With 15:07 left in the second half, Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. made a layup to give the Hokies a 47-26 lead over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
2018 ACC Tournament: Notre Dame storms back from down 21 to top Virginia Tech, 71-65
Irish keep NCAA tournament hopes alive and will face Duke in the quarterfinals.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Things looked dire for the 10th seeded Irish who were desperately fighting for their NCAA tournament lives after going 18-13 (8-10 ACC) in the regular season. Notre Dame struggled in conference play as they dealt with the absence of preseason ACC Player of the Year Bonzie Colson (out eight weeks with a broken foot) and intermittent absences of Matt Farrell and Rex Pfleuger. The Irish picked up a win against Pitt on Tuesday, but that win would certainly not be enough to put them on the right side of the bubble.
Slowly but surely, the Irish started to chip into Virginia Tech’s lead. Notre Dame got back to within 14 points with 11:28 to play, but another Blackshear three pushed the Hokies’ lead back to a seemingly comfortable 17 points.
Virginia Tech wouldn’t score for another 3:27, allowing Notre Dame to close the score to 54-50. With 7:30 left in the game, Justin Bibbs would give Virginia Tech a 57-50 lead, but the Hokies went on another scoring drought, connecting on just two free throws over the next 7:02. In that same span, Notre Dame rattled off 16 points and took a 66-59 lead. It was a total team effort by the Irish with Pfleuger (five points), Colson (five points), Farrell (four points), and TJ Gibbs (two points) chipping in during the streak.
Three pointers by Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Justin Robinson at the :28 and :18 second marks kept things interesting, but the Irish converted at the line to secure the comeback win.
While no one play stood out as the turning point of the game, there were several highlight moments:
- With 9:07 left, Gibbs hit a three to pull Notre Dame within single digits for the first time in the second half.
- With eight minutes to play and holding onto a 54-46 lead, VT’s Chris Clarke was called for a technical for pushing Farrell. Farrell made both free throws, and Gibbs drew a foul and made both free throws on the ensuing possession after the tech.
- With 2:02 remaining and one second on the shot clock, Colson buried a fadeaway three to give Notre Dame their first lead since the 13:32 mark of the first half.
Farrell led all scorers with 22 points, going 5-for-13 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Although the Hokies had a great game plan to contain Colson with double teams and denying the ball, he finished with 12 points, none bigger than the three that breathed life into the green and gold clad fans in Barclays Arena.
Now, the Fighting Irish will have a chance to cement themselves on the right side of the bubble as they will face Duke in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Thursday night at 7pm.
The two games that preceded the Notre Dame-Virginia Tech battle followed a similar blueprint, but not the same outcome. In the day’s first game, ninth-seeded Louisville led by 26 with 11:35 to play in the second half. Florida State got within six with :15 left in the game, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Boston College-NC State played out almost identically as the Eagles led by 17 early in the second half. The Wolfpack closed the gap and tied the game five times down the stretch, but couldn’t take the lead. Boston College emerged victorious 91-87.
North Carolina and Syracuse finish out day two action, playing for a spot to take on Miami in the quarterfinals. For the full updated results and schedule, check here.
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