia basketball games, it’ll be low scoring and close. But the Cavs will continue their efficient offense from the Boston College game; they’ll sink some key free throws in the final minute to seal the game and win two straight for the first time in nearly a month.
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