NCAA Tournament March Madness is in full swing. Notre Dame nips Rutgers in 2OT First Four win

DAYTON, Ohio — How do you top that one? 

Can you top it? 

If you tried to script it, sorry, you couldn’t. 

This effort was off the charts ridiculous from a team that was this close from being left out of this NCAA party altogether. Just to get in, it had to bus to southwest Ohio and play in this First Four. But one more win by one more team last weekend, and Notre Dame isn’t in Dayton, Ohio this week. Its season is in mothballs. Its future uncertain. 

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Instead, Notre Dame has some serious Notre Dame swagger and a postseason heartbeat following an 89-87 double-overtime victory over fellow No. 11 seed Rutgers in a game that started Wednesday and finished Thursday at raucous University of Dayton Arena. 

“What an unbelievable game,” said Irish guard Cormac Ryan. 

What an understatement. 

Now we know why this is the permanent home of the First Four. Dayton delivered. So did Notre Dame. This was college basketball at its collective best. 

Go ahead and play the rest of college basketball’s premier event with the hope that at least one game along the way comes anywhere close to the drama, the big shots, the emotional swings as this one. 

This wasn’t First Four worthy. This was Final Four worthy. 

Can you top it? Doesn’t matter. All that does is the Irish get a chance to try after a Paul Atkinson, Jr., rebound and basket with 1.4 seconds remaining sent Notre Dame (22-10) to the west coast on an overnight flight for the ages. 

The Irish could run there with all the adrenaline that was still flowing. 

Atkinson’s bucket came two minutes after midnight, which means Notre Dame won on Saint Patrick’s Day. But don’t talk about any luck of the Irish or four-leaf clovers or anything else about that Irish holiday. 

There was no luck involved. 

Well, maybe a little. But these Irish earned this one. They took this one. They battled and they believed and in the end, made the plays needed to move on with the school’s first First Four win and the first double-overtime victory in First Four history. 

These guys made that history? Believe it. 

Find a better game along the way at any of the eight first and second-round sites. Or at one of the four regionals. Heck, the Final Four. If you try, you’ll eventually circle back to this one, played in front of a revved-up crowd, a game that featured a power outage about 90 minutes before tip. A game that then featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes. 

A game that had it all. Big shots. Big moments. A big ending. 

Welcome to March. 

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips, who watched the game next to Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick in the second row of press seating, ascended the steep ramp from the game floor to the interview area smiling and shaking his head, already classifying it the game of the tournament. 

But the tournament hasn’t even started yet. Well, yeah, it did. Kind of. Any game that might go to the wire in the next few weeks will come with this disclaimer — it wasn’t as good as Notre Dame-Rutgers in Dayton. 

The tournament rolls on, as does Notre Dame, which in the wee hours of Saint Patrick's Day flew 2,200 miles from this building and this city to sunny San Diego. Winning late Wednesday means a first-round game against No. 6 Alabama on Friday. 

Irish coach Mike Brey joked at the post-game dais that he’d like the start of that game pushed back. It's scheduled for 4:5 p.m. eastern time — 1:15 out west. It will be played at that time. Notre Dame might well be on fumes. That’s expected. After what the Irish did and how they delivered, they’re ready to play that first-round game right now. Well, after a four-plus hour flight west, on a charter that was scheduled to leave around 1 a.m. eastern time Thursday. 

Don’t doubt these Irish 

It was a short night. It was a long flight. It promises to be a tough turnaround, but every single team sitting at home would trade places with the Irish to have that chance. 

This was a big night, a big moment, not just for this program or for this head coach, but for this Irish core that endured its share of losing and had to wonder if it might ever get this chance. Then they stepped on this big college basketball stage and played. It wasn’t their best performance, but it was enough. 

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They competed. They battled. They kept coming back when it looked like they were headed home. Down eight to start the second half. An Irish answer. Big shots thrown in from Rutgers. An Irish answer. 

“Like Coach Brey said, it’s like we’re addicted to game situations,” Ryan said. “And man, it’s fun.” 

