Notre Dame and Pittsburgh opened the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday in dramatic fashion. Notre Dame trailed late but had a field goal to tie things up before a stop and controversial foul led to an eventual 55-54 victory.

The Pitt Panthers went into Tuesday's ACC tournament opener against Notre Dame essentially needing to run the table in Charlotte to make the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Panthers got bounced after one game in a way that will sting all offseason.

Game 1 of the ACC Tournament ended with a controversial call on Pitt in the final second of regulation, leading to a Notre Dame victory.

For the second time in as many seasons, Notre Dame basketball found itself playing the first game on the first day of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament

Notre Dame hoped it could beat Pittsburgh so it wouldn't be one-and-done in the ACC Tournament. It probably didn't hope that such a win would be the result of a controversy. Nonetheless, it surely is grateful for the 55-54 victory that will allow it to play North Carolina in the second round.

It was called on Pitt big man Zack Austin, and Davis went to the line and hit the free throw to give Notre Dame the 55-54 win. It was quite the scene on Tuesday, and everybody looked stunned at the call. After the game, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel left no question about his thoughts, per Collin Ferguson of WPTS Sports.

SportsLine's model simulated Pitt vs. Notre Dame in the 2025 ACC Tournament first-round game on Tuesday 10,000 times

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With the injuries the Pittsburgh Panthers have suffered this season, they've become highly reliant on two methods of scoring: isolations and pick-and-pops. Notre Dame is one of the better isolation defenses in the country, ranking in the Top 5% nationally in such sets and holding opponents to .61 points per possession.

It was a slow scoring sloppy affair to kick off the ACC Tournament. At the half, Notre Dame had a narrow 25-22 lead on Pitt who was shooting just 8-28 from the floor. The Irish maintained the lead the entire first half despite turning the ball over 10 times and shooting just 10-27 from the floor.

The Notre Dame basketball team faces North Carolina in the second round of the ACC tournament. Here’s game time and how to watch info.