MEN'S BASKETBALL
Connaughton were both touted not
only as tremendous team captains
and leaders, but they were also abun-
dantly talented on the court and both
were selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.
This team, though, returned a lot
of key pieces entering this year. As
much love as they share for Grant
and Connaughton, they wanted to
prove that they could win without
that dynamic duo.
Albeit through some ups and
downs, consider that mission accom-
plished.
Notre Dame capped its winningest
two-year stretch in program history
with 56 total victories and became
the only team in the country to ad-
vance to the Elite Eight each of the
past two seasons.
"I am very proud of this team,"
Auguste said following the loss to
UNC in the Elite Eight. "We have
made a lot of strides.
"It wasn't easy for us this year,
coming off a great run last year. We
had a lot of expectations on us. I am
proud of every single one of these
guys in here."
The six NCAA tournament vic-
tories in the past two years is a
program-best mark. And the final
ranking for the Irish in the coaches
poll was No. 17, marking the second
straight season the Irish end the year
among the top 20.
"Just really proud of our team and
how hard we worked all year," Jack-
son said. "We kept bouncing back.
"We never got too high or too low.
