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Where Notre Dame women's basketball stands in ESPN's NCAA Tournament Bracketology

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•02/06/24•

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Notre Dame women's basketball players huddle during a game vs. Northwestern. (Photo by Chad Weaver)

It feels like forever since No. 12 Notre Dame lost to Syracuse for a second time this season. In actuality, it’s only been 12 days. Three games.

When the Orange bullied the Irish on the latter’s home floor on Jan. 25, the ceiling came crashing down on head coach Niele Ivey‘s team. How could Notre Dame compete with NC State, Virginia Tech and Louisville if it swung and missed both times against Syracuse?

After beating UConn by 15 and taking care of Georgia Tech by 37 and Pittsburgh by 25, everything is back on for the Irish. They can take the next step forward in reaching all of their goals this season by going on the road and notching a win over No. 15 Louisville on Thursday.

ESPN has taken notice to what Notre Dame might be on the precipice of. This is the blurb with which Charlie Creme began his latest version of NCAA Tournament bracketology.

“Want to see where the bracket could change in the next two weeks? Keep a close eye on Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are the next big potential bracket movers. Sure, winning at UConn was huge, but their next-best wins are Tennessee and Miami — and until now, Notre Dame has benefited from a light ACC schedule. Six of Notre Dame’s seven conference wins came against Pitt (twice), Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia. The Irish’s No. 8 NET rating looks impressive, but the resume is a little thin. The next 13 days could change that dramatically. Starting Thursday, the Irish play Louisville, Florida State, NC State and Duke — all probable NCAA tournament teams. These are the games that will show the way if Notre Dame is to be a serious ACC contender and a potential first- and second-round NCAA host.”
— ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme

There is an underlying feeling of fool’s gold in those words. Creme acknowledges that the opportunity is there for Notre Dame to make its move, but he’s simultaneously suggesting that things could go awry for the Irish in their toughest portion of the schedule.

As it stands, Creme has Notre Dame slotted as a No. 5 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The four No. 4 seeds from each region get to host first and second round games at their home arenas. Beating Louisville might get Notre Dame over the hump and into a No. 4 seed, but losing to Florida State would be a step back.

The Irish truly must be in “win everything” mode. There are only eight regular season games left on their schedule, and only two of them are against teams Creme does not have in his current NCAA Tournament field. If six of the final eight are against tournament teams, Notre Dame might as well treat February like the tournament itself. That way once the tourney actually does come around, the Irish will have a better seed and they’ll know what it’s like to play every game like it’s their last.

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