Notre Dame Basketball: Irish and Virginia are Unfamiliar Enemies

Notre Dame basketball takes on Virginia in their first action of ACC Tournament play, and they are ready to get started.

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Most teams that square off in the ACC Tournament have already met at least twice beforehand. But for Notre Dame and Virginia, these two have met once and have no experience against the teams they are currently playing. Yes, they’ve already played once this season, but since then, Notre Dame has developed an entirely different style of play and Virginia has just started to figure out their way of winning.

For fans, these are the best matchups to watch. Teams who come in unknowing are teams that play the hardest. Without knowing what to expect, teams’ only advantage is to outmatch their opponent. There is no strategizing in putting in 100% effort simply to beat your opponent in every aspect.

Notre Dame and Virginia can gameplan around their last meeting, but when the Irish come out spreading the floor with one man in the paint, the Cavaliers are not going to be ready. So, when it comes to learning from your mistakes, there are none to learn from before this matchup.

Over the last three years, the Irish and Cavaliers have squared off three times. What Notre Dame will do if they come into this game is expect an all-defensive unit. Nope. With Virginia’s 11 3-pointers against Pitt, they showed they have found ways to score, and it’s from deep.

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After these two faced during the regular season, Virginia lost six of their next eight games, while Notre Dame followed the loss by adding three more. Then, the Irish went on a six-game tear where they turned their undersized, guard filled rotation into a four-guard and Bonzie Colson lineup.

As these two ACC teams square off, they become as unfamiliar as most opponents are in March. No one would imagine that a conference tournament would feature two teams who have played each other as few times as they two. But we’re here, and for both, it’s a challenge they know almost nothing about.

In their first postseason meeting, these two will be looking to gain any upper hand in any way they can. The problem is they don’t know how to gain an advantage if they don’t know the other’s weakness.

“Their system is hard to deal with for us, and I think a lot of people have had a hard time dealing with them,” head coach Mike Brey told ESPN. “I’m glad we don’t play them twice. They have not been a good matchup for us, and we take our hat off to them, because they’re really good.”

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No matter how well these teams think they know each other, they don’t. When they tip off this afternoon, Notre Dame and Virginia will quickly realize that even if you think you know a team you played before, you have no idea who they are in March.