Hello, old friend. It’s been too long. For the first time in 35 days,
Notre Dame basketball isn’t on the road at yet another Atlantic Coast Conference outpost for a winter’s weekend. For the first time since January 4, Notre Dame gets a Saturday home game
in league play. And not a moment too soon. The road has battered and beaten down Notre Dame. All through January, and into February, which opened with a forgettable two-game swing through Florida and loss at Miami and Florida State, the ACC road has been one big struggle. February offers Notre Dame a chance to get home, unpack, and maybe stack together a few wins with four of the next five at Purcell Pavilion. Saturday against Virginia Tech would be a good place to start.
Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech start time
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Series history
Virginia Tech leads 11-10 overall, 9-7 as ACC colleagues. The
Hokies have won seven of eight, including six straight, and nine of 11 dating back to 2019. Notre Dame’s last win was on February 10, 2024, 74-66. The Irish are 5-4 at home against the Hokies. The teams met twice last season. This is the only scheduled meeting this year.
Keep an eye on ...
Virginia Tech (10-13; 5-7 ACC)
Redshirt sophomore guard Jaden Schutt is quietly starting to show why he was a Top 50 national recruit coming out of high school in Yorkville, Illinois, a guard who originally signed with Duke and spent two seasons in Durham. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Schutt ranks third on the team in scoring at 9.2 ppg., but has led or tied for top-scoring honors in three of the last six games, including the last two. Schutt went for 18 points against Virginia and 15 in Wednesday’s home loss to SMU.
Notre Dame (10-12; 4-7)
With the status of veteran guards Matt Allocco and J.R. Konieczny questionable because of lingering injuries and ineffectiveness that saw both sit out Tuesday’s loss at Florida State, we might again see freshman guard Sir Mohammed for an extended stretch. We also should see him play a little bit more relaxed should he make his second career start. Mohammed started in place of Allocco on Tuesday and played like a freshman. In a season-high 24 minutes, Mohammed missed all seven of his shots from the field but had four rebounds and three assists. He’s still trying to figure it out after missing 10 games earlier this season because of a left knee injury. Should he get another starting chance on Saturday, expect him to be better.
Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech prediction
Notre Dame 71, Virginia Tech 65: Good luck trying to pinpoint where this one might go. The results of games in this series in recent years have been all over the map. Notre Dame and Virginia Tech have played games with scores that have finished in the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s. In a matchup of two similarly struggling teams, figure this one to be close. Notre Dame, more comfortable at home, finally figures out how to win a close conference game. Again.
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