DAYTON. Geo Baker held his head for a few seconds and grabbed his hair with both hands. The fifth-year student was furious with himself.
It was only the end of the regulations with a draw. But Baker had a chance to immediately send the Scarlet Knights to the winner’s circle, and he could not do it. His shot to the tune proved short, and after two dramatic periods of overtime, Rutgers was on the verge of a crushing 89–87 loss to Notre Dame in the packed UD Arena in the first four NCAA tournaments.
“I’ve made that shot a couple of times in my career,” Baker said. “It felt like it was coming in.”
Paul Atkinson Jr.’s offensive rebound and follow-up with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime after Ron Harper Jr. pulled Rutgers even with 22.0 seconds left in a chaotic approximation to this instant classic was the game winner. Baker attempted to move quickly to half the court, but was unable to land his shot in time. His career ended in bitter disappointment when Notre Dame moved on to meet sixth-seeded Alabama on Friday in San Diego. This was most likely the last game in which Harper and Caleb McConnell (23 points) would also play for Rutgers.
“Emotion at the end, it was heartbreaking to see it all unfold like this,” Harper said at a heartfelt press conference following the first double overtime in Top Four history. “That this has happened is just frustrating, it’s devastating, it’s heartbreaking.”
A dejected Geo Baker (left), Ron Harper (center) and Caleb McConnell walk off the court after Rutgers’ 89–87 loss to Notre Dame in the First Four.
“If there’s a better game in the NCAA tournament, I have to see it,” Notre Dame coach Mike Bray said.
Ultimately, the result came down to the fact that Rutgers (18-14) could not realize himself in the last seconds at the end of normal time or in overtime. The Scarlet Knights had two shots to win late in the second half, but Harper and Baker failed to convert. After a three-pointer from Paul Mulcahy gave Rutgers the lead with 8.6 seconds left in the first overtime, they allowed a layup by Blake Wesley to tie Notre Dame at 23–10. And then there was Atkinson, who was a thorn in their side all evening, beating them to the offensive rebound at the end of the second extra session.
Geo Baker after missing the game-winning shot in regulation.Getty Images
Fittingly, Atkinson, who moved from Yale, sent the Irishman to the next round. Rutgers didn’t have an answer for him as the senior hitter scored 26 points and Notre Dame scored a whopping 58 in the paint. Rutgers wanted to limit Notre Dame’s strength as a 3-point shooting team, but Bray adjusted by boarding them with paint and the Irish hit 51 percent from the field.
“It wasn’t our usual defense,” complained coach Steve Pickell. “We didn’t get any kills. That’s three stops in a row. We usually get a lot of them as the game progresses.”
Not Wednesday night, when Baker’s memorable career ended. McConnell and Harper (22 points), seniors with one year of eligibility remaining, may return. But this seems unlikely. Perhaps for Rutgers in Dayton ended an era when he returned to relevance. The program entered consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1975-76 and was only three points behind the Sweet 16 last March. It started slow this year but ended strong and danced again.
“I just wish it never ended,” Pickell said. “These guys gave everything to our program and they deserve to keep playing. It’s just a hard night for us after we played the way we played and [fighting] All the time. But [Notre Dame] was only one possession better.”