No. 11 Notre Dame is advancing to the second round after eliminating No. 6 Alabama 78-64 behind Cormac Ryan’s record game.
Ryan, the 6-foot-5 junior guard who is averaging 8.6 points this season, exploded for a career-high 29 points. He shot 7-of-9 from deep, and those seven makes in a single game are a tournament record for a Notre Dame player and ties the record by an ACC player.
Whatever Ryan wanted on offense, he got it. Watch him dance with the ball after getting the pick-and-roll switch and getting the bounce:
Ryan led all scorers in the game while freshman Blake Wesley added 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a big steal down the stretch:
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Keon Ellis led Alabama with 16 points, including a 4-of-6 clip from 3-point range, but the Crimson Tide just had no answer for Ryan’s hot shooting.
The Fighting Irish will now move on to play No. 3 Texas Tech on Sunday in the second round. Texas Tech defeated No. 14 Montana State in a 97-62 win.
Sports
This is the second time so far this tournament a No. 11 seed eliminated a No. 6 seed. No. 11 Michigan knocked out No. 6 Colorado State on Friday in a 75-63 win.