Notre Dame seeks its first victory against a ranked opponent in nearly three years and No. 14 Virginia looks to avoid its first losing streak of the season when they meet Tuesday night in South Bend, Ind.
The Fighting Irish (11-9, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) have dropped 11 consecutive games against Top 25 teams since an 88-81 home win against then-No. 25 Pitt on March 1, 2023.
The Cavaliers (16-3, 5-2) had a five-game overall winning streak and an 11-game home streak snapped on Saturday when No. 22 North Carolina rallied from 16 down for an 85-80 win in Charlottesville, Va.
Notre Dame is 0-2 this season against ranked teams, falling 66-56 to then-No. 3 Houston on Nov. 26 in the Players Era consolation round in Las Vegas and 91-69 last Wednesday to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Fighting Irish are 8-3 at home this season and coming off a 68-64 win against visiting Boston College on Saturday. Braeden Shrewsberry scored 22 points and Notre Dame overcame an 11-point halftime deficit.
The comeback snapped a five-game losing streak for the Fighting Irish, who won for the first time in 2026.
“I’m proud of these guys for sticking with it,” coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “It’s not easy to come in every day with a great attitude, to continue to put yourself out there, put everything you have into preparing, into playing and when things don’t go right. You gotta turn around and do it the next day and the next day.
“They’ve never wavered in their belief and their preparation, their enthusiasm and their togetherness.”
Jalen Haralson leads Notre Dame with 14.7 points per game and Shrewsberry adds 11.2 while shooting 41.1% from 3-point range. Markus Burton, who averaged 18.5 points in the first 10 games, remains out with a broken ankle.
Virginia held a 43-27 lead two minutes before halftime against North Carolina. The advantage evaporated thanks to a flurry of fast-break opportunities for the Tar Heels, who compiled a decisive 19-2 edge in points off turnovers for the game.
“You’re going to turn it over on occasion,” first-year Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. “Some of them were bad beats. Some of them were not. … The key is you can’t have those turn into baskets, and (Saturday) they turned into baskets.”
North Carolina shot 63.3% (19 of 30) from the field in the second half.
“The defensive intensity was not where we needed it to be,” Odom said. “The communication was lacking, really, in general. A poor defensive performance overall.”
Thijs De Ridder scored 20 against the Tar Heels and leads Virginia with 16.3 points per game. Malik Thomas averages 13.5 points and Chance Mallory adds 10.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game off the bench.
Eight different players have made at least 13 3-pointers this season for Virginia, which is averaging 83.8 points per game. Notre Dame averages 72.9 points per game.
The Cavaliers take a 4-1 road record to South Bend. Virginia is 18-5 all-time against Notre Dame but the Fighting Irish won last season’s meeting 74-59 in Charlottesville.
–Field Level Media
