Notre Dame vs. Butler: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The clutch of the Irish led No. 3 seed Notre Dame to a 67-64 overtime victory over the No. 6 seed Butler Bulldogs in an intense marathon of a game in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. 

ESPN College Basketball tweeted the final score, noting Notre Dame's return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003:

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

ESPN's Dana O'Neil reported that the Irish's win also included a heavy heart for head coach Mike Brey as he revealed after the victory that his mother died that morning of a heart attack.

Pat Connaughton might not have had the greatest game in his Notre Dame career, but it did start and end well for the senior. By merely playing he set a new record for career games at the school:

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Fighting Irish move on! Notre Dame defeats Butler in OT, 67-64, to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2003. pic.twitter.com/ngsAWHv9M9

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 22, 2015"

Then he kept his team's dream alive with a heroic swat in the final second to ensure the contest went to overtime tied 55-55:

The block saved Zach Auguste from becoming a scapegoat for the Irish faithful. After a Butler miss with six seconds left, the forward was called for a double-dribble and gave the Bulldogs the ball back with two seconds to go. 

Once into overtime, the Irish's momentum couldn't be stopped.

Auguste found redemption in the form of his only block of the game with 15 seconds left to seal the deal. Connaughton also hit his first three of the game after starting 0-of-5 from deep in regulation.

The three-pronged attack of Jerian Grant, Steve Vasturia and Demetrius Jackson spearheaded the Irish. Vasturia—usually known for his defense—was the Irish leader in scoring in regulation with 15 and ended with a team-high 20. 

Meanwhile, Butler's tandem of Roosevelt Jones and Andrew Chrabascz spent the evening matching them stride for stride. Jones finished with 23 points and five rebounds. Chrabascz chipped in 20 points while Kameron Woods had 15 boards. 

After injuring his knee against Texas in second-round tournament play, Jones' health was one of the biggest questions for Butler. The 6'4" forward didn't always look healthy doing it, but he was crucial to the Bulldogs' efforts in the early going, as noted by Pete Byrne of WSBT-TV:

Jones' gutsy performance was only enough to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance in the first half. The Fighting Irish went into the locker room with a 31-29 cushion after leading for the vast majority of the first 20 minutes. 

Still, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey was concerned about the Bulldogs' ability to score in the paint. Nick Ironside of 247Sports passed along the halftime quote:

Brey came out in the second half with some adjustments on defense, including switching his best defender in Vasturia to Jones. Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports highlighted the sophomore's contributions on the defensive side of the floor:

It appeared Brey had figured out the Butler offense. The Irish came out in the second half and opened up a six-point lead while keeping Jones scoreless in the first six-and-a-half minutes.

But the Dogs weren't going to lie down easily.

Jones once again got going as the half neared the nine-minute mark. He and Chrabascz went on an 11-0 run to seize a 47-41 lead. 

The game of momentum runs continued, as neither team could finally put the other away, and the contest hit the 1:30 mark with a 55-55 tie.

It would stay that way and head to overtime thanks to Connaughton's block.

Now the Irish get the luxury of sitting back on Sunday and waiting to see who will meet them in the Sweet 16 next Thursday. They will play the winner of Kansas vs. Wichita State. 

This win gives Grant and Co. seven consecutive victories in March. With five of those seven opponents being tournament teams, it's hard to find anyone that's playing better than the Irish right now. 

With No. 1 seed Kentucky looming on the other side of the Midwest bracket, this win could be the next step toward an epic regional final.