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Mar 10, 2025 6:07 pm

After 60-minute effort, Notre Dame gets Pitt in ACC tourney opener

markus burton

Notre Dame played the longest game in Atlantic Coast Conference history on Saturday.

There’s no rest for the weary because the Fighting Irish’s reward for winning is getting to play in the ACC tournament opener Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C. No. 13 seed Pitt (17-14) will oppose the 12th-seeded Irish (14-17).

The winner takes on fifth-seeded North Carolina in the second round Wednesday afternoon.

Notre Dame took down visiting Cal 112-110 in four overtimes to end the regular season.

Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry wants his team to make more special memories in the tournament — and play lots more basketball.

“We’ve been in a lot of situations,” Shrewsberry said. “We’ve been in a lot of close situations. We’ve been up and lost. We’ve been down and come back. We’ve played in close games.”

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton scored a career-high 43 points on Saturday in 53 minutes of court time. Senior backcourt mate Matt Allocco logged 54 of the 60 possible minutes and scored 24 points, one off his career best.

The outing boosted Burton’s ACC-leading scoring average to 22.2 points per game. Keeping his offense flowing will be important in the tournament.

“How can we try to free him in a different way?” Shrewsberry said. “That’s stuff that we can work on and keep growing from.”

Notre Dame has won two straight and three of its last five games. That stretch began Feb. 22 with a 76-72 home victory against Pitt with Tae Davis racking up 21 points. Davis fouled out in regulation against Cal.

Pitt halted a four-game losing streak Saturday with a 93-67 home victory against Boston College.

“This is the perfect time to tap into (high energy), getting ready to go into the ACC tournament,” Pitt guard Brandin Cummings said.

The Panthers looked like they would contend for an NCAA Tournament spot during the first couple of months of the season. They’ll try to get that back for the conference tournament.

“We know what we have to do in order to be at our best,” Pitt guard Jaland Lowe said. “When we play together, we are really good out there.”

Lowe, who’s 10th in ACC scoring at 16.8 points per game, notched his fifth double-double of the season against Boston College. He became the third Panther to eclipse 500 points and 150 assists in a season.

“When you have the ball a lot, there’s a responsibility that comes with that,” Panthers coach Jeff Capel said in praising Lowe.

–Field Level Media

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