Notre Dame has won four straight games as their ACC record has gone from just 2-6 to a much more respectable 6-6. Things get tougher starting tonight though as Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish are in Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the defending national champions.
Notre Dame is still pretty far from serious NCAA Tournament consideration this March but a win over bubble team Virginia would certainly be a nice step Tuesday night.
With that preface, here are five numbers to be aware of heading into tonight’s Notre Dame vs. Virginia match-up.
Five Numbers:
1 – That’s the number of ACC teams who are scheduled to play three conference road games in a seven day stretch that season. Which team is it, you ask? Notre Dame as game two of three (at Duke, Saturday) takes place tonight.
2 – The number of wins Notre Dame has all-time in basketball against Virginia. It leaves a lot to be desired seeing as the Cavaliers have taken 12 versus the Fighting Irish.
4 – Where Mr. Double-Double, John Mooney could be by the end of this evening in total rebounds by any Notre Dame player during the Mike Brey era. His 815 are the sixth most for any Notre Dame player since Brey took over and with nine or more this evening he’ll pass both Zach Auguste (822) and Pat Connaughton (823) on the all-time list.
6 – Where Notre Dame enters Tuesday night’s contest ranked nationally in terms of assists per game. Their 17.2 assists per night are the best in the ACC. For comparison, Virginia is averaging 11.2 per game.
19.4 – That’s the amount of points per game more that Notre Dame scores than Virginia (76.2-56.8). However, the Cavaliers also allow just 51.7 to Notre Dame’s 68.4 and have found success in their ways with a 15-7 overall record and 7-5 ACC mark.
Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET from Charlottesville, Virginia and can be seen on ESPN 2.