Thursday is St. Patrick's Day, so it was only fitting that Notre Dame had the luck of the Irish on their side in their epic battle against Rutgers in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night. The Fighting Irish pulled out an absolutely bonkers 89-87 double-overtime win on a Paul Atkinson Jr. putback in the final seconds. This answered a Ron Harper Jr. 3-pointer just moments before, which threatened to send the game to a third overtime.
After the thrilling win, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said he wanted to celebrate on the plane in the most fitting way possible:
Notre Dame has to fly to San Diego and play at 4 pm Friday
‘There better be some Irish whiskey on that plane. I’m drinking some of that,’ Mike Brey tells @JonRothstein https://t.co/g143ymM4WG
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 17, 2022
I like where his head is at.
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As noted, 11th-seeded Notre Dame must turn around from this wild game and get ready for an NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against sixth-seeded Alabama. A little Irish whiskey on the plane to San Diego is a nice way to celebrate the victory, but the celebration won't last long.
This game was a close one throughout, and it looked like Notre Dame was in big trouble at the end of the first overtime when Paul Mulcahy put Rutgers up by two with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Luckily for the Fighting Irish, Blake Wesley responded with a layup in the final seconds to send the game to that second overtime, where they ultimately prevailed.
Notre Dame is now 23-10 on the season and will have a fighting chance against Alabama. The Crimson Tide are just 19-13 on the season, though they did play the toughest schedule in college basketball this season. It should be a good one, and perhaps there will be more Irish whiskey waiting for Brey if Notre Dame pulls off an upset.
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