Practice wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Following a fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference loss, Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry guaranteed it.
Minutes after a 91-69 loss to No. 24 North Carolina on Wednesday, Jan. 21, Shrewsberry said he would watch a replay of the game on the flight home. He would watch it again when he arrived at the office on Thursday. He would craft a practice plan for the next two days that demanded more of the Irish.
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More hustle. More hard work. A few more calluses.
“I’ve been too nice to them; I’ve been too soft on them to be ready to fight and compete in an environment like (North Carolina),” Shrewsberry said. “I’ve got to get us gritty and grimy to sustain what we need to do. We’ve got to do it practice.
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“That’s the only way to be ready to do it. To do it every day, we’ve got to push them harder in what we do. That’s what they need.”
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When is Notre Dame basketball vs Boston College?
Who: Notre Dame (10-9; 1-5 ACC) vs Boston College (9-10; 2-4)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 24
Start time: 6 p.m. (note special start time)
Site: Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
What channel is Notre Dame basketball v Boston College?
Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend. Also on SiriusXM on ACC Radio and channels 955 and 956. You can also listen live free on Audacy.
Series history between Notre Dame basketballand Boston College
Notre Dame leads 29-17, 16-7 at home and 17-7 as ACC colleagues.
The Irish have won two straight after losing two in a row and six of seven. Notre Dame once won 13 straight between 2005-19. The Irish won both meetings last season, 78-60 in South Bend and 97-94 in double overtime in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Boston College is one of two repeat opponents this season (Stanford) for Notre Dame. The teams meet March 7 in Chestnut Hill.
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Notre Dame basketball versus Boston College storylines
As February nears, the race begins to stay out of the bottom three spots in the conference standings. Those three will not be invited to the 15-team ACC Tournament. If the season ended today, the bottom three would be Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Florida State.
Notre Dame started 7-0 at Purcell Pavilion but has lost three straight, including its first two ACC home games each by double digits. Why have the Irish lost five straight and six of seven? Not winning at home since Dec. 13 (who remembers that one?) has a lot to do with it. That must cease moving forward.
After losing four straight and five of seven, Boston College has won two straight with home wins over Syracuse and Pittsburgh. The Eagles erased a four-point deficit with 1:21 left in regulation to force the extra session against the Orange, then got a Boden Kapke 3 with 22 seconds left to beat Pittsburgh, 65-62 on Wednesday. Boston College comes to town with something Notre Dame lacks – momentum.
Keep an eye on …Boston College PG Fred Payne
Something about league play agrees with Payne, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard from Grambling, Louisiana.
That wasn’t always the case. Payne struggled in the ACC opener against Georgia Tech (1-for-13 from the field, 0-for-7 from 3, two points) but has found his league flow. Since that struggle, Payne has scored double figures in each of the next five games, including four of at least 20 points. He had a season high 26 against Syracuse, then had 16 of his 18 in the second half against Pittsburgh.
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Payne is the Eagles’ leading scorer (14.9 ppg) and tied for the team high in minutes (33.9). Boston College is more than just gifted guard Donald Hand Jr. Just look at Payne. He can play.
Notre Dame WG Ryder Frost
We might have arrived at the point where Frost gets more run to see exactly what the Irish have in the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder from Beverly, Massachusetts. The 10th man in a rotation that rarely stretched past nine, Frost has played more minutes and done more in two of the last three games.
Frost had seven points (all in a row) and two rebounds in 11 minutes against Miami. After not playing (coach’s decision) at Virginia Tech, Frost had 10 points and three rebounds in 14 minutes at No. 24 North Carolina. It’s been difficult to consistently get to Frost (3.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 6.4 mpg). He doesn’t have the handles like a pure guard, and he’s a bit undersized to bang around the post as a forward. He’s also stuck behind Jalen Haralson and Sir Mohammed on the wing.
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Notre Dame basketball 2025-26 schedule
Oct. 17 at Butler (W, 77-76) Exhibition
Oct. 24 DEPAUL (L, 69-62) Exhibition
Nov. 3 LIU BROOKLYN (W, 89-67; 1-0)
Nov. 7 DETROIT MERCY (W, 102-70; 2-0)
Nov. 11 EASTERN ILLINOIS, (W, 78-58; 3-0)
Nov. 16 At Ohio State, (L, 64-63; 3-1)
Nov. 19 BELLARMINE (W, 86-79; 4-1)
Nov. 24 vs Kansas (L, 71-61; 4-2)
Nov. 25 vs Rutgers (W, 68-63; 5-2)
Nov. 26 vs. Houston (L, 66-56; 5-3)
Dec. 2 MISSOURI (W 76-71; 6-3)
Dec. 5 At TCU (W, 87-85 OT; 7-3)
Dec. 10 IDAHO, (W, 80-65; 8-3)
Dec. 13 EVANSVILLE, (W, 82-58; 9-3)
Dec. 21 PURDUE FORT WAYNE, (L, 72-69; 9-4)
Dec. 30 At Stanford (W, 47-40; 10-4; 1-0 ACC)
Jan. 2 At California (L, 72-71; 10-5; 1-1 ACC)
Jan. 10 CLEMSON (L, 76-61; 10-6; 1-2)
Jan. 13 MIAMI (Fla.) (L, 81-69; 10-7; 1-3)
Jan. 17 At Virginia Tech (L, 89-76; 10-8; 1-4)
Jan. 21 At North Carolina, (L, 91-69; 10-9; 1-5)
Jan. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE, 6 p.m. (ACCN)
Jan. 27 VIRGINIA, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
Jan. 31 At Syracuse, 6 p.m., (The CW)
Feb. 4 At Louisville, 7 p.m. (ESPN/U)
Feb. 7 FLORIDA STATE, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
Feb. 10 At SMU, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
Feb. 14 GEORGIA TECH, 12 p.m. (The CW)
Feb. 21 At Pittsburgh, 2 p.m. (ACCN)
Feb. 24 DUKE, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
Feb. 28 NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 12 p.m. (The CW)
March 3 STANFORD, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
March 7 At Boston College, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
March 10-14 ACC Tournament (Charlotte) TBD.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame basketball vs Boston College time, TV, streaming