In its sole game since the Tuesday, Feb. 10 NCAA Tournament projections were released, Notre Dame women’s basketball beat NC State (17-8, 10-4 ACC) by 12 points in a game the Irish at one point led by 27. What’s more, Notre Dame’s fourth Quad 1 win of the season was televised on ESPN, and that same outlet clearly took note in the aftermath.
Charlie Creme’s “Bracketology” update Tuesday, Feb. 17, reflected a boost of confidence in the Irish, moving them up from a No. 8 seed to a No. 7 seed in No. 2-seeded LSU’s Baton Rouge stomping grounds. In this scenario, Notre Dame (16-9, 8-6 ACC) would face No. 10 seed Princeton (20-3, 8-2 Ivy).
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The Irish have never faced the Ivy League’s Tigers.
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Connor Groel of CBS Sports also had Notre Dame as a seven seed in Baton Rouge this week, but his mock bracket pitted the Irish against No. 10 Rhode Island (23-2, 14-0 A-10). Like Princeton, Notre Dame has never done battle against the Atlantic 10’s Rams.
Last week, Groel projected the Irish to be an eight seed against No. 9 Nebraska (16-10, 5-10 Big Ten) at No. 1 South Carolina’s Columbia host site. The NCAA’s Autumn Johnson shared that exact prediction via social media this week.
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Notre Dame has only faced the Cornhuskers twice in the past 24 years, splitting those games with one win apiece. Johnson projected the Irish as a 10 seed last week, a contest at No. 2 Vanderbilt’s Nashville host site against No. 7 Oregon (18-9, 6-8).
Is Notre Dame women’s basketball a lock for the NCAA Tournament?
The short answer is no. Anything can happen with four regular season games and at least one Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament game left to play.
Should the Irish go 0-5 the rest of the season, they most likely would not make the big dance. The good news for Notre Dame fans is that scenario is extremely far-fetched, with two of those five games coming against bottom-four conference foes in Wake Forest (13-13, 3-11 ACC) and Southern Methodist (SMU) (9-17, 2-12 ACC) this week.
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Granted, last season was the first and only time the Irish had ever played SMU, but the Mustangs and Demon Deacons are a combined 0-14 against Notre Dame. The challenge for the Irish comes in facing Syracuse (21-5, 11-4 ACC) and No. 8 Louisville (24-4, 14-1 ACC) Feb. 26 and March 1, respectively.
Even if the Irish go 2-2 to end the regular season with those victories coming against low-quality opponents, they should still be safely in the NCAA Tournament field as they are now. In 11 games vs. Quad I teams, Notre Dame is 4-7, with four of those losses coming in the NET Rankings’ top 10.
Holding ninth place in the ACC is important, too, as at least seven of the eight teams above the Irish in the standings are widely projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame women’s basketball’s latest bracketology predictions
