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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish a ten-seed in latest ESPN Bracketology

By Brad Weiss

Feb 17, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey signals to an official in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey signals to an official in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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While it is only May, ESPN is already putting together possible 2022 NCAA Tournament brackets, and Notre Dame Basketball is projected to go dancing.

The Notre Dame basketball team has not made it to a Men’s NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 college basketball season, a year that saw them lose in the Round of 32. Since then, the team has been mired with mediocre play, and this past season, they were trounced in the ACC Tournament by the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Luckily for Mike Brey and company, most of the team is returning for another go-around this upcoming season, and there is a lot of talent returning. Prentiss Hubb was one of the better point guards in the ACC this past season, and he leads a group of guards that includes Cormac Ryan and Trey Wertz to name a few.

Of course, Nate Laszewski had a monster season this past year as well and is someone who should be on a lot of watch lists heading into the 2021-22 campaign. He dominated on the boards for the Irish and was one of the more consistent scorers in the ACC in his breakout season.

Does Notre Dame Basketball return to the Tournament?

In their latest 2022 Bracketology, ESPN had the Irish as a No. 10 seed, taking on No. 7 Memphis in the West Region. That would be quite a season for Brey and his squad, who are also welcoming in three new faces this season in two true freshmen, and a transfer from Yale.

Both J.R. Konieczny and Blake Wesley played locally in South Bend, while Paul Atkinson was one of the better scorers for the Bulldogs before transferring to the Irish. With the talent returning and these new players, there should at least be enough talent to make a legitimate tournament run in 2021-22.

Since it is only May, this is all for fun, as we do not know how the upcoming season is going to play out. What we do know is that this is going to be a veteran group that should be able to stack wins, and that could lead to the Irish dancing next March.