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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish fall to Louisville, ACC Tournament fate in the hands of North Carolina

By Noah Strackbein

Mar 4, 2017; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with forward Mangok Mathiang (12) during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 71-64. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with forward Mangok Mathiang (12) during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 71-64. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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In a close game through the entire 40 minutes, Notre Dame basketball fell to the hands of Louisville and put their ACC Tournament fate in the hands of North Carolina.

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After taking an early lead behind Louisville’s turnover out of the gate, Notre Dame started this game off on the right foot. Although it was sloppy from the beginning, the Irish claiming an early advantage looked to be a promising start to this final regular season showdown.

But with a solid second half from Louisville and the outstanding efforts of Quentin Snider, the Cardinals put Notre Dame away within the final minutes to secure a victory and left the ACC Tournament future in the outcome of Duke vs North Carolina.

Behind Bonzie Colson’s 20 points and five rebounds, the Irish did everything they could to stay in this one. With V.J. Beachem finishing with 17 points and eight boards, including three big shots from deep, and Matt Farrell racking up 11 points, eight assists, and three steals, the Irish made this final showdown a nail bitter right to the final buzzer.

It’s hard to beat the Cardinals, though, when their stars are hitting. Snider’s 17 points including four threes were nearly unstoppable. During the second half, the junior guard was in on almost every one of Louisville’s offensive scoring possessions.

Before the game, predictions were that the winner of the backcourt battle would win this game. Well, while Farrell and Steve Vasturia combined for 19 points, Snider and Donovan Mitchell added 37 points and seven three-pointers to their team’s scoreboard. In a game many believed would be decided by the guard play, the Cardinals ball handlers were perfect in almost every way.

Listen: It's conference tournament time

Now, the fate of the ACC standings comes down to Duke vs North Carolina and Miami vs Florida State. With a handful of scenarios still in play, the Irish may have a shot at the No. 2 seed still in sight. But without the help of a few teams, Notre Dame can fall as far as the fifth seed.

The final ACC Tournament standings will be decided by the last two ACC matchups of the regular season. Miami vs FSU has already begun while North Carolina vs Duke tips off at 8:15 pm EST.