BLAKE WESLEY

Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama 78-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Paul Atkinson Jr.’s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers in a wild First Four game.

Kentucky Notre Dame Basketball Notre Dame's Blake Wesley (0) shoots the game-winning shot during Notre Dame's win over Kentucky in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in South Bend, Ind. — (AP) — Freshman and hometown star Blake Wesley hit a go-ahead, pull-up jumper in the lane with 11.7 seconds left and Notre Dame beat No. Notre Dame (4-4) ended a three-game losing skid in its first matchup of the season against a ranked team. Notre Dame: ND’s pursuit to regain national relevancy got a boost. Notre Dame: The Irish face Indiana in the 11th annual and final planned Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis next Saturday afternoon.

Freshman and hometown star Blake Wesley hit a go-ahead, pull-up jumper in the lane with 11.7 seconds left and Notre Dame beat No. 10 Kentucky 66-62.