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SOUTH BEND – Before the Notre Dame men’s basketball players hunker down for exam week, the Irish have one more test to pass on the court.
Notre Dame (9-1) plays host to Loyola Marymount (3-7) at 7 p.m. today. The men’s game is preceded by the women’s game as the No. 3 Irish (8-0) play Valparaiso (3-4) at 2 p.m.
“If we stay focused this week, we will be ready to play (today) and get this stretch done here,” Irish forward Tim Abromaitis said.
After tonight’s game, the Irish will have a seven-day break before playing host to UCLA at 2 p.m. Dec. 19.
It will be Notre Dame’s first extended time between games since the start of the season. The Irish, off to their best start since going 13-1 to begin the 2006-07 season, opened this season playing seven games in 15 days.
Things slowed down at the start of December with four games, including tonight, in the first two weeks.
“We’ve enjoyed playing a lot of games, putting the uniform on,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “I won’t see them until Wednesday. We will play Saturday night, and I’ll go on the road recruiting a little bit and they will get ready for exams. It’s a tricky time next week.”
The Lions are led by Drew Viney, who sat out last season after transferring from Oregon. The 6-foot-7 forward averages 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Loyola will be without guard Larry Davis, the team’s second leading scorer who averages 13.2 points. Davis has missed the last five games with an Achilles injury and isn’t expected to return until January.
The Lions are also missing center Edgar Garibay, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
“They’ve got some new faces. I guess the Davis kid is hurt right now,” Brey said of Loyola Marymount, which Notre Dame defeated last season 65-54 in Los Angeles.
“We are getting to the end of a segment. We will be on the floor for maybe an hour and 15 minutes Friday, shoot for 30 minutes (this) afternoon and blow it out (tonight) and hopefully have a good result. Then go take care of academic business.”
