In a tournament of amazing finishes, Notre Dame added the luck of the Irish to another incredible finish.  Vitto Brown had just given the Badgers a 3 point lead with 26 seconds off a clutch three-pointer.  And then, everything changed.

Demetrius Jackson, the Irish’s leading scorer, had been held by the Badgers tough defense to 4-16 from the field.  But with the game on the line, Jackson drives quickly down the field and gets a layup to cut the lead to 1.  Then, off the inbounds play, the Irish traps Nigel Hayes in the corner and as he tried to break the trap, he gets the ball stolen by Jackson who quickly takes it to hoop and gives the Irish the lead.

Tonight, Bronson Koenig didn’t have any magic last second victories – his drive to the basket ends up missing – which led to a big time rebound by VJ Beachem.   Then, with the season on the line on the largest stage in college basketball, the 55% FT shooter calmly knocks both FTs down to give the Irish a 3 point lead.

And then, with one last chance, Koenig has the ball stolen again by Jackson – who puts the game out of reach with two more FTs.   That’s right – an 8-0 run in the last 19 seconds led by 2 steals lead the Irish to the Elite 8.   And on a night, when the Irish’s leading scorer was struggling, he found a way to help win the game with his defense.

Congratulations to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish – who become the second ACC school to make the Elite 8 tonight.   Will Syracuse and North Carolina make it a clean sweep for the ACC – we will know in a couple hours.