While it’s not exactly a shock that the Notre Dame women’s basketball team didn’t get a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, it’s still a disappointment. Now a Fighting Irish squad that has struggled to find a groove in the last few weeks, has some ammo to get fired up. They have a reason to come out angry and use it as fuel.
Niele Ivey’s squad still has a favorable road to the Sweet 16. They not only have a No. 3 seed, but they’ll play at home at the Purcell Pavillion for the first and second-round games. The first game of the tournament will come against 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin (29-5).
The Ladyjacks finished third in the Southland Conference’s regular season but managed to get into the dance thanks to a conference tournament victory. The Notre Dame women’s basketball team on the other hand, won a piece of the ACC conference title in the regular season but saw its end-of-season struggles continue in the conference tournament.
Notre Dame women’s basketball can use lower seed as motivation
The Irish will play the 101st NCAA Tournament game in program history on Friday at 2 pm and should rather easily dispatch the mid-major opponent. It’s the second round game that will give Notre Dame a chance to rely on being shunned in order to get fired up.
Notre Dame women’s basketball will be back at Purcell on Sunday if they log a Friday win for a second-round matchup with the winner of Friday’s 11:30 a.m. matchup on ESPN2 between 6 seed Michigan (22-10) and an 11-seed — the First Four winner between Iowa State (22-11) and Princeton (21-7) to be played on Wednesday night at 7.