Her Loyal Sons

A Notre Dame Football Blog

Home > Notre Dame Football > Notre Dame Snags #3 Seed, Joins Kentucky and Kansas in Midwest Region

Via @ChristopherHine...and yes, I am more than happy to re-use this photo

Notre Dame Snags #3 Seed, Joins Kentucky and Kansas in Midwest Region

by

Via @ChristopherHine...and yes, I am more than happy to re-use this photo

Via @ChristopherHine…and yes, I am more than happy to re-use this photo

Selection Sunday is in the books and Notre Dame men’s basketball has received their dance partners and location. The Irish will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a part of the Midwest region as a #3 seed. Their first game will be Thursday, March 19 at 12:15 PM ET against the #14 seeded Northeastern Huskies, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions.

While I’m sure most fans are most immediately concerned about making it past the first round thanks to recent history, this Irish team is certainly poised to make a deep run this year. In fact, Jordan Cornette came on my radio show this past Friday and proclaimed the Irish a Final Four-caliber team (audio coming soon!). However, if ND is to make it that far, they will have quite a gauntlet to run.

Tournament favorite, and #1 overall seed, Kentucky also finds their home in this region. Traditional powerhouse Kansas lands at #2 in this region as well. More immediate in the Irish’s potential future will be the winner of Bulter and Texas.

Now, should the bracket go chalk and the Irish make it to the Sweet Sixteen in Cleveland, Ohio, this means that Notre Dame would be forced to face off against Kansas to crack the Elite Eight and then Kentucky to find a Final Four berth. That’s quite a tall order for any team.

Yes, yes, I know I am assuming that ND survives the first two games and I certainly know that no game is a sure thing no matter how much the Irish may be favored. However, this is the same team that beat both Duke (#1 seed in the South region) and North Carolina (#4 seed in the West region) in their own backyard which I don’t think even the most optimistic Irish fan saw coming.

So considering the way the season and the ACC Tournament played out, I almost welcome this challenge. Imagine being the team that beat Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky all in the same month. The fact I can even write that out as a possibility boggles my mind. Hell, just thinking about Notre Dame having a chance to face off against Kentucky gives me chills.

Rarely can you call a #3 seed a bracket-buster, but Notre Dame could certainly play that role, especially if they continue playing like they did in the ACC Tournament (minus the second half against Miami because I don’t think any Irish hearts can take that again). However, first thing’s first and that’s Northeastern. One step at a time, one game at a time.

Or, as the @ndmbb account loves to remind us, they’re #NotDoneYet:

Ryan Ritter
Latest posts by Ryan Ritter (see all)

About Ryan Ritter

Editor-in-Chief
Texan by birth, Irish by choice.

First-generation Domer and a former student manager, HLS podcast host, HLS Sim creator, Extra Life streamer, and technical problem haver. You can find more non-Notre Dame related writing on his Patreon.