A dejected Notre Dame fan and two of his friends looked on Saturday night, mouths agape, as the game clock struck zero and the Cats rushed the floor in a frenzy.

The silence between the three was broken when he posed a question half of Quicken Loans Arena was probably wondering.

“How did they win that game?”

It was a great question. After all, when Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant’s final three-point heave flew past the rim to give UK the 68-66 victory, I was left thinking the same thing. Notre Dame had everything working for it. It seemed meant to be.

From the get-go, the Cats were hyper-aware of the Irish’s three-point-shooting capacity, and as a result were left vulnerable to their backdoor cuts to the rim. Their wing players sagged into the post on defense, limiting UK’s ability to score inside. And when UK’s big men kicked the ball back out to the perimeter, Notre Dame’s guards were sticking with the shooters.

The Irish were able to do something no team has done all year – render freshman guard Tyler Ulis completely useless. Karl-Anthony Towns was dominant all game, but even he was a liability on the defensive end, allowing Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste to hang 20 points on him in the post.

Even when UK made runs, Notre Dame was always able to respond with one of its own. When UK sophomore guard Aaron Harrison flashed the 2014 NCAA Tournament side of himself and hit a deep, pressure-packed three, Grant swished a three from even further on the next possession.

The timid, in-over-their-heads Irish who started the game with six turnovers hardened into a sharp, savvy unit that coughed up the ball only once after the 9:17 mark of the first half (more than 29 minutes of play).

Notre Dame did everything it could do to win, and it should have been enough. It just wasn’t.

The Cats showed an uncanny ability to lock down perfectly on defense when they needed a few stops. It’s happened all season – albeit much earlier in those games – and it’s what finally made the difference on Saturday. Notre Dame didn’t convert a field goal for the final 2:35 of the game while UK made its last nine shots. It was one final hurdle the Irish couldn’t leap, and it was their undoing.

After UK’s win against West Virginia on Thursday, Mountaineers forward Devin Williams said you just can’t stop something that’s destined.

Seeing what took place on Saturday, how can you argue?