The Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost both games it played in the Cayman Islands Classic to TCU and Utah. In doing so, it seriously hurt its perception among those who follow women’s basketball for a living.
Not only did the Irish drop seven spots in the latest AP Top 25 poll from third to 10th, further than any other team, but they fell in Charlie Creme’s latest bracketology for ESPN. After a road win over USC allowed them to ascend to a No. 1 seed, they have fallen to a No. 3 seed.
What’s more, the Irish are in the quadrant featuring UConn, the top overall seed in this bracketology. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs have been bumped up to a No. 2 seed.
While the Irish remain highly ranked, this past week has led many to believe they aren’t as good as previously thought. The good news is it’s early in the season still, and there’s plenty of time to convince people to come back around on them. But it might become harder if they don’t beat at least one of Texas or the Huskies in two of their next three games.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89