Indiana takes down No. 18 Notre Dame in OT for Archie Miller’s first signature win

Indiana notched its most significant victory of the Archie Miller era to date, taking down No. 18 Notre Dame 80-77 in overtime in the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday.

The Fighting Irish seemed to have the game won on multiple occasions. With one second to play in regulation and the score tied at 65, Indiana’s Collin Hartman was whistled for a foul that sent Notre Dame’s Austin Torres to the line for two free throws. Torres needed to make just one to secure his team’s ninth win of the season, but he found nothing but iron on both attempts.

In the extra frame, Notre Dame again seemed to have victory in hand, leading by three with just 20 seconds to play. Indiana’s Juwan Morgan then made a driving layup and had a chance to complete the three-point play. Morgan missed the game-tying free throw, but Zach McRoberts came down with the offensive rebound and fed the ball back to Morgan for a go-ahead dunk.

After a pair of made free throws by Indiana’s Devonte Green stretched the lead to three, Notre Dame had one final chance to send the game to double overtime. Fighting Irish star Bonzie Colson’s attempt from halfcourt tantalizingly danced around the rim before falling harmlessly to the floor.

The close call forced Miller’s celebration to be more reserved than it may have been otherwise.

Morgan continued the stellar start to his junior season by scoring 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting with 11 rebounds. His monster performance overshadowed Colson’s 29 points and 11 boards.

The victory over a top-20 opponent is an enormous step in the right direction for an Indiana team that opened the season with an embarrassing 90-69 home loss to Indiana State. The Hoosiers were subsequently handed defeats by Seton Hall, Duke, Michigan, and Louisville but had been steadily improving heading into Saturday’s in-state rivalry game. Now, Miller has his first piece of evidence in his case for the antsy Hoosier fanbase to give him some time.

For Notre Dame, things have gone less than swimmingly since the team captured the Maui Inviational title during Thanksgiving Week. The Irish rose to as high as No. 5 in the polls before being dealt an 18-point loss by Michigan State and then being stunned on their homecourt by Ball State. Mike Brey’s team has home games next week against Dartmouth and Southeast Louisiana before beginning ACC play on Dec. 30.

Both teams had previously been 3-3 in the Crossroads Classic, which began in 2011. The Hoosiers defeated the Fighting Irish in the 2015 installment of the event.