Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
Top Five Men's Teams 1. Basketball (32-6) — Renowned for its typically efficient offense, Notre Dame stepped it up defen- sively down the stretch to defeat Duke and UNC in the enemy territory of Greensboro, N.C., capturing its first ACC title. The Irish then defeated Northeastern, Butler and Wichita State to advance to the Elite Eight versus No. 1 overall seed Kentucky. Mike Brey's team led for much of the second half, but came just shy of knocking off the then-undefeated Wildcats. Jerian Grant missed a buzzer-beater three-pointer, and Notre Dame fell 68-66. 2. Lacrosse (12-3) — A 13-12 double overtime victory over then top-ranked Syracuse March 28 led to the Irish taking the No. 1 spot nationally, a position they held until a 13-8 setback to Duke April 24. Still, the team entered the postseason with the No. 1 overall national seed, falling just short of the title game after an 11-10 overtime loss to Denver in the national semifinals. 3. Soccer (12-5-4) — Ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason polls, Notre Dame shifted throughout the top 10 during the regular season before entering the postseason as the No. 1 overall national seed. The Irish fell to No. 16-seeded and eventual champion Virginia 1-0 in the round of 16, but did win the ACC Coastal Division with a 6-1-1 league record. 4. Baseball (37-23) — Picked in the preseason to finish near the bottom of the ACC — what many con- sider to be one of the toughest baseball conferences in the country — the Irish ended up finishing third, trailing only Louisville and Miami in the league standings. They earned a No. 2 seed in the Champaign (Ill.) Regional, but failed to advance to the Super Regionals. 5. Football (8-5) — Brian Kelly's team started the season 6-0, rising as high as No. 5 in the polls before dropping a 31-27 heartbreaker at No. 2 Florida State. The Irish finished the regular season on a 1-5 slide, but turned it around to defeat LSU 31-28 in the Music City Bowl. — Jordan Wells The baseball team was the surprise of the Atlantic Coast Conference and achieved its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2006 PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP