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Notre Dame's win over Kentucky made this Crossroads Classic matchup a lot more interesting than initially expected, and it lived up to those expectations.

Notre Dame emerged from the gates hot offensively, taking an early lead that would eventually stretch to nine points, but Mike Woodson's defense wouldn't let the Irish run away with this one.

"You know, I thought we struggled really early in the game and just couldn't make shots, but our defense was just tight. Even when we were struggling, they were I think sitting at 19 when we were at 11, so they weren't going anywhere," Woodson said.