College basketball is a long game.  There is plenty of time for each team to make a run and an abundance of time for teams to lose a lead.  They play two halves for a reason.  This game featuring two teams from power conferences was a perfect example of what a tale of two halves means.  Michigan, from the Big Ten Conference, was absolutely dominant in the first half.  They led by as many as thirteen points in the first half as Notre Dame struggled to keep the game close.  They held a very comfortable 41-19 lead going into halftime as it appeared the Wolverines were on their way to an easy victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.  Notre Dame, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, had other ideas.  Notre Dame’s shooting woes from the first half diminished as they began to claw their way back into the game.  They battled all the way back to tie the game at 48 apiece by starting the half on a 19-7 run.  The teams traded baskets until Notre Dame was able to establish a lead with around four minutes left in the game. The Fighting Irish made their free throws down the stretch en route to a 70-63 come-from-behind win.  V.J. Beachum led the Irish with 18 points. Demetrious Jackson added 11 points, and Zach Auguste scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.  For Michigan, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman poured in a team high 15 points, while Derrick Walton, Jr., dropped 10 points.  

Notre Dame survives and advances to take on the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin fresh off their upset of West Virginia.