The contact happened.
As Notre Dame forward Tae Davis leaped toward the rim to rebound a missed shot by teammate Markus Burton in the final second, Pittsburgh forward Zack Austin’s right arm made contact with Davis’ left arm. Davis managed to put the ball back up for a putback attempt before the buzzer sounded, but the shot bounced off the glass and rim for a miss.
But as the buzzer blared, the baseline official whistled for a foul on Austin. Upon review, Davis was given two shots in a tie game with half a second remaining. Davis hit the first free throw, missed the second and time expired on a 55-54 victory in the opening game of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Despite Austin making some contact with Davis, the broadcast crew on the ACC Network all seemed to agree that a foul shouldn’t have been called with the game on the line. Pitt head coach Jeff Capel barked at the officials to make his displeasure known before pulling guard Jaland Lowe away from following the officials off the court.
“Really hated the way that it ended,” Capel said in the postgame press conference. “I've been coaching for 25 years. The worst way I've ever seen to end a ballgame in my 25 years of doing this. I still can't believe it. Shocked at how it ended for us.
“My guys played hard. We fought, put ourselves in a position to win. Unfortunately, we came up short.”
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Three days after Notre Dame had to flight and claw for a four-overtime victory over Cal, the Irish (15-17) escaped having to play any overtime sessions Tuesday. They’ll need all the time they can get to rest up before Wednesday’s second round matchup with fifth-seeded North Carolina (20-12), which received a first-round bye.
No. 12 seed Notre Dame played offensively like a team still feeling the effects of Saturday’s 60-minute game. The Irish shot 39.6% from the field (21-of-53) and 20% from 3 (4-20), and Davis’ game-winning free throw gave him a team-high 11 points.
The 6-foot-9 Davis didn’t play particularly well on the offensive end. He shot just 3-of-10 from the field and committed three turnovers. He helped with five rebounds, one assist and one steal. The offensive rebound he grabbed to get fouled in the final second was his first of the game.
Burton, who was named Monday to the All-ACC Second Team despite leading the conference in scoring during the regular season with 22.2 points per game, scored just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. He was limited to two points in a first half that Notre Dame ended with a 25-22 lead.
Burton made important plays in the second half as the Irish prevented Pitt from gaining control of the game, but the Irish needed contributions from center Nikita Konstantynovskyi (10 points and nine rebounds), and guards Matt Allocco (nine points, five rebounds) and Julian Roper II (eight points). That trio joined Burton and Davis to form a starting five the Irish hadn’t used all season.
“Everybody has to be ready at all times and all hands have to be on deck,” Davis said. “I think it takes all of us to compete at a high level and to be able to win games.”
Notre Dame managed to win with the help of a strong defensive performance. No. 13 seed Pitt (17-15) shot just 36.2% from the field and 18.2% from 3. The Irish forced 11 turnovers with the help of eight steals and won the rebounding battle, 37-31.
“I was really proud of our guys for how we defended,” said Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry. “We didn't shoot our best. I didn't think we played tremendously well offensively, but I thought we guarded at a high level.
“That's what we talk about. At times this year, it hasn't always been that way for us. We've really played through our offense. But I thought in order for us to come here and get a win, we really had to just be tough and gritty defensively.”
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Lowe finished with a game-high 17 points while playing every minute for the Panthers. Forward Cameron Corhen, who scored 20 when ND beat Pitt on Feb. 22, was the only other Panther in double digits with 10 points.
The Irish played without 30-game starter Kebbe Njie, a 6-10 forward, while he remained in concussion protocol following a blow to the head that knocked him out of Saturday’s victory. Njie’s absence kept Konstantynovskyi (6-10) in the starting lineup for just the fourth time this season. He logged 26 minutes after playing 44 on Saturday.
Allocco (35:12), Burton (34:07), Davis (33:49), Roper (29:43) played the vast majority of the game. Five bench players entered the game for the Irish, but they combined to contribute only seven points: four from guard Sir Mohammed and three from guard Cole Certa.
“I’m super tired,” Burton said on the postgame show on ACC Network. “I’m super beat up right now, but it’s a blessing to be in this position right now. It’s a blessing to be able to play tomorrow. I’m just thankful, and I’m happy.”
Notre Dame has reason to believe it can beat North Carolina on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN. The Irish had a three-point lead over the Tar Heels in South Bend, Ind., with 14.5 seconds left on Jan. 4. Then Allocco fouled Elliot Cadeau on a made 3-pointer, which led to a four-point play with 4.8 seconds left. Burton missed a contested shot at the buzzer as the Irish fell 74-73.
The Irish have only won eight of their 18 games since then. But Tuesday’s win over Pitt gave Notre Dame its first three-game winning streak since December.
Shrewsberry said he hasn’t watched North Carolina much since its trip to Purcell Pavilion, because the Tar Heels weren’t recent opponents of the ACC foes on Notre Dame’s schedule to close the season. That will change by Wednesday afternoon.
“Obviously, everything with Carolina is their transition,” Shrewsberry said. “They're so good at that, have traditionally been so good at that. Obviously, RJ Davis is an unbelievable player, has been an unbelievable player in this league for a long time. So, we've got to do a great job on him, as well as the other guys. They have a bunch of guys with him, with Cadeau, with Ian Jackson. You can go on and on with the guys on their team.
“We've got to get back. We've got to watch film. We've got to get our bodies right and be prepared for another 40-minute battle.”
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