Notre Dame basketball

In a matchup of No. 11 seeds, Notre Dame defeated Rutgers 89-87 on Wednesday. "That was an unbelievable college basketball game," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey ...

"I slept great, breakfast tasted good, I got the Wordle in two guesses," he said. "Being excited is great, but this is a mature group, and we know what's ahead of us," Ryan said. Brey, speaking to TruTV after the game, joked that "there better be some Irish whiskey on that plane." We came into this game packed for San Diego. We're on to the next one and we're fired up. Plus, I've got my teammates to cheer with, got family up in the stands, couldn't ask for anything better." Indiana, which won in Dayton on Tuesday night, had a delayed departure to Portland, Oregon, and arrived around 7 a.m. Wednesday. We've grown a lot in the mental toughness area." Notre Dame senior guard Cormac Ryan, who had 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, said he has likely never played in a more exciting game. Brey said he wouldn't be surprised if one of the tournament's first games turns out to be its best. Irish leading scorer Blake Wesley drove and missed a layup, but Atkinson put back the miss. For it to come down for them like that, it's just upsetting, it's devastating, heartbreaking. Notre Dame overcame two long 3-pointers by Rutgers guard Ron Harper Jr., a banked-in trey in the first overtime and another to tie the score at 87-87 in the second extra session.

The Notre Dame basketball team was the final team to punch their ticket to the Field of 64, beating Rutgers 89-87 in 2OT in the First Four.

These are the kind of victories that can push a team to a significant run in the NCAA Tournament, as the Irish showed their resistance time and time again. Atkinson Jr. finished the game with 26 points, including the final basket, an offensive rebound that was put back in with under three seconds left. Now the No. 11 seed in the West Region, Notre Dame basketball dominated the paint against Rutgers, scoring over 50 points down low.

Get live March Madness updates here. Follow along as Notre Dame basketball takes on Rutgers in the First Four round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame center Paul Atkinson Jr. is playing like a man on a mission, shooting eight-for-ten from the field for ten points and nabbing four rebounds. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Rutgers went into the locker room leading Notre Dame, 41-36. He has five points on the day. More on Notre Dame:Rutgers, Notre Dame once were Big East colleagues in the Big East The Scarlet Knights (18-13) have won two of its past three games, including an impressive, 66-63, buzzer-beater win over Indiana University on March 3rd. Notre Dame center Paul Atkinson is five-of-five from the field for 10-points. The first half was very much back-and-forth with Notre Dame shooting 54-percent from the field and Rutgers shooting 58-percent. The Rutgers (22) are out-rebounding Notre Dame (17), but still pretty even-kilt. Notre Dame guard Dane Goodwin hits a major three to give the Fighting Irish a second half boost. Notre Dame keeps on fightin' and pushes its late second half the lead. After a double overtime outing, Notre Dame advances to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Rutgers, 89-87, in Dayton, OH.

The Fighting Irish pulled out a dramatic 89-87 victory in double-overtime over Rutgers to advance from the First Four and face Alabama on Friday in San ...

And I will continue to say that for the next five hours in the air to San Diego. And I wanted to talk to some of their players because I think they've got a heck of a team. And again we're going to talk -- we talked about -- my quote was let's use Dayton as a springboard. I was fortunate enough to make that play, and that was just the first of many, many plays down the stretch that this group made. We wanted to press and get a trap, and if we couldn't get a steal, we had to foul right away. You talk to the Rutgers coach and congratulate him because, you know, it comes to an end quick. Q. You mentioned this may end up being the game of the tournament. Our guy that can get to the lane the best, we came up and had two ball screens for him. It wasn't like effort -- and then all of a sudden the one they got and dunked it, I'm like come on. And to do it in this atmosphere on this stage, it's a blessing. We got some buckets to go in and we matched up and we played. Q. Cormac, in overtime when the ball was tipped and you caught it, what was going through your head?

The Notre Dame basketball team takes on Rutgers in the First Four tonight, and here is everything you need to get ready for the action.

Notre Dame and Rutgers match up pretty well in this one, and it could come down to which team is making it from the outside. Rutgers has a star down low in Clifford Omoruyi, but with how well Paul Atkinson Jr. is playing lately, the Irish should be able to keep him in check. The Notre Dame basketball team will try and punch their ticket to the Field of 64, as they take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the First Four tonight.

Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan believes a tough weekend of film and practice has done the. DAYTON, Ohio — March is a month for madness, not mistakes. Make too ...

Now’s not the time to think that this might be the last time many in this core do this together. Now’s not the time to go in the tank. Be who they had been for the better part of the last two months, only to see too much slippage on both ends from all involved the last few weeks. “They’ve always responded the two previous (times). They get a chance to do it again. The Irish had answers then. The trainer. It's what the Irish heard twice before during the regular season. The team chaplain. The Irish viewed the first 10 minutes of their quarterfinal loss to the Hokies. Those 600 seconds would tell them all they needed to know about why they had been such an easy out. It all was too much to overcome against a good team. Really, a pushover, a team that never led and spent the entire evening in scramble mode. Make too many of them at the wrong time, and college basketball teams find themselves going home earlier than expected.

