Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I. On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame announced they would be moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference; they joined the conference on July 1, 2013. The school holds two retroactively awarded national championships in basketball from the Helms Foundation: for the 1927 and 1936 seasons. They have also played in the NCAA Tournament 36 times, good for 9th all time, and reached the Final Four in 1978. The Irish hold the record for most Tournament appearances without a championship or championship game appearance, one of five teams to have 30 or more appearances without a title and one of three teams to have more than 30 appearances without either. They are also the first Big East team to go undefeated at home two straight seasons. They play their home games in the Purcell Pavilion at the Edmund P. Joyce Center. Since moving to the Purcell Pavilion in 1968, they have had 44 winning seasons at the Purcell Pavilion, including 5 undefeated seasons at home and have had only 4 losing seasons at the Purcell Pavilion. Jeff Sagarin and ESPN listed the program 12th in the college basketball all-time rankings in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. The Fighting Irish are currently coached by Mike Brey.
Early-Season Tournaments
Seasons
Postseason
NCAA Tournament Results
The Fighting Irish have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 36 times. In 2018, the Fighting Irish were snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Committee, despite beating Virginia Tech, NC State, Florida State, and Syracuse, who all earned tournament bids. The combined record of these four teams is 38–40.| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1953 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Eastern Kentucky Penn Indiana | W 77–57 W 69–57 L 66–79 | |
| 1954 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Loyola Indiana Penn State | W 80–70 W 65–64 L 63–71 | |
| 1957 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Miami Michigan State Pittsburgh | W 89–77 L 83–85 W 86–85 | |
| 1958 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Tennessee Tech Indiana Kentucky | W 94–61 W 94–87 L 56–89 | |
| 1960 | First Round | Ohio | L 66–74 | |
| 1963 | First Round | Bowling Green | L 72–77 | |
| 1965 | First Round | Houston | L 98–99 | |
| 1969 | First Round | Miami | L 60–63 | |
| 1970 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Ohio Kentucky Iowa | W 112–82 L 99–109 L 106–121 | |
| 1971 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | TCU Drake Houston | W 102–94 L 72–79 OT L 106–119 | |
| 1974 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Austin Peay Michigan Vanderbilt | W 108–66 L 68–77 W 118–88 | |
| 1975 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Kansas Maryland Cincinnati | W 77–71 L 71–83 L 87–95 | |
| 1976 | First Round Sweet Sixteen | Cincinnati Michigan | W 79–78 L 76–80 | |
| 1977 | First Round Sweet Sixteen | Hofstra North Carolina | W 90–83 L 77–79 | |
| 1978 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game | Houston Utah DePaul Duke Arkansas | W 100–77 W 69–56 W 84–64 L 86–90 L 69–71 | |
| 1979 | #1 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #8 Tennessee
| W 73–67W 79–71 L 68–80 |
| 1980 | #4 | Second Round | #5 Missouri | L 84–87 OT |
| 1981 | #2 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #10 James Madison
| W 54–45L 50–51 |
| 1985 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 Oregon State
| W 79–70L 58–60 |
| 1986 | #3 | First Round | #14 Arkansas–Little Rock | L 83–90 |
| 1987 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #12 Middle Tennessee
| W 84–71W 58–57 L 68–74 |
| 1988 | #10 | First Round | #7 SMU | L 75–83 |
| 1989 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Vanderbilt
| W 81–65L 74–81 |
| 1990 | #10 | First Round | #7 Virginia | L 67–75 |
| 2001 | #6 | First Round Second Round | #11 Xavier
| W 83–71L 56–59 |
| 2002 | #8 | First Round Second Round | #9 Charlotte
| W 82–63L 77–84 |
| 2003 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #12 Milwaukee
| W 70–69W 68–60 L 71–88 |
| 2007 | #6 | First Round | #11 Winthrop | L 64–74 |
| 2008 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 George Mason
| W 68–50L 41–61 |
| 2010 | #6 | First Round | #11 Old Dominion | L 50–51 |
| 2011 | #2 | Second Round Third Round | #15 Akron
| W 69–56L 57–71 |
| 2012 | #7 | Second Round | #10 Xavier | L 63–67 |
| 2013 | #7 | Second Round | #10 Iowa State | L 58–76 |
| 2015 | #3 | Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #14 Northeastern
| W 69–65W 67–64 OT W 81–70 L 66–68 |
| 2016 | #6 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #11 Michigan
| W 70–63W 76–75 W 61–56 L 74–88 |
| 2017 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 Princeton
| W 60–58L 71–83 |
From 2011–2015 the round of 64 was known as the Second Round, Round of 32 was Third Round
NCAA Tournament Seeding History
The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.
