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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish defeat Boston College, decide ACC Tournament fate in Louisville

By Noah Strackbein

Mar 1, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) dribbles as Boston College Eagles forward A.J. Turner (11) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) dribbles as Boston College Eagles forward A.J. Turner (11) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame basketball took care of business against Boston College like many believed they would. Now, the Irish head to Louisville with a chance at the second seed in the ACC Tournament.

After defeating Boston College 82-66, the Fighting Irish now control their destiny for the ACC Tournament. As they travel to Louisville to play the Cardinals in the final game of the regular season, they decide who heads into the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed.

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Notre Dame enters this game red hot on a six-game winning streak which makes this the most important game of the ACC’s regular season. Although the Irish can’t snag the top spot, earning a two-round bye for the conference tournament gives them a much-needed and well-deserved rest.

The seniors took home their final victory in South Bend, and now, they can look forward to making the most out of their final run in blue and gold. Getting this win against the Cardinals is where the final chapter of their Notre Dame story begins.

Even though you want to look at Notre Dame’s first meeting with the Cardinals and think they have the upper hand, you can’t. Both of these teams were completely different when they played. Now, as Notre Dame has as new lineup and Louisville brought back Quentin Snider, these two teams are fully loaded for this final game.

The Irish may have momentum and the luck of their gold jerseys, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to win. Louisville has been a tough opponent to anyone this season. Behind Donovan Mitchell’s all-star season, this team is becoming more and more dangerous with each game.

Despite their upset to Wake Forest, Louisville has all the tools to beat the Irish. Everyone hits a bump in the road and for the Cardinals it was this game. To the Irish, Louisville is just as scary as they were before their loss to the Demon Deacons. Louisville may not be fighting for the second seed anymore, but they still need this win to stay in the top five in the conference.

The pressure is on both teams which helps Notre Dame. They come into this meeting the underdog, but an underdog who’s on fire. They pose more of a threat to the Cardinals than anyone could right now. In fact, at the moment, they probably constitute a threat to anyone in the conference.

There are three days to prepare, but both teams will use every second of them to look at the end goal. A win against Louisville and Notre Dame goes from a team no one expected to be relevant this season to the second seed in the toughest conference in college basketball. Not bad for a bunch of nobodies, huh?

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Notre Dame travels to Louisville Saturday, March 4th. By the end of the final 40 minutes of the regular season, Notre Dame or Florida State will be in second place in the ACC. For Notre Dame, they could also be the biggest Cinderella story of the regular season.