Predicting winners in Notre Dame basketball's games the week of February 4

It’s safe to say that, at this point, the Notre Dame basketball season has not gone as hoped. The first year of Micah Shrewsberry’s tenure in South Bend has had some highs, such as the upset over Virginia, but it’s also had plenty of lows.

One of those lows is a four-game losing streak with Shrewsberry searching for answers. Last week, the Notre Dame basketball lost for a second time to two ACC rivals. That was two opportunities to get some revenge. Two opportunities were lost.

The most frustrating lost opportunity of the week had to be against Boston College. The Golden Eagles simply aren’t that good a team. And yet, the Irish have now lost twice to B.C., and those two losses were by a combined 7 points.

This week, the Fighting Irish have only one game. It might be a bit unfortunate that this time, it’s Notre Dame’s opponent that’s looking for revenge. This week, Shrewsberry’s team will try and sweep the season series against the Virginia Cavaliers.

Predicting the winner in Notre Dame basketball’s tilt against Virginia

When Shrewsberry’s crew beat the Cavs earlier this season, it felt like it was a step in the right direction. It felt as though Notre Dame was finally starting to turn a corner. Even if they weren’t going to post a winning record it looked like players were buying what their coach was selling.

But if there was buy-in, Micah Shrewsberry is dealing with a bit of a culture problem again to finish the year.

Virginia, on the other hand, is on a bit of a roll. The Cavs have won four straight games and are moving up the ACC standings. When the two teams meet on Wednesday, the Cavs are going to be the obviously better team.

When Notre Dame basketball takes on Virginia this time around, I wouldn’t expect a game closer than 10 points.

Virginia - 82, Notre Dame basketball 60.