The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have won the ACC Tournament Crown.
These were away games against teams with ravenous fan bases. Opposing players were beating their chests, yelling, and flapping their arms, fans and players feeding off of each other. When faced with such adversity, what did the Irish do? In the quarterfinals, they simply gutted out a win with just enough against Miami. In the semifinals, The Irish nutted up and made clutch shots, holding off a Duke comeback. In the ACC championship game, it’s almost like they simply looked at each other, shrugged (Bonzie Colson probably laughed), and then they went on a 26-3 run. The Irish turned a nine-point deficit in to a thirteen point lead. In route to winning an ACC Tournament Championship, the Irish stunned Tobacco Road in front of a crowd that was 99.9 percent Carolina blue.
during the 2015 ACC Basketball Tournament Championship game at Greensboro Coliseum on March 14, 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Fueling the Fire
Throughout the quarters and semis, it took huge contributions from Steve Vasturia, Bonzie Colson and Demetrius Jackson to fuel the Irish. In the finals, Pat Connaughton, Jerian Grant and Zach Auguste took over. Enough will be written about Jerian Grant’s Tournament MVP recognition, with the 24-and-10 championship performance as the capstone. He was 15 of 18 from the free throw line, the majority of which came down the stretch. When Grant was given the opportunity to ice the game, there was never any doubt. Believe me when I say it: the ACC Tournament MVP should have been the ACC player of the year, and should go down as one of the all-time greats to wear the blue and gold on the hardwood.
Connaughton went 7-9 from the floor including two threes, en route to garnering Player of the Game honors, and grabbing some clutch rebounds in the process. After the Tar Heels dominated the glass throughout the course of the game, Connaughton and Auguste stepped up during the deciding run in the second half. Auguste finished the game with a double-double, went eight of nine from the free low line, and pulled down 13 rebounds. His presence in the second half was absolutely huge, which is pretty great for a guy who saw his minutes and his confidence shrink during the course of the season. The Irish needed Auguste on Saturday night and he delivered.
Super Sexy Basketball
Notre Dame’s defense was another completely unexpected key down the stretch. Am I still talking about basketball? Yes. Scoring 41 points in less than 12 minutes with a beautiful display of passing and shooting and passing and shooting some more was like if there were a really hot sex scene in a really effective instructional film that also happened to be directed by James Cameron. But don’t let the sexy steam of the offensive barrage detract from the fact that the Irish held North Carolina without a score for six straight possessions. Defense can be pretty, too.
The things that the Fighting Irish did to win the ACC Tournament are the things that win games in the big dance. They focused, their energy was up, and their shots were falling. Notre Dame can score in bunches, and they’ve shown now that they can get clutch stops. I like a team, with momentum, that has three first-team all-ACC tournament performers (Connaughton, Vasturia and Grant) and a second-team guy (Jackson) in March.
GREENSBORO, NC – MARCH 14: Jerian Grant #22 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish directs his teammates during a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 14, 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
ACC Champs
That’s what this team has been about. I don’t really believe I’m getting ahead of myself right now, either. I think a team that goes to North Carolina, goes through Duke and North Carolina, and wins the tournament of what’s either the best or second-best conference in the nation all year long deserves to look toward the NCAA tournament with some serious optimism.
It’s 41 points in 11:36. It’s scoring 90 points overall. It’s the 11th game this season in which all Notre Dame’s starters have scored in double digits. It’s beating the conference blue-bloods in their own state. It’s the perfect balance of senior leadership, athleticism, and youthful exuberance. It’s an offense that travels. It’s a coach who seems to have it figured out. It’s a team that faces adversity with calm confidence. It’s making history by winning the first ever men’s conference championship in Notre Dame history just a few days after the women earned a banner of their own. It’s having to wait to cut down the nets because they were still on fire. It’s owning the ACC. Is it enough to go deep in the NCAA tournament? The ACC tournament made me a believer.
