Notre Dame tops North Carolina to take ACC tournament championship
Notre Dame tops North Carolina to take ACC tournament championship, The clock hit zero, the confetti floated and the streamers cascaded through the air. But before the commotion took over the Greensboro Coliseum floor, Notre Dame senior guard Jerian Grant and coach Mike Brey found each other before the delirium set in.
The two engaged in a prolonged, cathartic embrace. The formerly suspended player who came back for a fifth season to leave a positive legacy at his school and the coach who has been critiqued for coming up short in March had a lot of emotion to let out.
Thanks to a remarkable second-half offensive display, the Irish defeated North Carolina 90-82 on Saturday to capture the ACC tournament title, the first conference tournament championship in the program's history after never reaching the finals under Brey in the Big East.
"Jerian said, 'Is this for real?' and I said, 'Damn right baby,'" Brey said.
Grant, who had 24 points to lead five Irish players in double figures and earned tournament MVP honors, had trouble comprehending what happened.
"I can't believe we did it," Grant said. "(Coach Brey and I) were talking to each other about how special this was. This is what we envisioned with me coming back. It was really special for both of us."
With the victory, the Irish (29-5) capped a stunning three-day run in which they spilled a significant amount of blue blood.
They defeated the ACC's two premier programs in Duke and North Carolina (24-11) to announce with a full-throated yell they belong in the ACC after a nightmarish 15-17 rookie campaign last season.
"There has been a special vibe about this group since we came to town Monday night," Brey said. "For us to do it through Duke and Carolina on Tobacco Road, that's just amazing."
That also might describe the offensive mastery the Irish displayed to propel them to their triumph. Notre Dame had surrendered points to the Tar Heels on 12 straight possessions and fell behind 64-56 with 9 minutes, 21 seconds remaining.
The Irish then reeled off 15 consecutive points on a 24-2 run as the defense finally woke up to earn six consecutive stops. Before North Carolina could catch its breath, Notre Dame had won the game.
"You've seen a lot of good offensive displays, but not like that, on this stage with the stakes so high," Brey said. "That was off the charts."Pat Connaughton had 20 points while Zach Auguste scored 16 and grabbed 13 rebounds while everyone took home a piece of the Greensboro Coliseum nets.
"We talked about this before we even left for Greensboro," said sophomore Demetrius Jackson, (11 points). "We talked about the (championship) shirts. We talked about the hats, what they would look like and we talked about walking up and cutting the net down."
Brey wore one of the nets around his neck and threatened to keep wearing it. There's still more work for the Irish to accomplish. A 12-year Sweet 16 drought still pesters the program like a lingering sinus infection. But those concerns could wait at least for a night. The Irish had some celebrating to do.
"That charter is going to be wild," Brey said. "I'm going to play the trumpet on that thing."
The Irish certainly had a reason to toot their horns.
The two engaged in a prolonged, cathartic embrace. The formerly suspended player who came back for a fifth season to leave a positive legacy at his school and the coach who has been critiqued for coming up short in March had a lot of emotion to let out.
Thanks to a remarkable second-half offensive display, the Irish defeated North Carolina 90-82 on Saturday to capture the ACC tournament title, the first conference tournament championship in the program's history after never reaching the finals under Brey in the Big East.
"Jerian said, 'Is this for real?' and I said, 'Damn right baby,'" Brey said.
Grant, who had 24 points to lead five Irish players in double figures and earned tournament MVP honors, had trouble comprehending what happened.
"I can't believe we did it," Grant said. "(Coach Brey and I) were talking to each other about how special this was. This is what we envisioned with me coming back. It was really special for both of us."
With the victory, the Irish (29-5) capped a stunning three-day run in which they spilled a significant amount of blue blood.
They defeated the ACC's two premier programs in Duke and North Carolina (24-11) to announce with a full-throated yell they belong in the ACC after a nightmarish 15-17 rookie campaign last season.
"There has been a special vibe about this group since we came to town Monday night," Brey said. "For us to do it through Duke and Carolina on Tobacco Road, that's just amazing."
That also might describe the offensive mastery the Irish displayed to propel them to their triumph. Notre Dame had surrendered points to the Tar Heels on 12 straight possessions and fell behind 64-56 with 9 minutes, 21 seconds remaining.
The Irish then reeled off 15 consecutive points on a 24-2 run as the defense finally woke up to earn six consecutive stops. Before North Carolina could catch its breath, Notre Dame had won the game.
"You've seen a lot of good offensive displays, but not like that, on this stage with the stakes so high," Brey said. "That was off the charts."Pat Connaughton had 20 points while Zach Auguste scored 16 and grabbed 13 rebounds while everyone took home a piece of the Greensboro Coliseum nets.
"We talked about this before we even left for Greensboro," said sophomore Demetrius Jackson, (11 points). "We talked about the (championship) shirts. We talked about the hats, what they would look like and we talked about walking up and cutting the net down."
Brey wore one of the nets around his neck and threatened to keep wearing it. There's still more work for the Irish to accomplish. A 12-year Sweet 16 drought still pesters the program like a lingering sinus infection. But those concerns could wait at least for a night. The Irish had some celebrating to do.
"That charter is going to be wild," Brey said. "I'm going to play the trumpet on that thing."
The Irish certainly had a reason to toot their horns.
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