Tag: Dayton

Notre Dame beats Rutgers in double-overtime classic, makes Round of 64

The Irish signaled that March Madness has begun!

Call it cliche that Notre Dame’s First Four game against Rutgers was decided right as it became midnight on St. Patrick’s Day. Whatever label you want to give it, the result was the same. After battling with the Scarlet Knights for 40 regulation minutes and two overtimes, the Irish appeared headed to a third extra session in Dayton, Ohio. Instead, a Paul Atkinson Jr. putback with 1.4 seconds left gave the Irish an 89-87 win and a date with Alabama in the Round of 64.

This NCAA Tournament game featured numerous ties and lead changes with neither team gaining a serious advantage for a lengthy amount of time. Every time it appeared over, someone would knot up the score, a game-winner would be missed, and the contest would be extended. By the second overtime, you couldn’t have called yourself a real fan and not be tuned into truTV at that moment. You would have missed something epic.

With 41 seconds left, Prentiss Hubb sank two free throws to give the Irish (23-10) an 87-84 lead. Although the Scarlet Knights (18-14) didn’t necessarily need a 3-pointer yet, Ron Harper Jr. fired one from way downtown and made it to tie the game at 87 with 22 seconds remaining. With the shot clock now off, the Irish had the chance to play for the final shot. Blake Wesley milked the clock before driving for a layup that missed everything, but that led to Atkinson’s game-winning heroics.

Atkinson scored all of his points in the paint, and his 26 led all scorers. Nate Laszewski came off the bench and scored 18 points. Cormac Ryan scored 16 and also picked up a game-high three steals in a terrific defensive effort. Dane Goodwin had 12 points as he returned to his usual spot in the starting lineup.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

How ACC teams have fared in First Four games

What has the conference done in Dayton, Ohio?

While it isn’t a specific goal for NCAA Tournament-bound teams to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, eight of them must do so. Ever since the tournament competition in Dayton expanded to four games from one in 2011, teams from power conferences have had to earn the right to play in the Round of 64. After all, it would be completely unfair if only mid-majors and No. 16 seeds, which are pretty much the same thing anyway, were assigned to these games.

Notre Dame is about to make its first appearance in the First Four against Rutgers. but it will be the fifth time an ACC program has traveled to Dayton to determine its tournament fate. Historically, these games have worked out very well for the conference, and the Irish will hope to expand on that reputation. Here are the four other times the ACC has been represented in the initial round of tournament games:

Watch: Notre Dame watches selection show, heads to First Four game

The Irish are happy to be in the tournament.

Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament journey could begin and end with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. However, that didn’t stop a video about the Irish on the official March Madness YouTube channel from being uploaded. After all, when you have a chance to be selected for your first tournament in five years, you want to be on hand for it. If you’ve been curious as to what the team has been up to for the past couple of days, wonder no more:

Mike Brey seems to be very easygoing about the whole thing, especially after he learns that his team made the field. In fact, he said during his first news conference of the tournament that an NIT bid would have made his job a lot harder:

Apparently, being named the District 2 Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) wouldn’t have been enough to motivate his team had the NCAA Tournament slipped away. Fortunately, that’s all a moot point, and the important thing is getting ready for Rutgers.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame makes NCAA Tournament, will play Rutgers in First Four

The Irish are dancing!

After a championship week that went anything but smoothly for Notre Dame, all of South Bend can take a collective exhale. For the first time since 2017, the Irish have qualified for the NCAA Tournament after being placed in the West Regional. They will take on Rutgers in a battle of No. 11 seeds as part of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of this game will play sixth-seeded Alabama in the first round.

The Irish have an all-time record of 20-13 against the Scarlet Knights. The former Big East rivals last faced each other in the second round of the 2013 conference tournament. The Irish won that game, 69-61. In fact, nine of the past 11 meetings have gone their way.

It was fitting that these programs met in the 2013 Big East Tournament because both programs left that conference after that season. Now, they get to face each other in an unofficial ACC-Big Ten Challenge with much bigger stakes than conference pride. Getting into the Round of 64 by playing an extra game may not have been a goal either program wanted to achieve, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Still, they likely will be thinking less about that than being one of 68 teams who still can win it all.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Four Notre Dame commits to play in Polynesian Bowl

Want to watch the future of the football program?

Want to catch a glimpse at some of the Notre Dame stars of tomorrow? Was the All-American Bowl not enough for you? You’re in luck if you’re able to stay up late. The Polynesian Bowl will be played at 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday on the CBS Sports Network, and four recruits who have committed to Notre Dame are on the roster.

The four players to look out for are as follows:

  • Receiver Tobias Merriweather of Camas, Washington
  • Tight end Holden Staes of Atlanta
  • Linebacker Niuafe Tuihalamaka of Mission Hills, California
  • Offensive tackle Aamil Wagner of Dayton, Ohio

Notre Dame commits who previously have played in this game include Chris Tyree, Marist Liufau, Jayson Ademilola, Braden Lenzy and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. While making this game obviously is not a reflection of how they’ll play in college, it does make people excited about what the future of the program could be. If you’re curious about that or you simply want to watch more football, this is the game to tune into.

