The biggest takeaway for this early season was that Notre Dame was talented, but the young team hadn’t learned how to win just yet. With losses to Radford, Oklahoma and UCLA all by a combined 11 points, it was the learning curve the Irish had to overcome.
It was hard to look at Notre Dame in their back-to-back losses and say they hadn’t been getting better. They looked more comfortable and confident on the floor each time. Against Purdue, they may have put together their best performance of the season.
It wasn’t the defense that had Irish fans worried.