Notre Dame overcame a huge free throw differential -- Texas A&M took 20 free throws to the Irish's 4 (until 30 seconds in the game) -- yet Muffet's crew advances!!!
The Fighting Irish play the winner of the Oregon vs. Central Michigan game on Monday night.
Jeff Jackson's Fighting Irish take on Providence today at 6 PM ET on ESPNU in the NCAA Regional Final -- with the winner advancing to next weekend's Frozen Four!
Notre Dame beat Michigan Tech yesterday -- in OT -- to advance to today's game.
The Ferris State Bulldogs, 37 - 1 on the season -- play the "home team" Northern State University (Aberdeen, SD) today in Sioux Falls, SD for their first National Championship!
The game begins at 3 PM ET and will be televised on the CBS.
Mike Brey has his most highly regarded recruiting class of all-time enrolling this summer at the University of Notre Dame. The 11th ranked class in the country is piling up the accolades:
Notre Dame will play in the East Regional in Bridgeport, CT and will play the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, March 24th. Win and they'll advance to play the winner of Providence vs. Clarkson.
Notre Dame's game vs. Michigan Tech will be televised on ESPN2 at 3 PM ET this Friday.
The other #1 seeds; Cornell, Ohio State and St. Cloud State.
Sixteen Teams make the NCAA Tournament -- see link below for the bracket...
Let's first make the assumption that Kat Westbeld can't play tonight, in Notre Dame's 2nd Round NCAA Tournament game against Villanova, because of her injured ankle -- leaving Muffet with six healthy scholarship players and five injured scholarship players...
Both of these TEAMS would probably be a top 10 ranked team -- think about that!!!
Notre Dame has now done something that Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State has never done in Big Ten history --- winning both the "Regular Season and Tournament" championships in the same season!
His name is Andy Bronkema, he's 34 years-old -- and he's led the Ferris State Bulldogs to four straight GLIAC Tournament Championships and a #2 ranking in the country this year in NCAA Division II -- in his five years as their head coach.
His Bulldogs are now 35 - 1 after winning the school's second NCAA Regional Championship in history and a trip this Tuesday to Sioux Falls, SD for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
In Bronkema's five seasons as head coach -- Ferris State has accomplished this:
My alma mater -- Ferris State University -- won their second NCAA Regional Championship in school history tonight with an 80 - 65 win over Ashland University!
The win sends the Bulldogs off to Sioux Falls, SD for a NCAA Division II Elite Eight game on Tuesday.
The #2 ranked Ferris State Bulldogs are now 35 - 1 on the season.
To enlarge the 2018 NIT Bracket -- just click on the image above.
The Fighting Irish will host Hampton, Tuesday night at 9 PM ET in their NIT First Round game. The winner of this game will play the winner of Temple vs. Penn State.
The other four teams in this bracket; Harvard, Oregon, Rider and Marquette.
If the #1 seeds hold up -- Notre Dame would play Baylor on March 27th in Madison Square Garden.
If you're feeling "bullish" about Notre Dame's chances in the National Invitational Tournament -- you might want to look at airfare and hotels to New York City -- here are the dates:
Semi-Finals -- Tuesday, March 27th
Finals -- Thursday, March 29th
The first THREE ROUNDS are played on the higher seed's court -- which should mean the Fighting Irish would have to win three "home games" to earn a trip to Madison Square Garden.
Here's hoping the Fighting Irish can get excited about playing in the NIT -- they'll be the team with the target on their back -- a logical #1 overall seed...
We'll learn the path to Madison Square Garden and the NIT Championship Game -- tonight at 8:30 PM ET on ESPNU.