You can’t blame Nate Laszewski for looking mad in the above photo. If your program had just lost its fifth straight to Louisville, you wouldn’t be happy either. However, that’s exactly what’s happened with Notre Dame in this series, and this latest matchup won’t be any easier with how far apart these teams are in the ACC standings.
The Irish (9-11, 6-8) can’t exactly rely on their strength of schedule, which is ranked 17th according to KenPom.com, to gain sympathy from people. The reality is it will take an ACC Tournament championship for the Irish to make the Big Dance. Such is the case for a team below .500 at this point in the season. It won’t get any easier with them having to visit the Cardinals (11-5, 6-4).
The Irish also will have to right the ship after suffering a major collapse at Syracuse. In fact, second-half collapses seem to be a recurring theme for them this season. Who knows where the Irish would be right now if they knew how to protect a big lead? They would be a bubble team at the very least, and Jack Nolan could spend his nights a little happier that his last season would include a trip to March Madness.