| Years → | '79 | '80 | '81 | '85 | '86 | '87 | '88 | '89 | '90 | '01 | '02 | '03 | '07 | '08 | '10 | '11 | '12 | '13 | '15 | '16 | '17 |
| Seeds → | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
Best Single-Game Scoring Performances
| Rank | Player | Year | Game | Points |
| 1. | Austin Carr | 1970 | Notre Dame vs. Ohio | 61 |
| 4. | Austin Carr | 1970 | Notre Dame vs. Kentucky | 52 |
| 5. | Austin Carr | 1971 | Notre Dame vs. Texas Christian | 52 |
| 9. | Austin Carr | 1971 | Notre Dame vs. Houston | 47 |
| 12. | Austin Carr | 1970 | Notre Dame vs. Iowa | 45 |
NIT Results
The Fighting Irish have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament 12 times. Their combined record is 27–12.| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1968 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game | Army Long Island Dayton Saint Peter's | W 62–58 W 62–60 L 74–76 W 81–78 |
| 1973 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | USC Louisville North Carolina Virginia Tech | W 69–65 W 79–71 W 78–71 L 91–92 |
| 1983 | First Round | Northwestern | L 57–71 |
| 1984 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | Old Dominion Boston College Pittsburgh Southwestern Louisiana Michigan | W 67–62 W 66–52 W 72–64 W 65–59 L 63–83 |
| 1992 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | Western Michigan Kansas State Manhattan Utah Virginia | W 63–56 W 64–48 W 74–58 W 58–55 L 76–81 OT |
| 1997 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Oral Roberts TCU Michigan | W 74–58 W 82–72 L 66–67 |
| 2000 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | Michigan Xavier BYU Penn State Wake Forest | W 75–65 W 76–64 W 64–52 W 73–52 L 61–71 |
| 2004 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Purdue Saint Louis Oregon | W 71–59 W 77–66 L 61–65 |
| 2005 | First Round | Holy Cross | L 73–78 |
| 2006 | First Round Second Round | Vanderbilt Michigan | W 79–69 L 84–87 |
| 2009 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | UAB New Mexico Kentucky Penn State | W 70–64 W 70–68 W 77–67 L 59–67 |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round | Hampton Penn State | W 84–63 L 63–73 |
Traditions
Accomplishments
National Championships
- 1926–27 Helms Foundation National Champions
- 1935–36 Helms Foundation National Champions
Upsets of #1's and Unbeatens
Also of note is that the 2005 win over Boston College and the 2012 win over Syracuse saw 20–0 teams traveling to South Bend and leaving with their first loss of the season. Boston College, in its final year as a member of the Big East, set the record for most consecutive wins by a Big East team to start a season. The 2012 Syracuse team began the game against the Irish with the goal of breaking Boston College's record. As in 2005, the Irish defeated Syracuse and cemented their place as the streak stopper.
Coaches
Current Coaching Staff
Head Coach – Mike BreyAssociate Head Coach – Rod Balanis
Assistant Coach – Ryan Ayers
Assistant Coach – Ryan Humphrey
Director of Basketball Operations – Harold Swanagan
Development and Recruiting Coordinator – Scott Martin
All-Time Coaching Records
- Mike Brey became the all-time wins leader for Notre Dame head coaching. It was in an 88-58 win against North Carolina State in the 2017-18 season.
Coaching Awards
- Digger Phelps – 1974 ', 1987 '
- Mike Brey – 2011 ', 2012 '
- Mike Brey – 2008
- John MacLeod – 1997
- Mike Brey – 2007, 2008, 2011
- Mike Brey – 2011, 2012
Players
- Austin Carr – 1971 – AP, UPI, Helms
- Adrian Dantley – 1976 – U.S. Basketball Writers Association
- John Moir – 1936 – Helms
- Chris Thomas – 2002 – Basketball Times, Basketball News
Notre Dame leads all schools with 3 of the 18 total 3-time Consensus All-American selections.
- Austin Carr – 1971
- Adrian Dantley – 1975
- Jerian Grant – 2015
- Leo Klier – 1944, 1946
- Edward "Moose" Krause – 1932, 1933, 1934
- John Moir – 1936, 1937, 1938
- Troy Murphy – 2000, 2001
- Paul Nowak – 1936, 1937, 1938
- Kevin O'Shea – 1948
- Rob Rensberger – 1943
- John Shumate – 1974
- Luke Harangody – 2008
- Troy Murphy – 2000, 2001
- 1997 – Pat Garrity
- 2000 – Troy Murphy
- 2001 – Troy Murphy
- 2008 – Luke Harangody
- 2011 – Ben Hansbrough
- 1999 – Troy Murphy
- 2002 – Chris Thomas
- 2012 – Jack Cooley
- 1973 – John Shumate
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
- Adrian Dantley – 2008
Fighting Irish Currently in the NBA
- Demetrius Jackson
- Bonzie Colson
- Pat Connaughton
- Jerian Grant
Tournament Titles