Tuesday's scene inside McCamish Pavilion represented two programs rebuilding in separate ways.
Two first-year head coaches at their respective schools — Micah Shrewsberry and Damon Stoudamire — dueled on the sidelines but constructed their rosters slightly differently.
“Winning is hard, man,” Shrewsberry said. “I came from the NBA. I coached in the same organization as Damon, so I know what they're doing and how they're playing."
In its 75-68 overtime win, Notre Dame men's basketball (7-9, 2-3 ACC) relied on its underclassmen — five of its leaders in minutes played were either freshmen or sophomores, a trend that has become regular in Shrewsberry's first season.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-3 ACC) leaned heavily on a trio of juniors and only played two true freshmen, although both played significant minutes.
But after Georgia Tech true freshman forward Baye Ndongo was left open by the Irish defense and hit a game-tying 3-pointer before the end of the regulation, each player's classification mattered little in overtime.
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In five extra minutes of play, Notre Dame's young nucleus came out on top because of its defense and poise under pressure at the free-throw line. ND held the Yellow Jackets to two points in the extra period and went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, including two made free throws from freshman guard Markus Burton with 13 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
Burton, who entered the matchup as Notre Dame's leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, scored 12 points but took a backseat in the scoring column to fellow freshman guard Braeden Shrewsberry, Micah's son.
Braeden finished with a career-high 25 points and went 5-of-9 from the 3-point line, including a 3-point shot that gave the Irish a two-point lead in the second half with one minute and 27 seconds left.
Notre Dame's offensive ceiling will grow if it gets more consistent production out of Braeden, who has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. The Irish backcourt will become more of a threat with Shrewsberry's improved shooting paired with Burton's driving ability, which normally attracts multiple defenders and leaves Braeden open for 3-point attempts or teammates open in the paint.
"He's got the ability to put a lot of pressure on people," Shrewsberry said of Burton. "In pick and rolls, driving the seam and people help. They're a really good shot-blocking team and sometimes those guys were coming over to block it, which left some of those guys open on the backside. ... Sometimes the best offense is just getting it up on the backboard when you draw help because he's attacking the rim."
Burton and Braeden were joined in double-figures by guard J.R. Konieczny and forward Tae Davis, who each scored 10 points and notched 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively. It was Konieczny's fourth double-double of the season while it was Davis' third. Neither are prototypical fits at their position, but their size (6-foot-7 and 6-9) make them versatile pieces for Shrewsberry as slashers, defenders and rebounders.
When Burton picked up his third foul in the second half, Davis handled point guard duties and only committed one second-half turnover, an improvement from his travel violation and bad pass that resulted in two turnovers in the first minute of the game.
The Irish outrebounded Georgia Tech 48-33, which is well above their season average of 36.7. After bringing down 11 and 10 rebounds against NC State and Duke, forward Kebba Njie collected nine against the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech was led by junior guard Miles Kelly with 25 points and Ndongo with 14. Notre Dame's ability to guard, which Shrewsberry has spoken highly about in recent weeks, was displayed once again by holding the Yellow Jackets to seven free throw attempts and limited open driving lanes.
"I'm proud because our defense traveled with us," Shrewsberry said. "Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you're a good defensive team and then you go on the road and it doesn't happen. Our defense traveled with us and our rebounding traveled with us."
Defeating road demons
It took two months into his first season, but Shrewsberry earned his first true road win as Notre Dame's head coach after earlier losses at South Carolina, Miami (Fla.) and Marquette. It also marks the first road win for the Irish since February 2022 after former head coach Mike Brey failed to win a road game last season.
The Irish have eight away games remaining, including a three-game stretch of Virginia, Pittsburgh and Duke, all of whom could challenge Notre Dame's backcourt with on-ball defense and full or half-court pressure similar to how Marquette overwhelmed ND in December.
Despite its victory, Notre Dame's turnover woes continued at Georgia Tech with 16 committed. The Yellow Jackets scored 26 points off those turnovers and took specific advantage of Notre Dame's point guards — Burton and Davis had three turnovers while freshman Logan Imes committed two in five minutes played.
Notre Dame returns home on Saturday vs. Florida State (9-6, 3-1 ACC). Tip off is 2:15 p.m. EST on The CW.
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