The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-6, 2-1) and Louisville Cardinals (13-3, 1-2) have played nine times since the Cardinals joined the Big East in the 2005-06 season, and an amazing six of those games have gone to Overtime, including each of the last four. Saturday it took two overtime sessions, but Eric Atkins scored the final six points for ND to lead them to a 67-65 2OT victory at Louisville. It was a historic night for the Irish basketball team, as they got rid of some dubious records:
- It was the first time since December 27, 1980 that Notre Dame had won a game in the state of Kentucky, a stretch of 16 games. It included nine against Louisville and seven against Kentucky. That last win was at Freedom Hall in Louisville against UK.
- It was the first time they had beat Louisville at Louisville since December of 1958. Yes, over 50 years. It’s been a long time coming for the Irish.
- It was also their first win this season away from Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, as they were 0-6 before Saturday.
Atkins was masterful in every game-clinching scenario Saturday. The Irish were down three with 30 seconds remaining in regulation when he drilled an off-balance three pointer to tie the game at 50. Then at the end of the first OT his drive to the lane, and subsequent free throw with three seconds remaining tied the game once again. Then with 15 seconds left in the second OT and a tie score, Atkins drove by Russ Smith and pulled up for a 14-foot jumper that gave the Irish a two point lead. After a Scott Martin block of Peyton Siva, Atkins grabbed the loose ball and calmly sank two more free throws to seal the win.
Atkins finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds, but the Irish were led by Jack Cooley, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double. Jerian Grant added 17, and Scott Martin, coming off a scoreless game at Cincinnati Wednesday, had 11 points and a team high 12 rebounds. The Irish only shot 32% from the floor, but were 22-29 from the free throw line, helping them to the victory.
Kyle Kuric and Chane Behanan had identical 17 point, 10 rebound days for the Cardinals, both team highs. Gorgui Dieng added 11 points and 7 rebounds. The Cardinals shot just 63% from the foul line, and had 18 turnovers in the loss. This was their third loss in their last four games after starting off the season 12-0, and their second straight loss at home to start the Big East season. Louisville lost only one home conference game all year last year.
The Irish improve to 2-1 in Big East play, while the Cardinals fall to 1-2. Notre Dame will host South Florida on Tuesday, while Louisville will travel to Providence to take on the Friars Tuesday night as well.
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