Notre Dame lands another four-star offensive lineman

Did you expect this one?

Notre Dame has landed the 22nd commitment in their 2022 recruiting class as offensive tackle Aamil Wagner of Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio announced his pledge on Thursday.

Wagner is listed at 6-6, 265-pounds and chose Notre Dame from the over-25 scholarship offers he received.  Among those were Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Northwestern, and plenty of others.

Also on that list was the University of Kentucky where Wagner’s brother is a graduate assistant.

Wagner is listed as a four-star prospect on both 247Sports and Rivals.  247Sports lists him as the 11th best offensive tackle prospect in this recruiting cycle while Rivals has him 23rd.

Wagner shared with 247Sports why he chose Notre Dame:

“I choose Notre Dame because the coaches made the university feel like home and I felt that Notre Dame can not only provide me with a great football career but can put me in the best position for life after football” – Aamil Wagner

Wagner becomes the fourth Notre Dame offensive line commitment in the 2022 class, joining Ashton Craig, Ty Chan, and Joey Tanona, all of which also have four-star ratings.

Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn deserves credit for pulling in this commitment as the Irish.  It’s also worth noting that Wagner attends the same high school that Notre Dame assistant coaches Marcus Freeman and Mike Mickens attended so even they coach the other side of the ball, I’d imagine that connection didn’t hurt, either.

This is a huge commitment that feels like when you find a fifty dollar bill in a pair of dress pants you hadn’t worn in years.

Related:

Meet all 22 commitments in Notre Dame’s current 2022 recruiting class

See it – Notre Dame’s map to a College Football Playoff berth

Notre Dame among finalists for elite Ohio offensive tackle

Notre Dame head coaches who also played college football

What Notre Dame coaches have played at the collegiate level?

It’s amazing to think that for all of its rich history, Notre Dame has had only six former college football players as head coach. To make it even more amazing, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the program’s history of coaches to find half of them. What’s more, it has been 36 years since the Irish had a former college player in their head coaching role. With Brian Kelly only four wins away from passing Knute Rockne on the program’s all-time list, it doesn’t appear the Irish will be adding to this short list anytime soon.

Whichever former college football player eventually ends up as Notre Dame head coach will be joining some rare company. We’re talking three apiece in the 19th and 20th centuries with none coming in the 21st yet. Until then, Irish fans will have to settle for these men holding what is a rare distinction in South Bend:

Notre Dame presents offer to combo guard recruit Denver Anglin

The Irish have their latest target for their future backcourt.

Notre Dame has been eager to pursue the combo guard route in its recruiting lately. Last week, the Irish gave an offer to Lawrent Rice of Dayton, Ohio. However, he wouldn’t be able to come to South Bend for another couple of years. Whether it’s related or not, the Irish now have extended an offer to a combo guard who will have to wait one less year to begin his collegiate career: Denver Anglin of Gill St. Bernard’s in New Jersey;

Anglin is going into his senior season, so he already has plenty of offers lined up. They include Northwestern, Stanford, Georgetown, Providence, UConn, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Seton Hall, Ole Miss, TCU and SMU. Many of these schools have strong academic reputations, and Notre Dame is no exception in that regard. He has plenty of options for college, and he really can’t go wrong with any of them, though we’d obviously love to see him in the blue and gold.

Notre Dame gives offer to guard recruit Lawrent Rice

The Irish are after a combo guard.

With Prentiss Hubb entering his senior season, Notre Dame might be a little anxious to figure out its future point guard situation. Whatever the case, the Irish are not waiting for someone in the wings to suddenly appear out of nowhere and say they’ll be all right at that position after Hubb leaves. In fact, they’re going a step further and going after a combo guard. They have presented an offer to Lawrent Rice, who will be going into his junior year at Wayne, which is not far from Dayton, Ohio:

Hours later, Rice announced an offer from Arizona State. It shouldn’t be surprising that he also has received an offer from Dayton along with fellow Buckeye State programs Ohio State and Ohio. He also has offers lined up from such programs as Louisville, Purdue, Marquette, West Virginia and VCU. There’s little doubt that more offers are coming his way, and he has a lot of time to consider his options.

Vols to play at Austin Peay Wednesday

Vols will travel to play Governors Wednesday after home game with Dayton canceled.

It did not take long for Tennessee to find a baseball game after its contest against Dayton, scheduled for Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, was canceled Monday.

The Fiyers opted out of the game against the No. 17 Volunteers on Monday and Dayton did not disclose a reason. The school will play its home opener against Oakland on Friday to open a four-game series.

The Vols (7-2) will now play Austin Peay in Clarksville on Wednesday.

The Governors (1-5) and Tennessee will play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. EST. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, UTSports.com and on the UT Gameday App.

John Wikerson will have the call at UTSpports.com and on the UT Gameday App.

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