"It's almost like she's playing 1 on 5": Hoops analyst pinpoints Notre Dame's shortcomings despite Hannah Hidalgo's impressive season

The woes continued for Hannah Hidalgo and No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday, as they fell to Duke 61-54 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. This marks the Fighting Irish's third loss in their last five games.

Hidalgo, the ACC's second-leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, contributed 23 points, but her teammates struggled to get going offensively.

On Sunday's episode of ESPN Countdown to College GameDay, analyst and bracketologist Charlie Creme broke down what he saw as the key reason for Niele Ivey's team struggles, pinpointing the team's over-reliance on Hannah Hidalgo.

"One of the many questions we have about Notre Dame, but one of the big ones, is the chemistry," Creme said (at 3:33). "Hidalgo, when she has the ball in her hand, it's almost like she's playing 1 on 5.

"[Olivia] Miles was a lights-out shooter for a stretch in January into February. She's not making three-pointers the way she did, she's not running the offense the way she did. She's lost a little of her aggressiveness going to the basket as well and setting up teammates."

Creme went on to say that the time off before the NCAA Tournament, where the Fighting Irish are likely to be a high seed, will allow the coaching staff to go back to the drawing board and figure out the issues with the team's offensive chemistry.

Apart from Olivia Miles, who scored 10 points, the rest of the Irish roster combined for just 23 points against the Blue Devils.

The starting duo of Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld did not score a single point — resulting in Notre Dame's lowest scoring output of the season, 24 points below their season average.

ACC regular season and tournament titles slip away despite Hannah Hidalgo's efforts

Notre Dame went 15-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference play, sitting comfortably atop the league standings before their late-season swoon. They almost clinched the ACC regular season title but fell short, losing twice in their final three games.

The slide extended to the ACC Tournament, where they lost the semifinal against Duke, thus failing to defend the title held the previous season. Hannah Hidalgo was left without any prize for all of her efforts.

While the Irish have struggled in recent weeks, their impressive 26-5 record, including wins over top teams such as USC, Texas, UConn and North Carolina, should still earn them a favorable seed in March Madness.