Sunday night, the Notre Dame men's basketball team hosted a rare ACC game on a night when nearly all weekend games are played on Saturdays. It was a rare stand-along game for Irish and Louisville giving them the center stage on the ACC Network.
After a close back-and-forth first half and early second half, the Cardinals pulled away in the final 10 minutes to post a, 75-60, victory in South Bend. The loss dropped Notre Dame to 11-14 overall and 5-10 in the ACC, while Louisville remained hot on the heels of both Clemson and Duke at the top of the standings.
After the game, Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry met with the media and what has turned into another frustrating season, the veteran coach unleashed a rant that clearly shows frustration is reaching its boiling point.
Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry goes on an epic rant after loss to Louisville
"I sat there and I watched more Louisville fans in here than Notre Dame fans. And that's embarrassing, that's embarrassing for me 'cause I'm the head coach here,'' Shrewsberry said. "And yes, I got us in this predicament. But don't come back when we're winning, we're turning this around. You better believe that. Everybody that gave up on me, write this date down, and believe me we're going to get this rolling."
You can understand Shrewsberry's frustration for a team with talent that just hasn't been able to put it together. They went toe-to-toe for 30-plus minutes against Louisville before the Cardinals' took over. On Feb. 8, Notre Dame held a double-digit first-half lead on Virginia Tech at home, only to have the Hokies cut the deficit at the end of the half. In the second half, the Irish blew another big second-half lead to fall, 65-63.
What happens the rest of the season for Notre Dame is going to be interesting as they are now in a battle to survive falling into the last three spots in the ACC standings and missing out on the conference next month. Like the Hokies, they need to pile up some wins over the next couple of weeks to avoid that happening. If we're being honest, it wouldn't have been surprising to see something like this from Mike Young this season in Blacksburg.