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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Look to Turn the Tables in Miami

By Chase Eyrich

BLACKSBURG, VA - JANUARY 01: Temple 'T.J.' Gibbs #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks to dribble past defending Wabissa Bede #3 of the Virginia Tech Hokies in the first half at Cassell Coliseum on January 1, 2019 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Lauren Rakes/Getty Images)
BLACKSBURG, VA - JANUARY 01: Temple 'T.J.' Gibbs #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks to dribble past defending Wabissa Bede #3 of the Virginia Tech Hokies in the first half at Cassell Coliseum on January 1, 2019 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Lauren Rakes/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame basketball was able to get the monkey off of its back last Saturday with a win over Boston College. The win marked their second ACC victory of the season and the beginning of the easier stretch of the conference schedule.

Of course, nothing is easy in the ACC, but after the January Notre Dame basketball had to deal with, three of the next four opponents being unranked is a welcome sight for the Irish.

Next up for the Irish will be a mid-week matchup with Miami, who has also had its fair share of troubles.

With the Hurricanes coming in at 9-12 and 1-8 in the ACC, their disappointment on this season has been much like that of Notre Dame’s. While Notre Dame beat Boston College earlier this season with only six players, Miami practically plays every game with six players.

Miami’s seven-man rotation has been dealing with injuries. Most recently, it was Zach Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury against Florida State. It didn’t slow him down much, as he dropped 20-points in the next game versus Virginia Tech.

Miami players are accustomed to heavy minutes. Surprisingly, the Hurricanes were able to run with No. 3 Virginia in their last game, which is evidence that anything can happen in the ACC. What was more surprising was the fact that they did it with almost no reserves. Five players played over 34 minutes, with only some change to spare for the two others.

Fortunately, Notre Dame basketball is getting healthier. Juwan Durham made his return against Boston College after missing the last couple of weeks. That said, he played only nine minutes. As a result, we weren’t really able to see how comfortable he was back on his injured ankle.

The more Durham is on the court, the better. Miami will likely be mismatched between John Mooney and Durham’s size if the two are playing side by side.

The guard combo of Temple Gibbs and Prentiss Hubb has started to find a spark on the offensive end recently. Notre Dame will need that to carry over into this one to cancel out what Chris Lykes and Zach Johnson–Miami’s leading scorers–bring to the court.

Next. Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish complete sweep of Georgia Tech. dark

It will be the second Wednesday game of the season for the Irish, as they head to South Florida for the 7 PM ET tip-off.