Notre Dame’s No. 2-ranked women’s basketball may have moved up in the national polls and it remains as a projected No. 1 seed in both ESPN’s and CBS Sports’ NCAA Tournament bracketology.
The Irish (20-2, 12-0 ACC) still sit as the No. 3 overall top seed, though, behind UCLA and South Carolina. Texas, which beat South Carolina on Sunday, is the other No. 1 seed and fourth overall. The Longhorns had also lost to the Gamecocks by 17 points less than a month ago.
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ESPN’s latest bracketology, released Tuesday morning, has the Irish playing No. 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the Birmingham Region 3 bracket.
CBS Sports latest bracketology, released last Friday, also has Fairleigh Dickinson, along with Wofford, Eastern Illinois, North Carolina A&T, Longwood and Texas Southern as 16 seeds.
In a little bit of twist, Herhoopstats.com projects South Carolina as its top No. 1 seed, followed by UCLA, Notre Dame and Southern California. The Gamecocks get the nod here with a NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking of No. 1 and No. 1-rated strength of schedule. UCLA’s NET ranking is No. 5 with a No. 23 strength of schedule. Notre Dame’s NET ranking is No. 4 with a No. 10 strength of schedule.
Should the Irish win out and/or a stumble by UCLA or South Carolina there is a possibility that Notre Dame’s stock could rise by Selection Sunday.
Notre Dame women’s basketball projected as No. 1 seed. What does it mean?
The No. 1 seed (along with the 2, 3 and 4-seeded teams) means the Irish will host the first two rounds of their NCAA Tournament games at Purcell Pavilion.
The other side of the bracket has No. 8 seed Creighton playing No. 9 Mississippi State. The winner of this bracket would move on to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham according to projections.
Notre Dame women’s basketball metrics through games Feb. 10
NET: No. 4
NET Strength of schedule: No. 10
NET non-conference strength of schedule: No. 5
Quad 1 record: 6-2
Quad 2 record: 6-0
Quad 3 record: 2-0
Quad 4 record: 7-0
The quadrant system accounts for the location of the game and the opposing team’s NET ranking. Quad 1 games, for instance, are at home against teams ranked Nos. 1-30 in the NET, on a neutral court against teams ranked Nos. 1-50, and on the road against teams ranked Nos. 1-75.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Where Notre Dame women rank in latest March Madness bracketology
