All good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t make whenever the time comes any easier. After 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, Notre Dame was left out of this year’s Big Dance. A 10-10 overall record and 8-7 ACC record was not nearly enough to merit an at-large bid, although this was known already. This streak would have come to an end with last year’s 13-18 squad but for COVID-19 canceling the tournament, and it turned out that only prolonged the inevitable with Muffet McGraw retiring and Niele Ivey taking over.
The Irish will not play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. They also were shut out of the Women’s NIT. You have to go back to 1993 for the last time Notre Dame was completely absent from the women’s basketball postseason. Entire families have been born since then.
Hats off to the Irish on a terrific run. Two national championships, seven title game appearances and nine Final Four berths are nothing to sneeze at. Here’s hoping that dominance will return soon.
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