Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host NCAA Tournament games as 2-seed

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball program is due for some fun starting next week. While Micah Shrewsberry’s crew is done with their season, they went out fighting. Meanwhile, the party is just getting started for Niele Ivey and her gang.

The women’s basketball team found out on Selection Sunday that they’ve been awarded a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. A worthy reward for winning the ACC Tournament Championship and winning eight games in a row to close out the season.

Unlike the men’s tournament, which works to make sure that no team has obvious home court advantage, the women’s side embraces the idea of a successful season means you get to play at home. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will see their portion of the tournament get started on Thursday/Friday.

Hannah Hidalgo and company will play their first-round game against 15-seed Kent State. South Bend will also host No. 7 seed Ole Miss (23-8) and No. 10 seed Marquette (23-8). The winners of those two games will face off in the second round.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepare for home start to NCAA Tournament

There’s some interesting history with one team that Ivey’s squad could face off against. Marquette head coach Megan Duffy is a former Notre Dame point guard who played for the Irish from 2002-2006. 

Not only is this a bit of a home coming for her, but it’s got to be interesting to think about taking on her old team in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame is hosting for the second consecutive year and the second time overall under fourth-year head coach Niele Ivey. The Fighting Irish have hosted first and second round NCAA Tournament games seven times since 2015 and 13 times since 2000.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team has quite a bit of success in this scenario. They’re 24-2 as a host.