Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (2024)

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (1)

Nick Shepkowski

March 2, 2023 4:40 pm ET

Unfortunately Notre Dame won’t be making Mike Brey’s final year as head coach one that ends with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. However, he did bring the Irish to the dance over 1/3 of their times in program history since taking over the job in the summer of 2000.

Despite being known as a football school or women’s basketball school, the Irish have now been to the NCAA Tournament 37 times – the ninth most of any program in all of college basketball history. They’ve also played in more NCAA Tournament’s without winning the whole thing than any other program.

How has Notre Dame fared during their 37 trips to the big dance? Just once they’ve made a Final Four but have had a few close calls to winning a regional as well.

Here is how Notre Dame has fared in all 37 of those trips to the Big Dance:

More NCAA Tournament History from the College Wires Network:

Alabama / Aub/ Fla/ LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio St./ Penn St. / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

1953

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (2)

(AP Photo/Robert Franklin)

First Round: 77-57 win vs. Eastern Kentucky
Sweet Sixteen: 69-57 win vs. Penn
Elite Eight: 79-66 loss vs. Indiana

1954

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (3)

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

First Round: 80-70 win vs. Loyola (LA)
Sweet Sixteen: 65-64 win vs. Indiana
Elite Eight: 71-63 loss vs. Penn State

1957

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (4)

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

First Round: 89-77 win vs. Miami (OH)
Sweet Sixteen: 85-83 loss vs. Michigan State
Regional 3rd Place Game: 86-85 win vs. Pittsburgh

1958

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (5)

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

First Round: 94-61 win vs. Tennessee Tech
Sweet Sixteen: 94-87 win vs. Indiana
Elite Eight: 89-56 loss vs. Kentucky

1960

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (6)

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

First Round: 74-66 loss vs. Ohio

1963

77-72 loss vs. Bowling Green

1969

First Round: 63-60 loss vs. Miami (OH)

1970

First Round: 112-82 win vs. Ohio
Sweet Sixteen: 109-99 loss vs. Kentucky
Regional 3rd Place Game: 121-106 loss vs. Iowa

1971

First Round: 102-94 win vs. TCU
Sweet Sixteen: 79-72 OT loss vs. Drake
Regional 3rd Place Game: 119-106 loss vs. Houston

1974

First Round: 108-66 win vs. Austin Peay
Sweet Sixteen: 77-68 loss vs. Michigan
Regional 3rd Place Game: 118-88 win vs. Vanderbilt

1975

First Round: 77-71 win vs. Kansas
Sweet Sixteen: 83-71 loss vs. Maryland
Regional 3rd Place Game: 95-87 loss vs. Cincinnati

1976

First Round: 79-78 win vs. Cincinnati
Sweet Sixteen: 80-76 loss vs. Michigan

1977

First Round: 90-83 win vs. Hofstra
Sweet Sixteen: 79-77 loss vs. North Carolina

1978

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (7)

Mar 27, 1978; St. Louis, MO, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Irish guard Kelly Tripucka (44) in action against Duke Blue Devils center Mike Gminski (43) and forward Gene Banks (20) during the semifinals of 1978 NCAA Men’s Final Four at the Checkerdome. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

First Round: 100-77 win vs. Houston
Sweet Sixteen: 69-56 win vs. Utah
Elite Eight: 84-64 win vs. DePaul
Final Four: 90-86 loss vs. Duke
National 3rd Place Game: 71-69 loss vs. Arkansas

1979

#1 seed (first year of NCAA seeding the tournament)

Second Round: 73-67 win vs. Tennessee
Sweet Sixteen: 79-71 win vs. Toledo
Elite Eight: 80-68 loss vs. Michigan State

1980

#4 Seed

87-84 OT loss vs. #5 Missouri

1981

#2 Seed

Second Round: 54-45 win vs. #10 James Madison
Sweet Sixteen: 51-50 loss vs. #6 BYU

1985

#7 Seed

First Round: 79-70 win vs. #10 Oregon State
Second Round: 60-58 loss vs. #2 North Carolina

1986

#3 Seed

First Round: 90-83 loss vs. #14 Arkansas-Little Rock

1987

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (8)

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Seed

First Round: 84-71 win vs. #12 Middle Tennessee
Second Round: 58-57 win vs. #4 TCU
Sweet Sixteen: 74-68 loss vs. #1 North Carolina

1988

#10 Seed

First Round: 83-75 loss vs. #7 SMU

1989

#9 Seed

First Round: 81-65 win vs. #8 Vanderbilt
Second Round: 81-74 loss vs. #1 Georgetown

1990

#10 seed

First Round: 75-67 loss to #7 Virginia

2001

#6 Seed

First Round: 83-71 win vs. #11 Xavier
Second Round: 59-56 loss vs. #3 Ole Miss

2002

#8 Seed

First Round: 82-63 win vs. #9 Charlotte
Second Round: 84-77 loss vs. #1 Duke

2003

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (9)

Photo by Joe Robbins-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Seed

First Round: 70-69 win vs. #12 Milwaukee
Second Round: 68-60 win vs. #4 Illinois
Sweet Sixteen: 88-71 win vs. #1 Arizona

2007

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (10)

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

#6 Seed

First Round: 74-64 loss vs. #11 Winthrop

2008

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (11)

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Seed

First Round: 68-50 win vs. #12 George Mason
Second Round: 61-41 loss vs. #4 Washington State

