Notre Dame women’s basketball rises to No. 1 seed in ESPN bracketology
January doesn’t exactly scream NCAA basketball tournament time. The college football national championship has yet to be played, after all. But at a place like Notre Dame, outside of a couple down years transitioning from one head coach to another, it’s always appropriate to ponder the postseason.
ESPN actively updates its bracketology predictions throughout the season. The outlet released its most recent version on Tuesday. For the first time this season, Notre Dame was listed as a No. 1 seed.
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So much can happen between now and March. But for the time being, it’s safe to assume Irish fans can expect to take in the first two rounds of the tournament at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend. That’s a luxury head coach Niele Ivey‘s team almost earned last year, but Notre Dame entered the tourney as a No. 5 seed. The top four seeds from each region host the first and second rounds at their home arena.
Notre Dame is not a stranger to holding one of the four top seeds in the tournament. Former head coach Muffett McGraw led the Irish to a No. 1 seed in eight-straight seasons from 2012-19. The only other time it’s happened in program history was 2001. With Ivey controlling the point that year, Notre Dame won its first-ever national championship. Ivey was on the bench beside McGraw when the Irish won their second in 2018.
The other projected No. 1 seeds are South Carolina (13-0), Ohio State (15-0) and Stanford (14-1).
Notre Dame (12-1, 3-0 ACC) rose to No. 4 in the most recent Associated Press Poll on Monday after another undefeated week, this time against two ACC opponents — Miami (8-6, 1-2) and Boston College (11-5, 1-2). The Irish checked in at No. 5 in the AP in each of the previous four weeks.
More important than ESPN’s bracketology and the AP Poll are the NCAA’s NET Rankings. Notre Dame appeared at No. 7 in those Tuesday. The NET Rankings are a driving force in assembling the NCAA Tournament field each year. A ranking of No. 7 would put the Irish on the No. 2 seed line.
Notre Dame is at No. 22 North Carolina (9-4, 0-2) at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. Then the Irish are back at home vs. Wake Forest (10-5, 1-3) at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 12. After the game against the Tar Heels, the Irish are not scheduled to play another ranked foe until Jan. 29 at No. 10 NC State (12-2, 2-1).
