Well. Notre Dame has put itself on the cusp of an unlikely ACC Tournament championship. It wasn’t all easy as the seventh-seeded Irish had to survive a scare from third-seeded Louisville in an 81-78 semifinal victory. Still, they will have a chance to avenge their 2017 title game loss to Duke when they face the Blue Devils for the 2020 title.
Notre Dame went on a 9-0 run beginning around the midway point of the first half and rode the momentum to a 17-point halftime lead. It held a double-digit lead as late as the 14:37 mark of the second half and an eight-point lead with 44 seconds left. Louisville then made 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions, but the Irish made enough free throws to stay in front as the time ticked away. The Cardinals had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds, only for David Johnson to clank a 3 from straight away and give the Irish their second straight upset of the tournament.
T.J. Gibbs shot 6 of 15 from the field to lead Notre Dame with 17 points. John Mooney had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Dane Goodwin came just short of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards, and Prentiss Hubb scored 12 to go with a game-high six assists. The Irish shot 90.9 percent from the free-throw line, which it needed to counter an abysmal 7-of-25 showing from beyond the arc.
For the Cardinals, Jordan Nwora missed a double-double by one rebound while leading all scorers with 22 points. Johnson had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and five assists off the bench. Malik Williams also shined for Louisville’s second unit with a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards. Steven Enoch fouled out with eight points in the final seconds, giving Rex Pflueger the opportunity to go up four, but Pflueger split his free throws, giving the Cardinals the aforementioned opportunity to tie.
