clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Notre Dame Is Looking Forward To A Rematch

As the Irish prepare for the Blue Devils Tuesday in Durham

NCAA Basketball: Duke at Notre Dame
Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Matthew Hurt (21) shoots over Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Duke’s season has been up and down but in case anyone was wondering if Notre Dame had forgotten about the first game between these two teams, which was one of Duke’s better performances this year, the answer is, uh....no. Not quite.

Irish head coach and former Duke assistant Mike Brey has said that it “sticks in my craw a little bit.”

He went on: “I was really disappointed in how we fought, how we turned the ball over,” Brey said. “We were coming off a great win at Kentucky and had a chance to beat Kentucky and Duke in a five-day span.

“I just thought we went back on our heels, hung our heads.”

We’re sure his team hasn’t forgotten either, even if he had let them.

The one big change in this game is that Duke didn’t have Jalen Johnson in South Bend. He should have a major impact on this one.

Incidentally, if you haven’t noticed, this game is at an odd time: 4:30 on a Tuesday. Duke fans who don’t look carefully might assume it’s a 7:00 or 9:00 start.