Notre Dame @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2019 ) Notre Dame 61, Louisville 75

Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte, N.C., and will face Louisville on Wednesday. The 15th-seeded Fighting Irish got through their first-round game with a win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday afternoon, while the No. 7 seed Cardinals had a first-round bye.

Notre Dame snapped a seven-game losing streak Tuesday by shooting the lights out in the first half, making 58 percent of its attempts in opening up a 52-32 lead at the break. The 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets rallied in the second half, cutting the deficit to three points with 1:06 remaining, but John Mooney sealed the win with a turnaround jumper on the next possession and the Irish held on. Louisville and Notre Dame will be playing for the second time this season and the second time in 11 days. The Cardinals easily won the previous matchup 75-61 at home March 3 as Jordan Nwora recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (14-18): Mooney (14.1 points, 11.2 rebounds per game) bounced back from a rare off day Saturday against Pittsburgh, when he scored four points on 1-of-11 shooting, to lead the Irish with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting against the Yellow Jackets. The junior forward also hauled in 10 rebounds for his ACC-leading 20th double-double and might have to do even more Wednesday as Notre Dame lost forward Nate Laszewski late in the first half after he landed hard on his back while trying to make a basket. The freshman was an offensive spark for the Fighting Irish with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting before leaving and his availability for Wednesday is unknown, though X-rays on his back were negative.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (19-12): The Cardinals stumbled down the stretch in conference play as the win over Notre Dame was their only victory in the final five games. Two of those losses came against No. 2 Virginia, including a 73-68 setback on the road in their ACC finale Saturday where the Cardinals held a 47-40 lead early in the second half before the Cavaliers rallied. Louisville can take a few positives away from that loss in that it became the first team since Duke on Feb. 9 to score more than 61 points against Virginia and that it outrebounded the Cavaliers 40-31 while outscoring them 20-16 in the paint.

TIP-INS

1. Nwora (17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds) was named the 2019 ACC Most Improved Player and was also named to the All-ACC third team.

2. Notre Dame freshman G Dane Goodwin scored 15 points against the Yellow Jackets and has hit double-digits in three straight games.

3. The Cardinals outrebounded the Fighting Irish 49-30 in the March 3 win.

PREDICTION: Louisville 68, Notre Dame 62