Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Move Up To No. 5, Primed For Top 5 Matchup

The Notre Dame basketball team moved up to No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. The Fighting Irish rose seven spots after winning the Maui Invitational.

The Irish won the annual tournament in Hawaii in thrilling fashion. Down by 16, Notre Dame rallied late to defeat the Wichita State Shockers.

This is the highest Notre Dame has been ranked since Mar. 7, 2011 when the Irish captured a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Fighting Irish, despite lofty expectations, lost in the second round of the tournament to Florida State. The No. 10 seed Seminoles crushed Notre Dame, 71-57.

The 2010-2011 Notre Dame basketball team featured Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis. This group also won an early season tournament. The Irish won the Old Spice Classic with victories over Georgia, Cal and Wisconsin.

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Next on the docket for the Fighting Irish is No. 3 Michigan State. Although this is an early season matchup, the contest between the Irish and the Spartans is a possible Final Four matchup.

The Spartans enter Thursday’s matchup with 5-1. Their lone loss came at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils, the No. 1 team in the nation.

Notre Dame enters Thursday’s matchup as an underdog. However, the Irish are playing with house money. ESPN will broadcast the game on Thursday at 7:00 pm.

Bracketology

Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projects Notre Dame as a No. 3 seed in the Midwest region. A victory over the Spartans would improve the odds of the Irish landing a higher seed.

In the bracket, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State and Villanova are the No. 1 seeds. At the No. 2 slots, Lunardi lists North Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky and Florida.

This is extremely early. Bracketology in the first month of the season is similar to preseason bowl projections or the “way-to-early” Top 25. The Fighting Irish could fall apart completely or fight their way to a top seed.

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