Notre Dame Shows Fight, But Late Louisville Run Seals the Deal in 76-65 Loss
LOUISVILLE - For about 30 minutes of basketball, Notre Dame looked like a team ready to punch above its weight. On the road against a ranked Louisville squad, the Irish came out swinging, built an early lead, and kept things tight well into the second half. But when the Cardinals hit the gas, Notre Dame couldn’t keep up, ultimately falling 76-65 in a game that was more competitive than the final score suggests.
Let’s break it down.
A Hot Start, But Trouble Brewing
Notre Dame came out firing. Four different players got on the board early, and by the first media timeout, the Irish had built an eight-point cushion thanks to a 4-for-6 start from the field. Cole Certa, Jalen Haralson, Micah Shrewsberry, and Carey Sundra all got in on the action, giving the Irish some early rhythm on the road.
Louisville, meanwhile, couldn’t buy a bucket early-starting just 1-of-9 from the floor. But a foul on a made three-pointer sparked a five-point swing, and just like that, the Cardinals were back in it.
Certa and Shrewsberry answered with back-to-back threes to restore a nine-point lead, but Louisville adjusted quickly, pounding the ball inside and capitalizing on Notre Dame turnovers. The result? A 12-2 run that gave the Cards their first lead at 19-18.
Freshman Ryder Frost briefly gave the Irish a lift off the bench with a corner triple, but Louisville began to assert itself late in the half. A 14-3 run put the Cardinals up by 10 with a minute left before halftime, though layups from Haralson and Certa helped Notre Dame trim the deficit to six heading into the break, 38-32.
Holding Their Own-Until They Couldn’t
Statistically, the first half was fairly even. Both teams shot 40% from the field, and Notre Dame actually outpaced Louisville from deep, hitting 5-of-13 from three (38.5%) while holding the Cardinals to just 4-of-17 (23.5%). But Louisville’s size and physicality were already starting to wear on the Irish.
That trend only intensified after the break.
Certa did everything he could to keep Notre Dame in it. The freshman sharpshooter knocked down back-to-back threes to cut the lead to five with just over 12 minutes to play. A few minutes later, a Mohammed jumper and a Brady Koehler layup brought the Irish within four at the 9:29 mark.
That’s when the wheels came off.
Louisville responded with a 14-0 run that stretched the lead to 19 and effectively put the game out of reach. The Irish didn’t score again until the 3:30 mark, and by then, it was too little, too late.
To their credit, Notre Dame closed the game on an 11-3 run, showing some fight even as the outcome was all but sealed.
Bright Spots in the Loss
Certa led the Irish with 18 points, including five three-pointers. He continues to show why he’s such a valuable piece for this young Notre Dame squad. Koehler added 11 points, and his four steals and two blocks were a testament to his energy on both ends of the floor.
Haralson finished with eight points and a team-high five assists, while Carson Towt did the dirty work on the glass, pulling down a team-best 10 rebounds to go with his six points.
But the numbers told a clear story. Notre Dame shot just 24-of-62 from the field, while Louisville hit 28-of-65. The Cardinals dominated the paint, scoring 40 points inside and winning the rebounding battle 46-35.
What’s Next
Notre Dame heads back to South Bend looking to regroup. They’ll return to Purcell Pavilion this weekend for a matchup with Florida State.
It’s “Irish Wear Green” night, and the team will be sporting the green jerseys on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. ET.
The game will be broadcast live on the CW.
There’s no sugarcoating the record-now 11-12 overall and 2-8 in conference play-but the Irish are still showing flashes of potential. If they can string together a full 40 minutes, there’s still time to turn some heads down the stretch.