Pitt had a chance to clinch at least a share of the ACC regular season title on Wednesday night, but Notre Dame denied them that opportunity with an 88-81 win in South Bend. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Panthers, and ended a seven-game skid for the Irish.

Pitt had to make a furious late game rally to even get this game in aingle digits, because Notre Dame had controlled the scoreboard most of the night. The Panthers whittled the score down to 84-79 on a Jamarius Burton three-pointer with :38 seconds left after trailing by as many as 20 in the second half.

Notre Dame was able to withstand that rally thanks to strong foul shooting.

The Irish shot 26-of-31 for the game at the line. Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 to lead Notre Dame as they were able to secure a win for longtime head coach Mike Brey in his final home game in South Bend.

On the other end of things, the Panthers, normally strong free throw shooting team, were just 20-of-36 from the line. In Pitt's two wins over Georgia Tech and Syracuse last week, they shot a combined 38-for-42. Blake Hinson, Federiko Federiko, and Nike Sibande all had four missed free throws in this one.

Pitt never seemed to have it in this one on either side of the floor. The Panthers grabbed an early 7-5 advantage on a Hinson three-pointer, but he was whistled for a technical running down the court. It was not a game changing call by any means, but it certainly seemed to give the home team a boost. Notre Dame eventually closed the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 42-28 lead into the break.

The frustrations continued past halftime. Notre Dame extended the lead to 61-41 with 11:49 left. The Panthers' bench, seemingly out of frustration, was later hit with a second technical foul in the second half. Pitt was just 7-of-22 from three-point range for the game, and could not find a consistent rhythm from deep.

Since the three ball wasn't a big factor, the Panthers started to go at the basket in an unrelenting manner down the stretch. That method help extend the game and ultimately fouled out two Notre Dame players, while two others finished with four fouls.

Nelly Cummings nearly willed Pitt back into this game by himself. The senior point guard scored 14 of his 19 points in the final three minutes of the game, but that spirited effort was a little too late. Burton and Sibande also finished with 19, while Hinson supplied 15 points and 13 rebounds, but only had six points on three shot attempts after halftime.

The Panthers outscored Notre Dame 53-46 in the second half, but allowing an 11-win Notre Dame team to score 40 in each half directly led to Pitt's undoing in this one. The Irish did not crack 60 total points in their previous three games, while they eclipsed that mark with 11 minutes remaining on Wednesday.

The loss changes the outlook for the Panthers heading into Saturday's regular season finale. Pitt will now be looking to clinch a share of the ACC title against Miami, whereas a win tonight would have meant going for an outright conference crown. Losing to Notre Dame also hurts Pitt's NCAA Tournament resume. Despite being at the top of the ACC standings and ranked inside the Top-25, many feel the Panthers still have work to do to lock in a tournament bid, making Saturday's game all the more important.