Observations: Notre Dame men's basketball controls Virginia in 69-65 win

Comfortable moments against Virginia are fleeting, if you’re lucky to find one at all.

Notre Dame did reach that point, leading by 15 eight minutes into the second half with Purcell Pavilion pulsing. The Irish hadn’t put that kind of hurt on the Cavaliers since March 2017. A six-game skid against them was on its way to being smashed to bits.

In the end, the good vibes remained and Notre Dame prevailed, but not without some nerves. Virginia, even its lesser state this season, has a way of resurrecting itself. Notre Dame withstood that final push, though.

PROMOTION: Sign up for $1 for first year and receive a free Blue & Gold Founders Club hat

The Irish beat the Cavaliers 69-65 Saturday night, earning their fourth straight victory. They’re 14-6 overall and 7-2 in the ACC, still tied with Duke for second place. They remain undefeated at home.

Forward Nate Laszewski and guard Dane Goodwin led Notre Dame with 16 points each. The Irish shot 46.8 percent from the field, 43.5 percent on three-pointers and had 16 assists on 22 field goals. Virginia (12-9, 5-5 ACC) shot 45.8 percent from the floor.

Here are three observations from the game.

BOX SCORE

1. Another productive Nate Laszewski outing

Call it urgency. A mean streak. Aggressiveness. Confidence. Some combination of them all.

Whatever it is, Laszewski has asserted himself and hunted his shot the last few games after beginning ACC play with five single-digit scoring games in six outings. In those five, he ranged from on the periphery to downright invisible on offense.

RELATED

• Four-star CB Christian Gray takes in fifth Notre Dame visit; what’s next in his recruitment?

• Four-star 2023 QB Christopher Vizzina on Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees: ‘You can relate to him’

It started with the Howard game, which Notre Dame doesn’t win without his productive second half. After Saturday, he has scored at least 16 points in three of his last four games and taken at least eight shots in each. He has 14 free throw attempts in those three contests after 11 in his first 16 games of the year.

Laszewski went 3-of-5 on three-pointers and 3-of-5 from the foul line in 28 turnover-less minutes. Once again, he hunted his three-point shot. He attacked closeouts. He drew four fouls at the rim. This is the involvement Notre Dame has needed from him all year and is consistently receiving now.

2. Paul Atkinson Jr. returns to prominence

Notre Dame’s third-leading scorer has found himself as the odd man out as part of some in-game adjustments of late. Brey downshifted to a four-guard lineup in the second half of Wednesday’s win over North Carolina State and the Jan. 17 victory at Howard, putting Laszewski at the five and sending Atkinson to the bench. Atkinson also played just eight second-half minutes Jan. 22 at Louisville.

This game was one for him. Brey knew it. Atkinson did too.

Notre Dame fed him early and fed him often in the post. It ran offense through him in the high post and hurled plentiful pick-and-rolls at Virginia. The result was Atkinson’s 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes – tied for the second-most minutes he has played in a game this year. He played 16 minutes in the second half.

Even though Atkinson only had two points after halftime, he kicked to Laszewski for a three-pointer and found him on a high-low pass for a layup. On defense, he had two blocks and a steal.

3. Notre Dame defensive rebounding dips, but recovers

Arguably the most consistent part of Notre Dame’s season has been its defensive rebounding.

Notre Dame came into the game allowing opponents to rebound just 22.9 percent of their misses, which ranked 19^th nationally. The Irish had even shut down Kentucky – the nation’s best offensive rebounding team – on the glass earlier in the year. Virginia wasn’t a likely challenger – it doesn’t aggressively crash the glass on offense and ranked 162^nd in offensive rebounding rate.

The Cavaliers, though, hung around in the first half by rebounding eight of their first 13 misses. That’s 61.5 percent, nearly triple what Notre Dame allows. Virginia forward Jayden Gardner grabbed five by himself in the first half. All told, 14 of Virginia’s 27 first-half points came on second chances.

Enough was enough. After that listless start, Notre Dame rebounded all but four of Virginia’s 19 missed shots. Laszewski and Atkinson pulled down five defensive rebounds each. Virginia clawed back in the second half because it shot 56.7 percent and forced a few late turnovers, but plugging the uncharacteristic leak on the glass gave the Cavaliers one less way to fuel their near-comeback.