Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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paved the way for the ACC champions to cruise to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1979. "They were like, 'Been here before,'" Brey said of the discussion in the hud‑ dle leading up to the run. "They're talk‑ The Road To The Elite Eight ACC Champions Notre Dame won three games in three days in Greensboro, N.C., to claim its first-ever conference championship crown. In the quarterfinal, the Irish built a 20-point lead over Miami before the Hurricanes took the lead in the second half. A near collapse turned into a 70-63 victory and rubber match meeting with Duke the following evening. Freshman forward Bonzie Colson notched 17 points against the Blue Devils to help the Irish knock off the eventual national champions for the second time this season, 74-64. Notre Dame shot exactly 50 percent and led by 15 at the half. To clinch the ACC championship, the Irish beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in their home state for the second time in the 2014-15 campaign after winning in Chapel Hill, N.C., in January. Senior guard Jerian Grant scored 24 points and Notre Dame's 26-3 run in the second half clinched the 90-82 win. March 19: Notre Dame 69, Northeastern 65 Notre Dame had been plagued by poor showings in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, when the pro- gram had last reached the Sweet 16. In the opening game against Northeastern, the Irish nearly fell victim to another March disappointment. Notre Dame's defense, key in its ACC and NCAA Tournament runs, pulled out a late stop to survive. Junior forward Zach Auguste's 25 points paced the Irish. March 21: Notre Dame 67, Butler 64 (OT) The Irish earned a Sweet 16 berth with yet another tight, defensive matchup. This time it was sopho- more guard Steve Vasturia's turn to lead the way offensively, with his 20 points pacing the Irish. Again, a 10-point lead disappeared for Notre Dame, but head coach Mike Brey's squad made the critical plays down the stretch that it had all season. March 26: Notre Dame 81, Wichita State 70 Sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson notched 20 points and effectively directed the Irish offense to its best performance since the ACC championship game win. The victory sent the Irish to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years. Notre Dame finished the game on a 38-18 run after the Shockers took their first any only lead early in the second half. March 28: Kentucky 68, Notre Dame 66 The Wildcats improved to 38-0 — the first team to ever start a season with that many wins — in what was the toughest test to date, a two-point win over the ACC champions. In a game that Notre Dame led most of the time, the Irish held their own against Kentucky's vaunted frontcourt. Auguste played the best game of his career with 20 points and nine rebounds against a starting lineup with a taller average height than 29 of 30 NBA teams. Kentucky outrebounded Notre Dame by only one board, 29-28, but managed to barely slip past the Irish to advance to the Final Four. Notre Dame, so close to its first Final Four since 1978, would have played just hours from home in Indianapolis. — Andrew Owens