Notre Dame Basketball: Irish lose heartbreaker to Louisville in 2OT

Notre Dame basketball fell short in a double overtime 82-78 loss to the Louisville Cardinals.

When it comes to Notre Dame basketball facing Louisville, you can’t expect anything less than a close game, this was no different. After a slow start from the Irish, they made it interesting by putting together a couple of runs.

Every run the Irish put together, Louisville was able to answer shooting 49% on the night. But the return of Matt Farrell gave the Irish everything they could before falling just short. Notre Dame has now lost three in a row after the double overtime loss 82-78. Here’s the bad and good against Lousiville.

The Bad: Dry spells

Recently Notre Dame has struggled to find their offense. Of course, that was something that we expected after losing Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell. Even with the return of Farrell, it was still a slow start for the Irish. After a three-pointer from DJ Harvey, Louisville quieted the Irish with a seven – zero run.

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Just went it seemed like Notre Dame found their offensive rhythm, they lose it just as fast. After grabbing a rebound, Harvey dropped to the ground in pain.

With what seemed like a lower leg injury, the freshman was helped off the court. Just like that the Irish’s offensive run came to an end. At one point leading 26-16, Notre Dame couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

Louisville went on for a 14-zero run to regain the lead. Thanks to a tip by John Mooney with 15 seconds left in the half, the Irish ended their dry spell.

The Good: Matt Farrell is back!

It didn’t take long for Matt Farrell to get back to full speed. After missing the last three and a half games due to an ankle sprain, Farrell showed just how much he’s missed the hardwood.

After the slow start, Farrell got back to his aggressive playing style. Able to make a few hustle plays on defense it fueled his offense. Quickly he racked up 15 points in just 13 minutes of play to give Notre Dame a 26-16 lead. The offense looked completely different with Farrell back on the court. From the speed of the offense to the chemistry, Farrell made everything look smoother.

Unfortunately, the dry spells also hit Farrell. He wouldn’t put up another point for the rest of the first half.

The Bad: Turnovers

Irish normally average 9.8 turnovers per game; it’s their pride and joy. The consistency of taking care of the ball has been a huge part of Notre Dame’s success the last couple of years. Tonight it was the reason they lost.

The Irish had ten turnovers in the first half alone. While it did get under control the rest of the way, there were still many chances given away. Uncharacteristically, Notre Dame continued to struggle with a total of 16 turnovers in this one. The Irish gave up many good offensive opportunities that in the end could have made all the difference.

The Good: Role Playing

The only thing that’s harder than trying to fill the void of star players, is trying to reintegrate a star player. Many players have stepped up in the absence of Bonzie Colson and Farrell. DJ Harvey has had a big performance as well as a string of great games from TJ Gibbs and Marinas Geben. With Farrell coming back, Notre Dame still found a way to fill the right roles.

The Farrell/Geben show came away with 23 and 22 points respectively against Louisville. The big man added to his career high in points also pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds.

When the Irish needed a little bit more from the offense, it was Gibbs who put together a run, coming away with 12 points.

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Up Next:

After dropping to 3-3 in the ACC, Notre Dame will look to rebound at Clemson this Saturday at 4 PM ET.