Irish overwhelmed by No. 3 Cavaliers’ defense

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Poor weather forced Virginia to arrive in South Bend at about 10:30 p.m. Friday.

On Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame was the ice-cold team.

The Irish missed their first nine shots and never recovered, falling to the third-ranked Cavaliers and their well-oiled defensive machine 82-55 at Purcell Pavilion.

“That’s men versus boys,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “They kind of took our spirit. We couldn’t get into any offensive rhythm and it affected us defensively and it affected our fight, which was disappointing. We played discouraged, which a lot of people do against them.”

Virginia (18-1, 6-1 ACC) scored the game’s first 12 points and any thoughts of an upset quickly vanished for the Irish (11-9, 1-6). Notre Dame’s first points came on a basket by John Mooney with 13:35 remaining in the first half.

“When they punched us in the first half, we didn’t really have an answer,” said Notre Dame guard T.J. Gibbs, who scored nine points on 4 of 12 shooting.

“It’s hard to start off down so much and having to fight back the whole game, especially against a good, active defensive team,” Gibbs said. “We just have to have a better start than that in both halves and keep pushing through and fighting.”

Gibbs couldn’t pinpoint a particular reason for the rough start.

“We got some good shots that just didn’t go down for us,” Gibbs said.

Mooney had his sixth consecutive doubledouble, finishing with team highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 6-for-15, part of a 22-for-61 (36.1 percent) effort by the Irish. Virginia shot 52.2 percent (35-for-67).

“I can’t say enough with how impressed I am with (Virginia),” Brey said. “They can win the national championship. They are men that have won together and who are polished and we are the exact opposite right now searching and trying to build it.

“That was a perfect storm that hit us right between the eyes.”

Five Cavaliers scored in double figures, led by De’Andre Hunter’s 19 points. Kyle Guy made 6 of 8 shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, for 15 points.

“I told our guys before if you’re ready to play, you’re ready to play, regardless of when you get here,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “It’s always important to get off to a good start, but certainly on the road where the crowd maybe pushes them back a little early.”

Virginia went on a 23-5 run in the second half to push the lead to 30 points and send the Irish to their fourth consecutive loss.

Things don’t get easier for the Irish, who host No. 2 Duke on Monday. Brey’s immediate attention was on having a solid Sunday practice.

“If you’re not ready to compete, you’re going to take another big punch,” Brey said.