Notre Dame men's basketball team extends stay in Washington for ACC Tournament
Tom Noie
WASHINGTON – A 17-point lead with 12 minutes left in the second half was gone and the only real question remaining was, did the Notre Dame men’s basketball team have an answer?
It had to have one to extend its stay at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and, honestly, its 2023-24 season.
It found one, making late free throws and getting a late stop for an 84-80 victory at Capital One Arena. Notre Dame (13-19) advances to the tournament's second round, where it will face No. 5 seed Wake Forest on Wednesday (2:30 p.m., ESPN).
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Markus Burton gave the Irish an 81-80 lead with 1:16 with a layup. Tae Davis then followed with a free throw to make it 82-80 with 24.9 seconds remaining. Davis never got a second free throw after a Kebba Njie lane violation. Notre Dame then got a stop and got out of Chinatown with its first ACC Tournament win since 2021.
Georgia Tech went on a 21-6 run, which sliced a 17-point Irish lead with 12:57 remaining to two with 7:50 left. Notre Dame needed an answer, and found one in Braeden Shrewsberry, who connected on a corner 3 to give the Irish their first field goal in more than five minutes and bump the lead back to five with 7:26 left.
A Shrewsberry 3 put the Irish up six, but seven straight points from Georgia Tech gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead, 78-77, with 4:29 left. Burton was limited in the second half with four fouls, which allowed fellow freshman Naithan George to do some serious work.
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Two big offensive possessions in the second half swung this one heavily in Notre Dame’s favor. Carey Booth ball-faked from the right corner, then drove an open lane and finished with a two-hand dunk to give the Irish a 62-48 lead. Following a defensive stop, and working on an out-of-bounds under the basket, Matt Zona connected on a 3 to stretch the lead to 65-48.
Just when Georgia Tech looked done, the Yellow Jackets showed some life and got back into it thanks to a 19-5 run. The game bogged down for the Irish. So did the offense. A team that was rolling looked rudderless. Then the turnovers started.
“We’re good,” Burton said during a stoppage. “We’re good.”
It was hard to tell.
Notre Dame started fast and flowed freely on offense from the start. The Irish made seven of their first 11 shots and used an early 10-0 run to build a 12-point lead less than six minutes in. Driving the early train was the guy who’s driven it all year — Burton.
Showing no signs of feeling any added pressure to play as the league’s rookie of the year (which often happens to league honorees), Burton was a blur early. He made five of his first six shots and scored 15 points in a first half that saw the Irish score a season-high 45 points. They never trailed, led for 18:27 and shot 62.1 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3. They also had eight assists, often more than they had in entire games this season.
It wasn’t just Burton. Notre Dame got it from just about everyone in the first half. Zona squelched a Yellow Jacket burst with two buckets. Tae Davis made a 3, as did Julian Roper. Shrewsberry discovered his floater and flip shots. J.R. Konieczny got dirty and toughed out an offensive rebound and basket. Even Kebba Njie got in on the bucket-making act of the first half.
Notre Dame couldn’t have asked for a better start. Could the Irish sustain it?
Notre Dame swept the season series with Georgia Tech. It gave coach Micah Shrewsberry his first ACC road win as Irish head coach in midtown Atlanta in early January, winning in overtime thanks in large part to Shrewsberry's son, Braeden, who scored a career high 25 points off the bench. Notre Dame then won the rematch last month at Purcell Pavilion, 58-55.
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