No. 10 Irish welcome rival Louisville to Purcell Pavilion on Thursday night

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - On Thursday night, Notre Dame’s ACC rival — and former Big East rival— Louisville comes to Purcell Pavilion for the first of two meetings between the two teams before the regular season wraps up.

The No. 10 Irish are hoping to snap a 4-game losing streak to the Cardinals.

If you remember last year’s matchups, they were pretty one-sided. Louisville swept the season series, with an average margin of victory of 24 points.

The returners on Notre Dame’s team this year remember those games, and head coach Niele Ivey says they’re ready to finish their regular season on a winning streak.

“Yeah, I think they all know,” Ivey said. “If you can remember the score last year, being in that moment so I think our upper classmen, our juniors, sophomores — the ones that have had that experience with them — they know. They know what this game means. It’s a revenge game to be honest. It’s an opportunity to bounce back from those two losses last year.

“At this point, we have four more games,” she added. “Everybody’s fighting for a spot, so every game matters. And having that mindset, no matter if that’s Louisville, we have Pitt, we have Georgia Tech, we have Louisville again. These games really, really matter. So, having that mentality, you have to come in with that swagger every game from here on out.”

The Irish are sitting in second place in the ACC. Louisville enters unranked, but is currently fourth in the league.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday. The game will air on ESPN.

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