ND MEN'S BASKETBALL: Irish look to keep momentum going against UVA, Duke

Jan. 29—SOUTH BEND — The Notre Dame men's basketball team sustained success continued last week with two Atlantic Coast Conference victories over Louisville and North Carolina State.

The wins extended Notre Dame's conference record to 6-2, good for a tie of second place with Duke (16-3, 6-2 ACC). Both teams are just a half game behind Miami (15-5, 7-2 ACC) for first.

The Irish are now 13-6 overall, having won nine of their last 10 games.

TWO GAMES IN THREE DAYS

Up next on the schedule for the Fighting Irish is Virginia (12-8, 6-4 ACC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. from Purcell Pavilion.

The Cavaliers come into the weekend's game having won two of three since Jan. 19. Virginia took down Louisville and Pittsburgh, but fell to NC State by double-digits. Outside of the ACC this season, Virginia has bad losses to James Madison and Navy on its resume with the only marquee win for the Cavaliers coming against Providence (17-2) back in November.

The record next to Virginia's name usually doesn't matter for Notre Dame, because historically, the Cavaliers have owned the series. The two teams have met 18 times since 1981, with Notre Dame winning just twice during that time.

The last Irish victory in the series was also the last time ND made the NCAA Tournament: during the 2016-17 season.

"The guys we're playing on Saturday have really had our number," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "I don't even know if I need to bring it up with our veterans, because I think they know. We're going to try to stay away from that, just prepare and get some rest. But I think the seniors are certainly conscientious (of Virginia)."

After the UVA game, the Irish have to prepare for a quick turnaround against one of the best teams in the country in Duke on Monday. The game was originally scheduled for New Year's Day at Purcell Pavilion, but health and safety protocols forced the contest to be postponed.

The Blue Devils are currently tied with the Irish for second place in the conference standings, with a win over Wake Forest standing out so far on the conference slate. Their conference losses this season have come on the road to Miami and Florida State.

Duke's offense will be a chore for Notre Dame to slow down. The Blue Devils have three players that average double-digit scoring per game. Freshman Paolo Banchero, a potential NBA Lottery pick, leads the way with 17.9 points per game to help compliment his 7.9 rebounds per contest. At 6'10", Banchero puts a ton of stress on the defense with his ability to work inside-out.

Junior Wendell Moore Jr. is just behind Banchero, averaging 15.1 points per game from the small forward position at 6'5".

The Irish did beat the Blue Devils, 93-89, at Cameron Indoor Stadium last season. Before that, Duke had won seven in a row against Notre Dame.

A PEEK TOWARD MARCH

While the Irish are playing well and sit in prime position currently in the ACC standings, Brey and his team have a lot of winning left to do before the NCAA Tournament can become a worry.

At the moment, the Irish are a bubble team for many people in the bracketology business. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Notre Dame in his 'Next Four Out' group. Lunardi has the Irish behind SMU, Texas A&M, Michigan, Wyoming, Mississippi State and Florida as teams all currently sitting on the outside looking in.

CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm has Notre Dame as the second team in his 'First Four Out' group, with Wake Forest standing between the Irish and the field of 68.

Notre Dame has benefited from the ACC's struggles this season by piling up wins over mediocre competition. However, the chances for quality, resume-building wins are few and far between.

The Irish have avoided bad losses while beating Kentucky and North Carolina so far this season. Notre Dame's 'NET' ranking currently is only 72 though, and it has just one Quad-1 victory to go along with three Quad-2 victories with 12 regular season games remaining.

Ahead on the schedule, the Irish have Duke (13), at Wake Forest (35), at Miami (66) and at Florida State (70) as Quad-1 victory opportunities according to the current NET rankings.

With a couple more Quad-1 wins, and the avoidance of any bad losses down the stretch, the Irish should put themselves in good position to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since the 2016-17 season.

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.