Watch: Notre Dame reacts to getting No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament

Think they’re happy?

It’s unknown exactly how much Notre Dame pays attention to outside noise. If it does, it would have known it needed to do pretty much it did over the past few weeks to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and that was keep winning. So it’s not known exactly how much that knowledge, if it existed, played into the team’s reaction to earning a No. 2 seed in the tournament:

Even with the unfortunate news of Kylee Watson’s torn ACL, it appears little could have be done to dampen moods on this particular night. All the worries and anxieties associated with March Madness can wait for another day. Right now, there is cause to celebrate as the Irish will get to play at least one more game at Purcell Pavilion this season and possibly one after that. This is the time to let it all soak in before the daunting task ahead.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Kylee Watson will miss NCAA Tournament with torn ACL

Tough news.

When Notre Dame’s [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] went down with a knee injury during the Irish’s ACC Tournament semifinal win, many feared the worst. Those fears turned out to be true as Watson posted on Instagram that she tore her ACL and will not be able to play in this year’s NCAA Tournament:

https://www.instagram.com/kylee.watsonn/p/C4op-y6sq9G/?hl=en

This obviously casts a shadow over the Irish earning a No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament. There also will be questions moving forward about her availability for next season as All-American guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] has missed all of this season with a knee injury. A medical redshirt figures to be a possibility much like it happened with Miles this past season.

Watson has started every game for the Irish since transferring from Oregon before the 2022-23 season. This year, she averaged 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game. Needless to say, the Irish will miss her presence down low.

The loss of Watson also stretches the depth of an Irish roster hit hard already by injuries even further. Questions linger about how far they’ll be able to go this March Madness with so few players available. They got through the ACC Tournament all right, but they’ll facing teams now that might not be so forgiving with every game being an elimination game from here on. But they play the games for a reason, and we’ll see if the Irish can make some magic again.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame earns No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament, hosts Kent State first

Did you expect them to be seeded this high?

Not long ago, Notre Dame was seen as nothing more than a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Some bracketologies had the Irish as low as a No. 6. Since then, the Irish have won eight straight games and the ACC Tournament championship. That was enough for the selection committee to make them the No. 2 seed in Albany Regional 1., the highest seed for any ACC team.

The result is the Irish will get to host the first two rounds of March Madness. They’ll begin their run to a national championship against No. 15 seed Kent State. The winner of that game will face the winner of the other first-round game in South Bend between Ole Miss and Marquette. The Irish’s only previous meeting with the Golden Flashes was a 66-41 victory in the first round of the 1996 WNIT.

While the seeding isn’t a complete surprise, it’s an improvement from most bracketologists’ final projections. One of, if not the only one that had the Irish as a No. 2 seed was College Sports Madness. ESPN, CBS Sports and Her Hoop Stats all projected the Irish as a No. 3. Needless to say, the Irish did everything they needed to be a tournament host and then some.

The one hiccup for the Irish is that they were seeded in the same bracket as South Carolina, the top overall seed and heavy favorite to win the national championship. Perhaps seeing the Gamecocks in the season opener in Paris will give them an advantage for what to expect. But they have a few other games to win before it gets to that point, and that’s why they play them.

So make your plans to be in South Bend this coming weekend. The Irish will need all the support they can get as they begin that national title run.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: Niele Ivey praises Muffet McGraw after ACC Tournament title win

Get some tissues ready.

Even though she’s retired from coaching, Basketball Hall of Famer and Notre Dame legend [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] has not slowed down. She’s kept busy these days providing women’s basketball analysis for the ACC Network. Still, she has not shied away from the university she established a legacy at, and [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] didn’t let viewers forget that Sunday.

After ESPN’s coverage of the Irish’s ACC Tournament title win wrapped up, the ACC Network picked up the postgame coverage, and McGraw was there as she has been the entire tournament. Ivey knew that and chose to include her in her triumphant moment, and you can see her reaction in this video from co-analyst Kelly Gramlich:

But that only was the beginning as soon after, Ivey crashed the desk during an interview with tournament MVP [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]. After wrapping her mentor in a bear hug, she took the mic and gave her all the praise she could:

The bond that ties these women together is strong and must be admired. Hopefully, we can see this over and over again for a long time to come.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Photos of Notre Dame’s ACC Tournament championship win vs. NC State

Relive a memorable day in program history.

Notre Dame will remember this one for a long time. Not everybody believed the Irish would be the last team standing at the end of the ACC Tournament, but it happened with a 55-51 victory over NC State. Both the Irish and Wolfpack played only six players, but the Irish only had seven available because of injuries. That’s what makes this accomplishment even more special.

Coupled with an eight-game winning streak, it’s impossible to think the Irish won’t host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a top-four seed now. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme even said afterwards that they should be locked in as a No. 3 seed now. They’ve answered every challenge late in the season, and the selection committee has no reason not to consider them as a host.

Whatever happens for the rest of the season, the Irish always will have this moment. Here are the images from an afternoon that will stick with them:

Notre Dame wins ACC Tournament championship by beating NC State

They earned every bit of this one.

