Notre Dame’s path to what would be a sixth ACC Tournament title since joining the league in 2013-14 is set. The No. 4 seed Fighting Irish (23-6, 13-5 ACC) will play one of No. 5 seed Louisville (23-8, 12-6 ACC), No. 12 seed Clemson (12-18, 5-13 ACC) or No. 13 seed Boston College (13-18, 5-13 ACC) on Friday at 11 a.m. ET in Greensboro, N.C.
Louisville awaits the winner of Clemson and Boston College. The Tigers and Eagles play Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET. The Cardinals will face whoever wins that game at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday. Then that winner gets the Irish on Friday morning. In all likelihood, it’ll be Notre Dame versus Louisville Part 3.
That would mean back-to-back games for Notre Dame against rival Louisville. Ironically, the Irish finished the regular season with a win at Louisville last year and then lost to the Cardinals in the ACC Tournament semifinals six days later. Point guard Olivia Miles got hurt in the first game and did not play in the second. The shorthanded Irish were no match for a Louisville team seeking revenge.
The Irish are a little undermanned again this year, but they’ve been playing with the same seven-player rotation for months now. They know what they’ve got, and in the last few weeks it’s been more than enough. Head coach Niele Ivey’s team goes to the Greensboro Coliseum on a five-game winning streak.
The Irish knocked off No. 5 Virginia Tech, the regular season ACC champion, last week before evening the season series with Louisville on Sunday. They held the two very capable foes to 58 points apiece. Team defense and offensive heroics from Hannah Hidalgo, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld has been the correct concoction for Notre Dame victories of late.
No. 1 seed Virginia Tech (23-6, 14-4 ACC) faces the winner of No. 8 seed North Carolina (19-11, 11-7 ACC) and No. 9 seed Miami (18-11, 8-10 ACC) on Friday. If the Hokies take care of business, Notre Dame could end up playing them for the second time in just over a week with a spot in the tournament title game on the line. That game would be at noon ET on Saturday.
Notre Dame has not won the ACC Tournament since 2019 after winning it five times in six seasons. NC State won the tournament three years in a row from 2020-22. Virginia Tech won it for the first time ever last year.
A champion will be crowned Sunday afternoon. The title game tips off at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN. Every other game in the tourney will air on ACC Network.
