If you can’t score in basketball, you don’t win. Notre Dame seemed to forget about that Sunday against No. 19 Virginia Tech. Maybe it didn’t, but the result would make a strong case for it. The Irish were up seven at halftime but lost, 77-63, in humiliating fashion.
The Irish (3-7, 0-4) shot 2 of 19 from the field in the second half. Even the worst college basketball programs are able to avoid halves like that regularly. The Hokies (9-2, 3-1) took advantage by doubling the Irish’s 21-point output in that half. That his team was unprepared to play the full 40 minutes was not lost on Mike Brey:
“You’re not going to beat a good team playing 20 or 25 minutes, and that’s kind of what we’ve done against really good teams — and they’re really good. They’re really a gifted team so … we’re learning, trying to learn the hard way to put 40 minutes together.”
The Irish shot 37.5 percent from the floor, below the 45 percent they were shooting entering the game. They were 6 of 23 from 3-point range, which was a far cry from the ACC-leading 38.9 percent they previously shot from there. That’s not going to get it done.
Perhaps no one suffered worse from this monstrosity than Nate Laszewski, who attempted twice as many free throws (12) as field goals (six) in a 17-point effort. Worse yet, he only got one 3-pointer off. For the ACC’s best shooter overall (65.8 percent) and from 3 (59.0 percent), that’s not acceptable. He’ll definitely be watching the video of this game to figure out how he can get the better looks he’s capable of.