2010

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (12)

Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

#6 Seed

First Round: 51-50 loss vs. #11 Old Dominion

2011

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (13)

Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Seed

Second Round: 69-56 win vs. #15 Akron
Third Round: 71-57 loss vs. #10 Florida State

2012

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (14)

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

#7 Seed

Second Round: 67-63 loss vs. #10 Xavier

2013

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (15)

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

#7 Seed

Second Round: 76-58 loss vs. #10 Iowa State

2015

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (16)

Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Seed

Second Round: 69-65 win vs. #14 Northeastern
Third Round: 67-64 OT win vs. #6 Butler
Sweet Sixteen: 81-70 win vs. #7 Wichita State
Elite Eight: 68-66 loss vs. #1 Kentucky

2016

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (17)

y Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

#6 Seed

First Round: 70-63 win vs. #11 Michigan
Second Round: 76-75 win vs. #14 Stephen F. Austin
Sweet Sixteen: 61-56 win vs. #7 Wisconsin
Elite Eight: 88-74 loss vs. #1 North Carolina

2017

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (18)

Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Seed

First Round: 60-58 win vs. #12 Princeton
Second Round: 83-71 loss vs. #4 West Virginia

2022:

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (19)

Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

11 seed – in First Four

First Four: 89-87 2OT win vs. No. 11 Rutgers

First Round: 78-64 win vs. No. 6 Alabama

Second Round: 59-53 loss vs. No. 3 Texas Tech

Notre Dame Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament History (2024)

FAQs

How many times has Notre Dame made the NCAA Tournament? ›

The Fighting Irish have appeared in the NCAA tournament 37 times.

What is the biggest upset in March Madness history? ›

Biggest point-spread upsets in NCAA championship game history:
  • Connecticut +9.5 over Duke, 77–74, in 1999.
  • Villanova +9 over Georgetown, 66–64, in 1985.
  • Kansas +8 over Oklahoma, 83–79, in 1988.
  • North Carolina State +7.5 over Houston, 54–52 in 1983.
  • Texas Western +6.5 over Kentucky, 72–65 in 1966.

What school has the most NCAA Tournament wins how many do they have? ›

There are more than 350 schools in Division I men's basketball. Yet only 15 teams have won multiple national championships. UCLA comes in first with 11.

Does Notre Dame have any basketball championships? ›

2 (tied) — Notre Dame (2018, 2001)

Notre Dame fell one basket short of being the first repeat champions not named UConn or Tennessee since the 1983 and 1984 championships.

What university has the most NCAA tournament appearances? ›

Kentucky has the most NCAA tournament appearances with 57, followed by North Carolina with 49.

How many NCAA titles has Notre Dame won? ›

The Fighting Irish are among the most prestigious college football teams of all-time. Since their inaugural season in 1887, Notre Dame has claimed 11 national championships, including 8 from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. Seven Notre Dame players have won the Heisman Trophy.

Which team has the most wins in NCAA Tournament history? ›

Which Programs Have the Most NCAA Tournament Wins?
  • 133, North Carolina (1941-2024) ...
  • 130, *Kentucky (1942-2023) ...
  • 121, Duke (1955-2024) ...
  • 113, *Kansas (1940-2024) ...
  • 110, *UCLA (1950-2023) ...
  • 73, Michigan State (1957-2024)
Apr 11, 2024

Which college has the most men's basketball championships? ›

UCLA has won the most championships in the history of men's college basketball, with 11 wins since 1939. The Bruins have won 13% of the championships. UConn has won six championships since the start of the tournament.

What coach has won the most NCAA Tournament games in history? ›

Mike Krzyzewski has the most NCAA Tournaments wins by a coach. He won 101 tourney games in 42 seasons as Duke coach. No other coach has more than 77 wins (Roy Williams). Coach K's total NCAA wins record is likely unbreakable.

How many times has Notre Dame been to the College World Series? ›

Moving to Notre Dame in 1995, Paul Mainieri turned the Fighting Irish into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big East tournament a record 5 straight seasons, making the NCAA tournament 9 out of 12 seasons, and leading the Irish to one College World Series appearance in 2002.

Who in the NBA went to Notre Dame? ›

Former Notre Dame Players Who Played In The NBA
PlayerPosHT
Paul GordonG6-3
Jerian GrantSG6-4
Ben HansbroughG6-3
Bill HanzlikSF6-7
32 more rows

Is Notre Dame in the 2024 NCAA tournament? ›

Notre Dame wins the 2024 NCAA DI men's lacrosse championship to claim their program's second-straight national title defeating Maryland 15-5.

Has Notre Dame ever made the final four? ›

Final Four. 1979 – beat Tennessee 73-67; beat Toledo 79-71; lost to Michigan State 80-68. 1980 – lost to Missouri 87-84, OT.

How many times has Notre Dame been in the CFP? ›

Most appearances in the College Football Playoff:
schoolappearancesyears
Oklahoma42015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Georgia32017, 2021, 2022
Michigan32021, 2022, 2023
Notre Dame22018, 2020
11 more rows
Jan 10, 2024

What school has the most consecutive NCAA tournament appearances? ›

Number of consecutive NCAA college basketball tournament appearances from 1939 to 2023, by team
CharacteristicConsecutive tournament appearances
Kansas, 1990-202232
North Carolina, 1975-200127
Michigan St., 1998-202325
Duke, 1996-201924
8 more rows
Mar 12, 2024

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