There were many moments during Thursday's NCAA Tournament action when Notre Dame didn't look like a team that had just upended three of Ken Pomeroy's top 60 teams -- Miami, Duke and North Carolina -- to win the ACC Tournament.
The Fighting Irish started their game against Northeastern looking very little like one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. Guard Jerian Grant turned the ball over on Notre Dame's first possession, and the team missed seven of its first 11 shots.
In addition to its offense struggling to get started, Notre Dame got into early foul trouble. Forwards Zach Auguste and Bonzie Colson each gathered two fouls before the game was eight minutes old. That meant Northeastern attacked down low.
Scott Eatherton and Reggie Spencer flourished offensively underneath the basket as the Huskies had no reason to fear Notre Dame's frontcourt. The battle for rebounds on the glass went Northeastern's way early as well.
With 5:27 to play in the first half, Notre Dame fell behind by a bucket and looked to be in danger of being bounced by an underdog for the fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Fighting Irish lost to 11-seed Old Dominion in 2010 as a six-seed. They dropped a 2011 game to the 10-seed Florida State as a two-seed, were upset by the 10-seed Xavier in 2012 and then lost to another 10-seed -- this time Iowa State -- in 2013.
But Notre Dame finished the first half with a 31-27 lead, and then went up by 10 in the first 73 seconds of the second half. The Fighting Irish were finally playing like a team that had six wins over ranked teams this season.
March is for Cinderella stories, however, and Northeastern punched and kicked its way back into the game.
When Northeastern chipped all the way back to make it a two-point game with 37 second left to play, Notre Dame turned up its already fierce defense. Jerian Grant had two steals in the final 90 seconds of the game, including when he picked the pocket of Quincy Ford with three seconds to play before Northeastern could get a game-tying attempt off.
Even though the Fighting Irish shot 57.4 percent from the floor, defense was key in staving off the upset. Notre Dame forced 16 Northeastern turnovers and scored 17 points off those miscues.
Add Thursday's nail-biter, 69-65 victory over Northeastern to the momentum Notre Dame built in the ACC Tournament. The Fighting Irish will need every learning experience they can get as they await the winner of Butler-Texas.
