Niele Ivey and Notre Dame must be excited to leave the Caribbean and return to Indiana…in December. After back-to-back losses in the Cayman Islands Classic, Notre Dame looks to get on the right track with a home game against Vic Schaefer’s undefeated Texas Longhorns, who are steadily building national title ambitions.

No. 4 Texas at No. 10 Notre Dame

Venue: Joyce Center – South Bend, Indiana.
Time: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Streaming: Fubo (Get Access | Save $30)

Texas had a lot more fun on its trip to Estero, Florida. The Longhorns defeated New Mexico State by 40 points, beat Butler by 35 points and then survived a scoring breakthrough from Ja’Naiya Quinerly to top West Virginia and clinch the Gulf Coast Showcase. Freshman Justice Carlton dropped 30 points in the Butler game, only her sixth collegiate appearance. And senior Aaliyah Moore scored 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the win at West Virginia.

These Longhorns are electrifying. They rank second nationally in offensive rating and fourth in scoring. All-American Madison Booker averages 16 points in less than 25 minutes per night. Six different rotation players are 50 percent or more from the floor.

Notre Dame may have lost two straight games in Grand Cayman, but the Irish are just two weeks removed from an impressive road win over JuJu Watkins and USC.

All-American Hannah Hidalgo is doing better – it’s a scary sight. She is shooting up to 39.4 percent from behind the arc and is averaging an absurd 4.6 steals while scoring 23.9 points per game. The sophomore is patient with the ball in her hands but relentless and demanding on defense.

Hidalgo’s teammates also shined. Ukrainian freshman Kate Koval is second best in the country with an average of 3.7 blocks per game and looks to be a star talent if she can minimize her turnovers (currently averaging four per game).

The Fighting Irish are ranked 15th in Basketball Reference’s simple ranking system, which takes into account point differential and strength of schedule. The Longhorns are ranked second.

Memorable Matchup: In the second round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame defeated Texas 86-83. The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish made it to the first Final Four appearance of Muffet McGraw’s storied career. They lost to eventual national champion Tennessee.

(Photo by Hannah Hidalgo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)