Can Notre Dame make the NCAA Tournament this March? After an embarrassing loss at Boston College in early-December that seemed about as far-fetched as imaginable as the Fighting Irish fell to just 3-4 overall that Friday night.
Yet, two months later it’s certainly a possibility although a lot of work remains. Work that begins with a challenging week ahead as the Irish host Duke before playing road games at both Miami and North Carolina State.
Notre Dame was however able to erase some demons against Virginia on Saturday night as the Irish improved to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. The victory landed Notre Dame in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology that was released Sunday morning.
Well, sort of.
Lunardi projects the 68-team NCAA Tournament field all season long and also gives his “first four out” as well as his “next four out”. It’s in the later that Notre Dame appeared Sunday morning, being the second to last team mentioned.
It’s crystal clear that Notre Dame has a lot of work left to do in order to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. However, they’re a lot closer than just about anybody expected after that disastrous night in Boston two months ago.
Will Notre Dame ultimately be an NCAA Tournament team?
Ask me again in a week and if Mike Brey, Blake Wesley, and the Fighting Irish can muster a 2-1 record over their three games this coming week I’ll really start buying into the real possibility. 1-2 wouldn’t be the end of tournament hopes but certainly wouldn’t be preferred while an 0-3 stretch here would likely require the Irish to run the table in the ACC Tournament to gain entry.
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