The Players Era Festival in Las Vegas was always going to be a tough challenge for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were slated to face Rutgers and Houston, with a third game against an opponent to be determined after Wednesday's matchups.

Rutgers held off Notre Dame for an 85-84 overtime victory after an Allocco 3-point attempt from deep rimmed out at the buzzer.

Rutgers guard Dylan Harper (2) shoots against Notre Dame guards Logan Imes, left, and Matt Allocco (41) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) AP

The Notre Dame men’s basketball team will remember its first game of the Players Era Festival for a lot of reasons. Unfortunately, it won’t be for a victory it lost an 85-84 overtime thriller to Rutgers in Las Vegas.

In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, Irish power forward Paul Atkinson’s rebound basket with 1.2 seconds left gave Notre Dame an 89-87 victory and sent the Irish on to face Alabama in the first round in San Diego. Atkinson scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds.

The team fought valiantly without their best player for most of the game, but ultimately didn’t have enough firepower to hang with Dylan Harper and the Scarlet Knights