The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball team kicked off their 2022 NCAA Tournament appearance with a WILD, dramatic victory, defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights by a final score of 89 to 87 in a double-overtime thriller at University of Dayton Arena.
The Irish were led on the night by Paul Atkinson Jr., who scored 26 points on a ridiculous 13-of-15 shooting, snagged 6 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots on the game. Other key contributions came from Nate Laszewski (18 points, 6 rebounds), Cormac Ryan (16 points, 3 steals), Dane Goodwin (12 points, 4 rebounds), Prentiss Hubb (9 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), and Blake Wesley (8 points, 6 rebounds).