After Notre Dame basketball's blowout loss to North Carolina, head coach Micah Shrewsberry took his team to task for not having enough "grit." On Tuesday night, the Irish played their second straight game where they showed that grit, though they fell short in double overtime to No. 17 Virginia, 100-97.
After the game, a game that ND had plenty of chances to win and pull off the upset, Shrewsberry made it clear that while he was disappointed, he thinks his team is showing fight that some didn't expect.
"A lot of people have counted us out," the Notre Dame head coach pointed out. "Nobody gave us a chance to win this game… people quit on us a long time ago."
“A lot of people have counted us out. Nobody gave us a chance to win this game… people quit on us a long time ago”
— Talia Baia (@talia_baia) January 28, 2026
HC Micah Shrewsberry following ND’s 100-97 loss to Virginia. 💔 pic.twitter.com/YlsnPFEVfo
Notre Dame shows fight as they fall short against Virginia
Those comments come as Shrewsberry is under fire in his third season in South Bend. For the third consecutive year, it's clear the Irish aren't going to the NCAA Tournament. After a solid start to the year, they lost five straight ACC contests, capped by that 91-69 loss to the Tar Heels.
That's not to say there weren't still some things that Shrewsberry should answer for. Chief among those was his decision not to have Notre Dame foul Virginia when the Irish were up three late in the game.
The Cavaliers eventually hit a tying three-pointer, and the game went to overtime. They then had chances in that period before losing the lead and needing to gut it out for a second OT.
Notre Dame has at least shown "grit" in the last two games, and won't face another team that is currently in the Top 25 this season. That will give the Irish a chance to show they can take positives away from their latest loss. If they don't, Micah Shrewsberry's message will be lost in the sea of dissapointing campaigns.