Tag: Women’s NIT

Notre Dame to face Massachusetts in first round of NCAA Tournament

Are the Irish ready for the spotlight?

It’s odd to talk about Notre Dame not being in the NCAA Tournament for a while, but that’s exactly what has happened lately. Fortunately, that drought won’t continue this year. The Irish have been selected for their first March Madness appearance since 2019 and their first with Niele Ivey as their head coach. They have been seeded fifth in the Bridgeport Regional and will face Massachusetts in the first round.

This will be the third time the Irish and Minutewomen face each other. The Irish won both of their previous meetings. The first took place in the 1995 National Women’s Invitational Tournament, the precursor to the present-day Women’s NIT, and was a 90-72 win. The second time happened at Purcell Pavilion in November 2012 and ended with a 94-50 victory.

It’s been a long road to get back to respectability, but the Irish have done it. The question now is whether that can translate into tournament success for this year or if this simply is a building block for the future.

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Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament streak ends at 24

All good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t make whenever the time comes any easier.

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.

Brackets. Are. BACK.

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