The Notre Dame basketball team lives to fight another day! And while the ACC Tournament first round tilt against the Pittsburgh Panthers was not remotely pretty, a win is a win is a win, especially when the difference between playing on and the season being over.
The 55-54 win over Pittsburgh wasn’t perfect. There were some real problems. And the end was more than a little controversial. However, Micah Shrewsberry’s squad is onto the next round of the ACC Tournament thanks to some grit, some luck and a little help.
Notre Dame basketball won without Markus Burton’s best game
The Notre Dame basketball team won its final regular season game against Cal thanks to Markus Burton scoring 43 points. On Tuesday, the Irish managed to win their first ACC tournament game even though Burton scored just 10 points.
He had an objectively lousy game, hitting just 4-for-14 shots from the field. He also had a team-high 6 turnovers.
Turnovers came at a breakneck pace
There have certainly been times this season when the Fighting Irish have simply not been very good offensively, especially. But there might not have been a worse offensive performance than what Notre Dame did for most of the second half on Tuesday.
It’s not like the offense was very good in the first half either. In total, the Irish had 17 turnovers. They forced just 11. It’s pretty incredible that they managed to be in the game, let alone win it.
The controversial ending for Notre Dame basketball
With the score tied at 54 and less than a second remaining, Burton attempted a shot and Tae Davis grabbed the offensive rebound and tried to put it back up. The refs called a foul by Pittsburgh's Zack Austin that even the announcers couldn’t see, and with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Davis made one of his two free throws, giving the Notre Dame basketball team a one-point lead and eventually led to a win.
Needless to say, the Panthers were not happy with the ticky-tack foul to win a game with Pittsburgh's head coach, Jeff Capel, expressing his frustration over the decision, describing it as "the worst way I've ever seen to end a ball game." Capel also needed to go an pull Austin away from the refs as they left the court, apparently worried things could escalate quickly.
It’s hardly the way you’d like to see the Notre Dame football team move on, but that’s in the past, now it’s time to get ready for North Carolina at 2:30 this afternoon. It’s worth pointing out the Irish lost to the Tarheels by just one point (74-73) the last time the two squads met.