Irish outlast Louisville in 5OT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame watched a video of great boxing knockouts, knowing their game against Louisville would probably be bruising.
It turned out to be the longest game in Big East regular-season history.
“I talked about it being a 15-rounder and taking punches and being put on the mat,” coach Mike Brey said. “At the fourth or fifth timeout, I said, ‘Has there ever been a 20-rounder?’ ”
If so, it couldn’t have been any more thrilling than the No. 25 Fighting Irish’s five-overtime victory over the 11th-ranked Cardinals on Saturday, a 104-101 decision in which the two teams traded great plays and missed shots.
Afterward, even Louisville coach Rick Pitino forgot how long the game was, referring to it as a four-overtime game.
The record for the conference in the regular season was a four-overtime game that happened 11 years ago to the day and also involved Notre Dame. The Irish beat Georgetown 116-11 in 4OT on Feb. 9, 2002.
Jack Cooley, who fouled out in regulation, said the Irish players scoffed at Brey when he talked about a 15-round boxing match.
“We’re like, 15 round matches, that doesn’t happen. And then we played five overtimes. So that’s how it went,” he said.
Cameron Biedscheid scored on a layup with 1:19 left in the fifth overtime, and Eric Atkins and Pat Connaughton hit free throws in the final 19 seconds for the Irish, who erased an eight-point deficit in regulation.
Louisville’s Russ Smith had a chance to tie it at the end of the fifth overtime, but his 3-point attempt missed before Notre Dame students flooded the court to celebrate.
It marked the sixth overtime game in the last eight meetings between the Fighting Irish (19-5, 7-6 Big East) and Cardinals (19-5, 7-4). The game was tied at 60 at the end of regulation.
“It’s always overtime,” said Chane Behanan, who led the Cardinals with a career-high 30 points and 15 rebounds. “The strongest will survive.”
Pitino, who didn’t take questions after the game, credited the Irish, saying: “They made some just incredible shots. I can’t fault our defense.”
Jerian Grant, who fouled out with 1:57 left in the first overtime, led the Irish with 19 points. Garrick Sherman, playing because Cooley and Tom Knight fouled out, scored 17 points in overtime on 7-for-10 shooting. Connaughton added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Luke Hancock added 22 points for Louisville, Smith had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Gorgui Dieng had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
BADGERS’ HALFCOURT SHOT FOILS NO. 3 MICHIGAN
MADISON, Wis. — Ben Brust swished a 3-pointer from just inside midcourt to tie the game in regulation and made the decisive 3 in overtime, leading Wisconsin to a 65-62 victory over No. 3 Michigan.
After Tim Hardaway Jr. made a long 3-pointer to put Michigan ahead 60-57 with less than three seconds left in regulation, the Badgers called timeout to set up their inbounds play.
Brust caught Mike Bruesewitz’s pass in stride near halfcourt, took one dribble and hit his running 3-pointer at the buzzer. The basket came over Michigan defender Caris
LeVert, who had been inserted to foul before the Badgers could get off a shot.
In overtime, Brust’s 3-pointer with 40 seconds left put Wisconsin ahead 65-62, and Trey Burke’s 3-point attempt for the Wolverines rimmed out.
Brust scored 14 points to lead the Badgers (17-7, 8-3 Big Ten).
Burke scored 19 and Hardaway 18 for Michigan (21-3, 8-3).
ROUNDUP
• NO. 5 JAYHAWKS LOSE THIRD STRAIGHT — At Norman, Okla., Romero Osby scored 17 points, and Oklahoma (15-7, 6-4 Big 12) held on for a 72-66 victory over No. 5 Kansas, giving the Jayhawks (19-4, 7-3) their first three-game losing streak in eight years.
Kansas, coming off a stunning loss at last-place Texas Christian on Wednesday, last lost three straight in February 2005.
Oklahoma, guided by former UNLV coach Lon Kruger, snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series and beat a top-five opponent for the first time since beating No. 4 Texas on Jan. 28, 2006.
Ben McLemore led Kansas with 15 points, and Jeff Withey had 14.
• NO. 2 GATORS BOUNCE BACK — At Gainesville, Fla., Mike Rosario scored 18 points, and No. 2 Florida (19-3, 9-1 Southeastern) rebounded from a humbling loss with an 83-58 win over Mississippi State (7-15, 2-8). The Gators lost at Arkansas on Tuesday, 80-69.
• NO. 8 HURRICANES TROUNCE TAR HEELS — At Coral Gables, Fla., Shane Larkin had 18 points and nine assists, and No. 8 Miami (19-3, 10-0 Atlantic Coast) tied a school record with 15 3-pointers in an 87-61 rout of North Carolina (16-7, 6-4). Miami has won 11 in a row.
• NO. 13 KANSAS STATE ALONE ATOP BIG 12 — At Manhattan, Kan., Rodney McGruder scored 22 points and Angel Rodriguez 20 as 13th-ranked Kansas State (19-4, 8-2) took over sole possession of the Big 12 lead with a 79-70 victory over Iowa State (16-7, 6-4).
FAR WEST
• BRUINS BREEZE — At Los Angeles, Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half, and UCLA (18-6, 8-3 Pac-12) gained a 76-62 win over Washington State (11-13, 2-9).
