A week after capturing the ACC Championship, Notre Dame women’s basketball now knows its NCAA Tournament destination. The Irish earned a No. 2 seed in the Albany 1 Region during Sunday’s NCAA Women’s Selection Special. No ACC team earned a higher seed than Notre Dame, with NC State (No. 3 seed), Virginia Tech (No. 4 seed), Louisville (No. 6 seed), Syracuse (No. 6 seed), Duke (No. 7 seed), North Carolina (No. 8 seed) and Florida State (No. 9 seed) all positioning below the Irish.
With their top-four seed, the Irish will host a four-team sub-regional to start the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame will host 15th-seeded Kent State, the champion from the Mid-American Conference, in the Round of 64 on Saturday. The Golden Flashes enter the tournament at 21-10 overall, having posted a 13-5 record in conference play. They and the Irish faced three common opponents in the regular season: Florida State, Western Michigan and Ball State.
No. 7 Ole Miss will also battle No. 10 Marquette in South Bend during the Round of 64. The winner of that matchup will face Notre Dame or Kent State in the Round of 32. Should the Irish advance past the Round of 32, they will head to Albany, N.Y., for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. The Final Four is set for April 5 and 7 in Cleveland, Ohio.
The rest of the Albany 1 Region features two Notre Dame opponents from the regular season. Undefeated South Carolina, the highest-ranked team in the tournament, holds the No. 1 seed. Notre Dame opened its season with a 100-71 loss to the Gamecocks on Nov. 6 in Paris, France. North Carolina, an ACC team the Irish lost 61-57 to on Jan. 7, owns the No. 8 seed.
Notre Dame carries a 71-26 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and a 24-4 First-Round mark.
