Observations: Notre Dame beats Rutgers in First Four double overtime thriller

Notre Dame wanted ‘Bama.

The Irish needed 50 minutes to stave off Rutgers and set up a Friday meeting with the Crimson Tide. They way did it will live in program lore.

Paul Atkinson Jr.’s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left gave No. 11 seed Notre Dame an 89-87 double-overtime victory over No. 11 Rutgers Wednesday night in the NCAA tournament First Four. The Irish (23-10, 15-5 ACC) advance to a Friday afternoon first-round matchup in San Diego with West Region No. 6 seed Alabama (19-13, 9-9 SEC). Tipoff is at 4:15 p.m. ET.

Atkinson’s 26 points were a game high. Forward Nate Laszewski added 18, and guard Cormac Ryan scored 17. Notre Dame shot 50 percent from the field and 31.6 percent on three-pointers. Rutgers shot 50.7 percent.

Here are three observations from the game.

BOX SCORE

1. Rare two-point heavy offense works

On paper, Rutgers’ three-point defense was inviting. The Scarlet Knights entered the day allowing opponents to take 40.2 percent of their shots from three-point range, which ranked 263^rd nationally.

In theory, that would set up Notre Dame, a high-volume three-point offense, to hoist plenty of them.

Nope.

Rutgers stuck with shooters and aggressively closed out. The Irish took just 19 threes in a 50-minute game. They were previously 2-4 when attempting fewer than 20 this year.

They won this one, though, by attacking those closeouts and hunting post touches.

Notre Dame slipped and cut its way to a 54.8 first-half shooting percentage, with 11 assists on 17 field goals. It saw Rutgers overplaying on the perimeter or overhelping, and in turn, scored 30 of its 36 first-half points in the paint. Blake Wesley and Dane Goodwin attacked closeouts for key layups in the second half.

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Rutgers gave Atkinson single coverage in the post all night, often against 6-11, 240-pound center Cliff Omoruyi. Atkinson’s craftiness and patience bested him. When Omoruyi wasn’t in the game, Notre Dame exploited mismatches for him in the post. He was 13-of-15 from the field.

“We felt we could throw it into him and he could score in the low post,” head coach Mike Brey said. “And he did.”

Notre Dame went to a four-guard lineup with Atkinson on the bench for about eight straight minutes in the second half – save for a 22-second appearance – and pulled Omoruyi away from the basket. It did the same for a stretch of the first overtime. During the latter, Goodwin made a three-pointer and Laszewski scored an easy layup with Omoruyi guarding in space.

“For a while there we liked the matchup as Nate as the only big guy, because when he ball screens, they had to make a decision as far as helping off of him,” Brey said.

NOTRE DAME WINS IT IN DOUBLE OT!

THE LUCK OF THE IRISH ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY 🍀@NDmbb #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/BmeIiznSF2

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

2. Countering the rebounding deficit

Rutgers out-rebounded Notre Dame by 12, including a plus-four margin on the offensive glass. The Scarlet Knights grabbed 13 of their 35 misses (37 percent) – a break in character for Notre Dame, which came into the game ranked in the nation’s top 40 in defensive rebounding rate.

Notre Dame grabbed the last available rebound, though, and won the game because of it. Atkinson’s putback was the last of nine offensive rebounds on 35 misses that led to 15 second-chance points, an unusually productive day for the Irish on that front. They posted the ACC’s lowest offensive rebounding rate (20.6 percent) in conference play this year.

Despite the negative rebounding margin, Notre Dame took one more shot and 10 more free throws than Rutgers. Why? It committed eight fewer turnovers than Rutgers and fouled the Scarlet Knights just seven times after halftime, negating any extra-possessions Rutgers’ offensive rebounding created.  

3. Blake Wesley stays resilient

Rutgers’ plan to slow down Notre Dame leading scorer Blake Wesley was to greet him with Big Ten Defensive Player of the year Caleb McConnell. The 6-7, 200-pound wing can guard five positions, is a sturdy on-ball defender and averages 2.2 steals per game.

He flustered Wesley all night. The freshman guard and NBA prospect finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting. Finishing at the rim over McConnell and Rutgers’ length was a challenge. At one point, he had two straight possessions where a layup attempt rolled off the rim.

Yet Brey kept him on the floor for 42 minutes and never told him to stop shooting. Wesley, in turn, never lost faith in himself. If he did, he would have stopped trying his luck at the basket. He kept driving, determined to make something happen and thinking this time would be different. Definition of insanity? Maybe a little. But also impressive confidence for a freshman in the NCAA tournament.

That’s the mental makeup and killer instinct you want in a leading scorer and an alpha. It’s why Brey often keeps the leash long and often lets Wesley work through his vacillations. And even with the poor stat line Wednesday, Wesley still provided a couple clutch baskets. He attacked a closeout for a layup to give Notre Dame a 55-53 lead with 9:05 left in regulation. He tied the score at 79 with two seconds left in the first overtime on a layup where he effortlessly turned the corner and then finished over McConnell.

Wesley’s defensive intensity remained high despite the rough night on the other end. He poked the ball free to create multiple scramble situations. He pulled down six rebounds and had a steal. He was plus-two in his 42 minutes.