What to know, how to watch Oregon State vs. Notre Dame in Sweet 16
This is a familiar position for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are looking for a different outcome.
No. 2 seed Notre Dame (28-6) is in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year. In the previous two instances, the Irish lost to No. 1 seed NC State, 66-63 two years ago, and No. 2 seed Maryland, 76-59, last season. Perhaps being up against a No. 3 seed this time, Oregon State (26-7), is just what the doctor ordered.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Irish and the Beavers.
No. 2 seed Notre Dame women’s basketball vs. No. 3 seed Oregon State
- Teams: No. 2 seed Notre Dame (28-6) and No. 3 seed Ole Miss (26-7)
- Head coaches: Niele Ivey (89-31, fourth year at Notre Dame); Scott Rueck (296-153, 14th year at Kent State; 584-241 overall, 28th year)
- Date: March 29, 2024
- Location: MVP Arena (Albany, N.Y.)
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN
- TV broadcasters: Pam Ward, Stephanie White and Holly Rowe
- Radio: 99.9 WQLQ-FM in South Bend
- Radio broadcaster: Sean Stires and Karen Keyes
Matchup notables
• Notre Dame is on a 10-game winning streak, the best of the Ivey era. The Fighting Irish have not lost since Feb. 15 against NC State. Senior forward Maddy Westbeld called a players-only meeting after the 16-point defeat to the Wolfpack in South Bend. Notre Dame has been on a roll ever since. Half of the wins have either come in the ACC or NCAA Tournament.
• Oregon State it some stumbling blocks down the stretch run of its season, meanwhile, losing three of its last five. Two of those losses were to No. 1 seed Stanford, and the other was against unranked Washington.
• Both teams have taken similar paths in the tournament. Notre Dame won its two games by an average margin of 14.5 points. Oregon State cruised in its triumphs by an average spread of 16 points. The Irish were the higher scoring team, averaging 76 points to the Beavers’ 67. Notre Dame allowed 59 points per game. Oregon State allowed 51 in both of its matchups, meanwhile.
• Notre Dame’s 71-56 win over Ole Miss in the second round was the poster child of how the Irish haven’t lost in a month and a half; excellent team defense, prolific scoring from the “big three” of freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo, junior guard Sonia Citron and senior forward Maddy Westbeld and timely contributions from the three other role players in the short six-player rotation Ivey is working with because of injuries.
• Oregon State’s 61-51 victory over Nebraska, meanwhile, was a gut-it-out type of win. The team’s third-leading scorer paced the Beavers with 19 points while No. 1 option Raegan Beers worked her way back from a lower-leg injury suffered in the first round. She had 10 points in 25 minutes as a 17-point per game scorer over the course of the whole season. The Beavers can play stifling defense no matter what, though, and that’s how they got by Nebraska.
