Paul Atkinson Jr. scored on a putback with 1.4 seconds to go, and Notre Dame beat Rutgers 89-87 in double overtime Wednesday night in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four in Dayton, Ohio. Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. tied the game with a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in double OT. Fighting Irish freshman Blake Wesley drove to the hoop and missed, but Atkinson Jr. was there for the putback. Atkinson Jr. finished with 26 points and six rebounds for Notre Dame, which moved on to take on number six seed Alabama Friday afternoon in San Diego.
Indiana faces Saint Mary’s in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64 Thursday night in Portland. The 12th-seeded Hoosiers beat Wyoming in the First Four Tuesday night in Dayton, and arrived in Portland early Wednesday morning. The Gaels are 25-7, including a win over top-ranked Gonzaga last month. Saint Mary’s has a balanced attack with four players averaging more than 10 points per game. IU is 21-13 and led by junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who scored 29 points in Tuesday’s win, and has four straight 20-point games. The Hoosiers are 2.5-point underdogs, with tip off at 7:20 p.m. Eastern on TBS.
The Indianapolis Colts acquired defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (Yah-NEEK In-GACK-way) in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. In return, the Colts sent cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (Yah-SEEN) to Las Vegas. Ngakoue racked up 10 sacks in 2021 to lead the Raiders, and he will reunite with his former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. The 26-year-old Ngakoue has 55 and a half career sacks, and will bolster the Colts’ pass rush, which struggled last year. The 25-year-old Ya-Sin was the Colts’ second round pick in 2019, and started 30 of 41 games in Indianapolis.