Needing something special to happen, Ryan comes up with a steal to put the Irish up one with 25 seconds left in the first overtime. 

“Sometimes in basketball, things go your way,” Ryan said. “I was fortunate enough to make that play.” 

That one play brought back memories of the great escape against Wisconsin in the 2016 NCAA tournament in Philadelphia. 

Rutgers responded with a Paul Mulcahy 3 to go up two with 8.6 seconds remaining. No big deal. A Blake Wesley drive sent it to the second extra five. 

Then, at the end, when it was tied at 87 and time winding away, put the ball in the hands of the one guy (Wesley) who has a skill set unlike anyone on the Irish roster to go and make a play. 

Wesley drove it hard to the hoop, which forced a Rutgers rotation that left Atkinson alone under the rim for a rebound if there was a miss. 

There was a miss. There was a rebound. There was a bucket. Then, eventually, a celebration.

What a moment for Atkinson, who came into the contest intent on being better than he was the previous week in New York for the league tournament. He didn’t play well — nobody on the Irish did – and wanted to bounce back. He bounced back in the biggest of ways, scoring 26 points on an insane 13-of-15 from the floor.  

“I think it was a pretty good bounce-back,” Atkinson said, “I just wanted to battle for these guys.” 

Atkinson’s effort around the rim allowed the Irish to finish with a staggering 56 paint points. Fifty-six. That’s a lot. They all were needed. 

Brey’s seen his share of wild games through his 22 seasons in South Bend. A five-overtime win over Louisville. A four-overtime escape at Georgetown. Big league wins. Bigger tournament wins. This one might rank right there at the top. Maybe right next to the 2015 loss to Kentucky in terms of emotional swings and rescues and answers and everything else. 

This one — for now — was the biggest because it allows the Irish to play another. To keep the good times rolling. To keep believing and keep dreaming those big dreams, dreams that nearly were snatched away (along with their at-large bid) three nights earlier during Selection Sunday. 

“To play like that and advance, I’m thrilled,” Brey said. “I’m really proud of our group.” 

Three years ago, the core of this group went 3-15 in the ACC. On Thursday, it did that. Staggering if you think about it. 

“It’s neat to see your kids celebrate because they worked really hard,” Brey said. “They’ve dreamed of advancing. They’ve dreamed of getting into the tournament. 

“To see that locker room is really cool.” 

So, how do you top this one? How do you top something that featured a little of everything? Don’t know if you can, but this Notre Dame sure will try. 

Just watch.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI

NOTRE DAME 89, RUTGERS 87 (2OT)

At NCAA Tournament First Four

Dayton, Ohio

NOTRE DAME (89): Atkinson 13-15 0-2 26, Goodwin 4-7 2-3 12, Hubb 3-12 3-4 9, Ryan 7-12 0-0 16, Wesley 4-17 0-2 8, Laszewski 6-8 4-5 18, Wertz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-72 9-16 89.

RUTGERS (87): Omoruyi 7-9 1-2 15, Baker 7-19 2-3 19, McConnell 10-12 1-1 23, Mulcahy 3-11 0-0 8, Harper 9-14 0-0 22, Hyatt 0-4 0-0 0, Mag 0-2 0-0 0, Reiber 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-71 4-6 87.

Halftime: Rutgers 41-36. 3-Point Goals: Notre Dame 6-19 (Goodwin 2-2, Laszewski 2-4, Ryan 2-6, Wesley 0-3, Hubb 0-4), Rutgers 11-27 (Harper 4-7, Baker 3-8, McConnell 2-3, Mulcahy 2-5, Hyatt 0-2, Mag 0-2). Rebounds: Notre Dame 29 (Atkinson, Wesley, Laszewski 6), Rutgers 41 (McConnell 11). Assists: Notre Dame 17 (Hubb 7), Rutgers 22 (Baker, Mulcahy 5). Total Fouls: Notre Dame 8, Rutgers 15. A: 12,516 (13,435).