It didn’t matter that Notre Dame had only seven players available for the ACC Tournament championship against NC State. It hasn’t mattered all season how ravaged the Irish have been by injuries. They’ve proven time and again just how good they are. Now, they have hardware after beating the Wolfpack, 55-51, to win their sixth ACC Tournament title.

A game that featured seven ties and nine lead changes wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter. When the Irish (26-6) saw the Wolfpack (27-6) go up six with over seven minutes left, they cracked down with defensive pressure, and just enough offense took over from there. Over the final 6:44, they went on a 12-2 run, allowing the Wolfpack only one field goal over their final nine attempts.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] tied the game with a pair of 3-pointers, and tournament MVP [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] made a couple of go-ahead shots in a 56-second span. A final defensive stop was book-ended by single free throws apiece from [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] and Hidalgo. The Irish huddled in celebration as the final seconds ticked down.

Hidalgo led all scorers with 22 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Westbeld scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half with eight of them coming in the fourth quarter. Citron had 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals. [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag], starting for the injured [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag], blocked three shots.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame moves up to No. 3 seed in latest ESPN bracketology

You want want to start making plans to be at Purcell Pavilion in a couple of weeks.

Notre Dame has become impossible to ignore during its seven-game winning streak late in the season. Because of it, all signs point to the Irish hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a top-four seed. Now, simply getting to the ACC Tournament championship game appears to have helped them even more.

ESPN’s Charlie Creme updated his bracketology before the title game and bumped the Irish up to a No. 3 seed. The move was noticeable enough that Creme devoted his paragraph at the top of his bracket to them:

“Notre Dame looks like the best team in the ACC and has reached the championship game of the ACC tournament. With wins over Louisville and Virginia Tech in Greensboro, Notre Dame has jumped to a No. 3 seed. The Irish were just outside looking in during the NCAA tournament selection committee’s two reveals of the top 16 seeds. But now, they’ve won seven in a row since losing to NC State – their opponent in Sunday’s ACC tournament title game. Notre Dame was the biggest mover on a Saturday that saw most of the remaining favorites win and hold their spots.”

For what it’s worth, Her Hoop Stats projected the Irish as a fourth seed in the update it published before the Irish won their semifinal game. Regardless, it would be a shocker at this point if the Irish aren’t an NCAA Tournament host. In that case, there needs to be a serious overhaul of the selection process. Hopefully, that discussion won’t be necessary in a week’s time.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named Wooden Award finalist

The freshman is part of an elite class of players this season.

While far from the most prolific women’s basketball player this season, Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] still has been incredible. From the moment she stepped on the court in the season opener against South Carolina in Paris, there have been few games in which she hasn’t had a real impact. Now, she’s been rewarded by being named one of 15 finalists for the Wooden Award, which is given to the national player of the year.

Hidalgo entered Sunday’s ACC Tournament championship game averaging with the nation’s third-best scoring average at 23.4 points a game and as the nations steals leader at 4.7 a game. She has reached double figures scoring in every game, and the only time she didn’t record at least one steal was in the Irish’s win over UConn, the highlight of their NCAA Tournament resume.

While it will be tough to make a case for anyone other than Iowa’s Caitlin Clark to win this award, Hidalgo becoming a finalist as a freshman in an achievement on its own. Hopefully, this is only the first time she has this honor.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Photos of Notre Dame ACC Tournament semifinal win vs. Virginia Tech

See how this latest win went down.

Notre Dame will play in the ACC Tournament championship game for the seventh time after beating Virginia Tech, 82-53, in the semifinals. The last time the Irish got this opportunity was when they got it during their first six years in the conference, winning five times. But it hasn’t happened since 2019, so this next opportunity has been waiting for a while.

Unfortunately for the Irish, the title game and possibly the NCAA Tournament might come and go without [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]. The starting forward injured her knee in the third quarter against the Hokies and went back to the locker room. When she came back, she was on crutches, and that’s not good for an Irish team that has been stretched thin by injuries all season. All anyone can do right now is hope for the best with her.

In the meantime, here are some images from the win over the Hokies:

Notre Dame beats Virginia Tech but loses Watson in ACC Tournament semi

This latest victory might have been costly.

Notre Dame faced the ACC Tournament’s top seed in Virginia Tech for its semifinal game. With the Hokies missing injured conference player of the year Elizabeth Kitley and the Irish having beaten them a week ago with her, everything trended in their direction. But the Irish suffered their own bad injury luck during their dominant 82-53 victory that put them in the tournament championship game.

The Irish (25-6) led almost the entire game, and any hope the Hokies (24-7) had were dashed when the Irish scored 20 unanswered points between the second and third quarters. However, the high the Irish were on was dampened when [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] went down with a left knee injury and had to be helped back to the locker room. While she did put some weight on the knee and eventually returned to the Irish’s bench with crutches, both the team and fans undoubtedly will hold their collective breath as they await word on her condition.

While the Hokies were able to cut the deficit to 15 after Watson went out, the Irish found yet another wind despite taking another hit to their depth. Before it was over, they went back up by as much as 32. The Hokies simply had no answers for the Irish no matter who was or wasn’t on the court.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was the Irish’s best player on the afternoon by virtue of leading them with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 18 points and blocked three shots. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had 15 points and six assists, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] got 12 of her 14 points on four 3-pointers.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89