Louisville vs. Notre Dame: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

Taking advantage of home games against title contenders is a surefire way to remain in the ACC championship picture, and that is exactly what the No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish did on Wednesday. 

Notre Dame used a strong finish to beat the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals, 77-70, and move to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. The Cardinals dropped to 12-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference but can at least put a daunting four-game stretch against Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana and Notre Dame in the rearview mirror.

Wednesday's ACC showdown was tied at 68 with less than two minutes left, but Notre Dame hit seven critical free throws from there and locked down on the defensive side to close with a 9-2 run.

It was a three-man offensive show for the Fighting Irish. Steve Vasturia scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds, Matt Farrell added 22 points and was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line and Bonzie Colson controlled the paint with 18 points and 14 rebounds. 

As a team, Notre Dame's 22 made free throws helped make up for its 43.9 percent shooting from the field.

Donovan Mitchell led the way for Louisville with 20 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds, while Quentin Snider chipped in 12 points. Mitchell ended with impressive numbers, but Notre Dame's defense held him to just 7-of-20 shooting from the field and 2-of-10 shooting from deep.

Notre Dame wasted little time establishing itself and controlled the early minutes on both ends of the floor. An Austin Torres tip made it 17-7, and the defense held Louisville to 3-of-10 shooting by the under-12-minute timeout in the first half.

Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal said the Cardinals were "settling for jumpers," and Nick Coffey of 790 KRD in Louisville, Kentucky, pointed out the Irish were "doing a good job baiting Louisville into taking shots they could get at any time. Almost daring certain guys to shoot."

Louisville would not go quietly and responded to a 23-13 Notre Dame lead with a 13-2 run to get in front, 26-25. Snider and Mitchell carried the offense during the stretch, and Greer noted "Mitchell has seemingly discovered his full moxie since Dec. 31. Attacking, aggressive, downhill. Has taken control the past few mins."

Notre Dame responded with a 7-0 run that included a Vasturia three to build a 34-28 lead. Louisville climbed to within one multiple times before Farrell's free throws gave Notre Dame the 42-37 halftime advantage. Farrell had a team-high 13 points at intermission and helped counterbalance Mitchell's 16 on the other side.

Farrell kept his personal momentum going in the second half with a deep three from the top of the key to cap a 9-2 run and give the Fighting Irish a 51-42 lead. 

While Notre Dame was largely getting whatever it wanted on the offensive side, its defense was also setting the tone during the run. However, the Cardinals continued to climb back, and a three-pointer from Deng Adel cut the lead to 53-49 before Ray Spalding tipped one in to trim it to two.

The pace and scoring slowed from there, and Greer pointed to Louisville's shooting struggles:

Right on cue, Ryan McMahon hit a three for the Cardinals and pulled them within three at 59-56. There was a pattern of Notre Dame attempting to fend off every one of Louisville's mini surges in the second half, and Rex Pflueger helped it do that with a three after the Cardinals climbed within one.

The Fighting Irish took their four-point lead into the under-four-minute timeout, but an Anas Mahmoud dunk made it 68-67 with less than three minutes left and presented another situation where Notre Dame had to overcome a Louisville spurt.

The Cardinals tied the game, but a Colson free throw and steal, paired with two free throws from Farrell, gave Notre Dame a three-point lead in crunch time. Louisville then turned it over, and Vasturia connected on arguably the biggest jumper of the game to push the lead to five with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Coffey was not impressed with Louisville's finish:

Mahmoud's free throws made it a three-point game, but Farrell's free throws essentially clinched the victory for the Fighting Irish.

Postgame Reaction

Vasturia discussed his impressive performance, per LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune: "It's just staying confident out there. I'm never going to lose confidence in myself. If stuff doesn't go your way, you just have to keep pushing through."

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey praised Vasturia's clutch shot, per Pope: "We have some fearless guys who want to take big shots and make plays. He's a big-shot maker, he's a big-shot taker. He wants to take it."

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino talked about the contest, per Greer: "We played well enough to win tonight, but when it comes down to a free-throw shooting contest at the end, they're going to win it. We had two crucial turnovers that didn't give us a chance to win the game, but overall it was a good performance."

Pitino also said, "It's a must(-win) game Saturday at Georgia Tech," per Greer.

What's Next?

In terms of national rankings, Louisville gets a brief break against unranked Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh before a Jan. 14 clash with Duke. Given the daunting stretch it just played, it will look to take advantage of the upcoming games and make a move in the ACC standings.

Notre Dame plays unranked Clemson and Miami before a two-game road trip against No. 21 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Florida State and will attempt to carry its momentum from Wednesday's victory into the middle portion of the conference slate.