Pat spoke to Aaron Breitman, Managing Editor at On The Banks, to get the lowdown on the Irish's First Four opponent for this evening.

They also need to make Notre Dame work on the defensive end and also force them to get back in transition. He was the first Rutgers player to shoot 39% from three-point range in a season last year for the first time in five years. Aaron Breitman: Rutgers has to defend well on the perimeter or I think they will face an uphill battle to win the game. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, he came through off the bench to score 13 points and grab 10 rebounds to beat Clemson. It was the program’s first win in the big dance in 38 years. I think that leads to McConnell needing to play a strong game defensively in which he is disruptive. I know that will be tough to do against Notre Dame but I expect RU to try and mix things up to try and force the Irish into mistakes. He isn’t a great shooter but he has the ability to catch fire and has made countless big shots over the years. A two-time finalist for the Julius Erving Award for the best small forward in college basketball, Harper Jr. is shooting 40% from three, has tremendous body control and ability to draw contact near the rim, while also shooting 80% from the foul line. In a nutshell, Rutgers has proven they can literally beat or lose to any team in the country. Last season, they were four minutes away from knocking off Houston and going to the Sweet 16 before blowing a 9 point lead. There was a winnable month in January they squandered with a stretch of three losses in four games against the bottom of the league teams. He completely changed the culture and trajectory of the program and while it took time, it was still faster than anyone had imagined he could do it in.

Two First Four games remain before the final 64-team NCAA Tournament is set, but it's likely one of the matchups will garner more attention. branding logo.

The Scarlet Knights likely earned their way into the tournament with a 6-6 Quad 1 record that included a four-game win streak over Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Purdue. All were ranked at the time, and all are in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame vs. They have three players, Blake Wesley (14.6), Dane Goodwin (13.9), and Paul Atkinson (12.3), who average more than 10 points per game. Half of The Sporting News' experts picks have the Scarlet Knights upsetting the Crimson Tide in Round 1, so this showdown could be one of the first "bracket busters" of the Tournament. Wright State, there's a reason the meeting between Notre Dame (22-10) out of the ACC and Rutgers (18-13) out of the Big Ten is the headliner of the night. Not only does it have more name recognition, but also because whoever advances between the Fighting Irish and Scarlet Knights will match up against 6-seed Alabama in the first round.

Today is the day that Rutgers men's basketball takes on Notre Dame in the First Four round of the NCAA Tournament! The two No. 11 seeds will play at 9:10 ...

It happened after the Maui Invitational, it happened after the Boston College loss, it happened after the IU loss, it happened after a near-loss to Howard, and it happened after the Duke loss — the Irish responded with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, and played a great next game. And I guess the Big Ten matchup is sort of fun locally considering all the IU and Purdue and other Big Ten fans in the area, but I wouldn’t say it adds a ton. The holiday isn’t adding much for me, but that might also be because all the holiday festivities happened last weekend (at least here in Chicago, where I live). At that point, Mike Brey will probably try to run the offense through Paul Atkinson Jr. post-ups and getting Wesley ball screens so he can drive to the hoop, but those aren’t always consistent options and need the threat of the three to help them find the room they need to maneuver. Instead, there’s a little less ball movement, more forced threes (especially early in the shot clock), and their shooters often miss the good opportunities they DO get. PS: I wouldn’t say they COMPLETELY live or die by the three just because they still have Wesley’s slashing ability, Atkinson’s low-post offense, and Goodwin’s mid-range game to fall back on (and they’re barely top 100 nationally in total three-point attempts), but I’d also be lying if I said the Irish can easily or typically find success without the three-point shot. That’s kind of intuitive, considering 30+ points from three-point land means any team getting that is probably shooting pretty well, but the fact the Irish have a losing record when not getting 30+ points from deep means Rutgers can really improve their chances in this one by running Notre Dame off the three-point line and forcing them to win with twos, or at least forcing them to hit contested shots. And, he leads all Irish perimeter players in turnovers, which is going to happen when you’re handling the ball so much, but can be a problem when he gets a bit out of control and sloppy with his drives to the hoop. Then, Hubb and Wesley are your typical streaky high-confidence guys — they both shoot 32% from deep but won’t let that stop them from launching, and if they’re feeling it, they’ll look like 50% shooters on those nights (and on their bad nights, will look like 15% shooters). They’re a team that probably won’t get blown out and certainly has the offensive firepower to pull off a nice win if they’re feelin’ it, but for the most part they’re not a particularly tough or defensively-minded team, don’t exactly have oodles of athleticism, and are more likely to come up short against tourney-level competition than not. PS: He’s been a game-changer, just because he brings an athleticism, aggression, and skill set that no one else on the Notre Dame team really has. This is definitely one of the best Q&A’s I’ve ever done with another SB Nation site and highly recommend you read what Patrick has to say about Notre Dame basketball ahead of tonight’s game.

