The Virginia Cavaliers (8-2, 4-0 ACC) used a career day from Casey Morsell and yet another dominant performance from Jay Huff to top the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-8, 0-5) on Wednesday evening in Charlottesville. Morsell, who has been out for the past two weeks after getting flagged through contact tracing protocols, went 6-7 from the field and 3-3 from long range, dropping 10 of his 15 points in the second half. Jay Huff added 18, making four threes at a 50 percent clip, while Sam Hauser flirted with another double-double, finishing with 15 and 9.
Virginia’s stifling defense limited Notre Dame’s ability to get in a rhythm all game long. After dropping 28 points in the teams’ last matchup, Nate Laszewski was held in check by Sam Hauser and others, finishing with just twelve points. Jay Huff picked up two blocks and locked down the paint, and the Hoos’ pack line defense got out on three-point shooters better than it has throughout much of this season.
Two top of the key threes from Jay Huff and a make from Casey Morsell put the Hoos in front early, and a nice post layup from Sam Hauser at the 7:23 mark opened up a double digit lead for the Hoos from which they never looked back. The Cavs were up by twelve at the half, and by the 12:00 minutes mark of the second half had opened up a 23-point lead. Notre Dame did their best to chip away, but a balanced offensive second half from the Hoos – five scorers finished with double figures – proved too difficult to overcome.
The Hoos travel to South Carolina this Saturday for a 6:00 PM showdown with the twelfth ranked Clemson Tigers in a matchup pitting two of the top teams in the ACC. Notre Dame is back in action on Saturday as well, hosting Boston College at 4:00 PM.
Footage Courtesy of ACC Network and UVA Athletics
