No. 5 Virginia is a puzzle Notre Dame just can’t seem to solve
Going into Saturday’s game at No. 5 Virginia, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said the Cavaliers were the one team in the ACC his program still hadn’t figured out.
The fighting Irish didn’t make any progress in solving the Virginia riddle in a 77-66 setback in which the Cavaliers dominated throughout. Virginia has beaten Notre Dame in all four games since the Irish joined the ACC and nine straight dating back to the early 1980s. UVA has now won 11 straight games since its only loss of the season at George Washington on Nov. 17.
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Few teams in the nation are as well-rounded and team oriented as Virginia. Brey needed a big effort out of veterans Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste to have any chance at an upset. Through the first 24 minutes, those two Notre Dame players were almost completely irrelevant, combining for five points.
Jackson eventually found a spark scoring most of his 18 points in the finel 10 minutes but it wasn’t enough to even threaten knocking the lead down let alone challenging for a win. Auguste spent much of the second half on the bench.
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But the first half is where Virginia established its double-digit lead. Both teams came into the game with solid offense, but Virginia also has been among the nation’s best on defense, whereas Notre Dame is simply mediocre at best on that end of the court. It showed as the Cavaliers exploited holes for easy layups or dunks and found wide-open jump shots en route to shooting 58 percent in the first half and 57 percent in the game.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points with most of it coming in the second half while Anthony Gill scored 14 of his 21 in the first half. The Cavaliers produced 17 assists on 28 made baskets.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
