Virginia @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2018 ) Notre Dame 57, Virginia 62

Virginia looks to hold onto its share of first place in the ACC as it travels to Notre Dame to take on the struggling Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon. The third-ranked Cavaliers bounced back from last weekend’s loss at No. 2 Duke with a midweek rout over Wake Forest, while the Fighting Irish dropped their third in a row on Wednesday.

Virginia wasted no time showing it was over the loss to the Blue Devils by jumping out to a 25-3 lead over the hapless Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. "I think we really wanted to make a point just to let everyone know that we were completely past the last game. A lot of people acted like someone had died or something," junior guard Kyle Guy told reporters after the game. Notre Dame seemingly can’t buy a win of late, as each loss of the losing streak coming by six or fewer points, including a 63-61 setback at Georgia Tech on Wednesday. "We battled," junior forward John Mooney told the media after the game. "That's been the theme of the year. Close games at the end, but we just can't pull it out. It's very frustrating."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS

ABOUT VIRGINIA (17-1, 5-1 ACC): Guy (team-high 15 points per game) scored 12 points in 29 minutes against the Yellow Jackets, while 7-1 reserve sophomore forward Jay Huff tying him for team-high honors in only 13 minutes of action. De'Andre Hunter and Mamadi Diakite had 11, while Ty Jerome added 10 in a balanced scoring effort as coach Tony Bennett was able to use 13 different players in the blowout. Virginia’s field-goal percentage defense, which ranks fourth nationally at 37.4 percent, held Georgia Tech to 30.9 percent shooting, including 25 percent from long range.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (11-8, 1-5): Mooney (14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds) continued his dominant play so far this season with 22 points and 14 rebounds for his ACC-best 11th double-double. He didn’t have much help offensively, however, as freshman Nate Laszewski was the only other player to reach double figures in scoring with his 19 off the bench. Junior forward Juwan Durham sat for the third time in four games with an ankle issue and his status for Saturday is unknown.

TIP-INS

1. Virginia leads the all-time series 11-2, including last year’s 62-57 win in Charlottesville, Va.

2. The Cavaliers rank second in the ACC in 3-point percentage at 39.4.

3. Notre Dame commits just 13.7 fouls per game, which is tied for the fewest in the country.

PREDICTION: Virginia 69, Notre Dame 54