SportsLine's Micah Roberts has locked in his expert picks for Notre Dame vs. Rutgers in the First Four 2022.

Rutgers is one of the best defensive teams in the conference. Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Rutgers vs. That ranks last in the conference and 334th in the country (out of 350 teams). Notre Dame? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? In addition, Notre Dame faces a Rutgers team that has struggled away from home. Roberts is leaning over on the point total, but his much stronger play is on the spread. In addition, he has been on a roll with his college basketball picks recently. He is 31-16 with his last 47 college basketball picks for a profit of $1,304. Cormac Ryan is on a roll. Rutgers matchup and locked in another confident against-the-spread pick. Notre Dame picks or First Four 2022 predictions, you have to see which side Vegas legend Micah Roberts is backing. The winner will advance to face No. 6 seed Alabama on Friday.

Rutgers is back in the Big Dance. But how long will it stay? The Scarlet Knights will take on Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament First Four on Wednesday ...

But as long as the Scarlet Knights can avoid those self-inflicted wounds -- and not lose their heads like they did in the Big Ten Tournament -- this feels like a classic Steve Pikiell speed limit game. That is a tailor-made matchup for Rutgers. As long as the Scarlet Knights can protect the arc, exert their trademark defensive pressure and win on the glass, they should be just fine.The possibility of Rutgers being sloppy with the ball or bricking a bunch of free throws does concern me, because those are two areas where Notre Dame excels and could swing things. Fact is, the Scarlet Knights have a much lengthier list of victories against quality opponents, and that toughness and experience will benefit them in a win-or-go-home atmosphere. Will Scarlet Knights advance in NCAA Tournament?Rutgers is back in the Big Dance. But how long will it stay?The Scarlet Knights will take on Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament First Four on Wednesday night (9:10 p.m. ET, truTV) in Dayton, Ohio. The winner will advance as an 11-seed to face 6-seed Alabama in the West Region on Friday in San Diego. Brian Fonseca, beat reporter: Notre Dame has a solid record (22-10, 15-5 in ACC) and some gaudy numbers (29th most efficient offense nationally, 19th nationally in 3-point percentage at 37.7%). But the Fighting Irish are paper tigers.Yes, they beat Kentucky at home in December, and yes, they’ve won 7 of their last 10 games, scoring at the 8th most efficient clip in the country in that span. Rutgers 71, Notre Dame 65.Rutgers is dancing in Dayton. Can Scarlet Knights make March run now?James Kratch, beat reporter: The Fighting Irish drill a lot of 3-pointers, but their offense is rather pedestrian on the whole. Rutgers must run the Irish off the 3-point line and take advantage of Notre Dame’s weak interior defense with drives and dishes to Cliff Omoruyi. If they can do both, Rutgers fans will be raising celebratory pints on St Patty’s Day. Rutgers 65, Notre Dame 60.Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.James Kratch may be reached at [email protected]. The Scarlet Knights have length that Notre Dame has rarely seen this season. Notre Dame has one good win in 2022, a road win over current 10-seed Miami. Rutgers, meanwhile, has four Quad 1 wins in its last nine games.The Irish do not turn the ball over and will not beat themselves, but they don’t force steals, block shots or do anything to take opponents out of rhythm, either. Look for Ron Harper Jr. to bounce back from a subpar shooting performance in the Big Ten Tournament and lead the way. The Scarlet Knights will prove that to everyone else with an emphatic First Four win. Rutgers 69, Notre Dame 63.Steve Politi, columnist: Mike Brey said he was perplexed how his second-place Notre Dame team could end up on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but going 15-5 in the ACC isn’t want it used to be. NewsChevron that denotes content that can open up.

The First Four provided an all-time classic and the college basketball world reacted accordingly on Twitter.

When Notre Dame and Rutgers met Wednesday in NCAA First Four game, it was like an old Big East game, though both schools now are in different leagues.

Even after Rutgers had a chance to win it at the end of regulation but didn’t. That gave the Irish another chance. That the Irish ignored the deficit and found a way out was big. Second half, Wesley gave the Irish their first lead with a drive to the bucket. Rutgers may play that grind-it, black-and-blue basketball in the Big Ten, but the lane was open early and often. Atkinson had a key block early in the second overtime, then a key rebound dunk. DAYTON, Ohio — This time of the year, it doesn’t matter how a team gets to the end of the game.

Notre Dame defeated Rutgers, 89-87, in double overtime Wednesday in a play-in game and will move on to face the Crimson Tide in the 6-11 matchup Friday, March ...

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