Despite a very strong end to the regular season and a NET ranking of 21, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team was slotted as a 6-seed for the NCAA Tournament, and will take on the Fairfield Stags in some Catholic on Catholic crime.
Irish Columbus Bound For First Round Of NCAA Tournament
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 11 Fairfield for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.Notre Dame
enters the tournament with a record of 22-10 on the season and 12-6 in ACC play. The Fighting Irish have won nine of their last 11 games coming into the first round matchup.
The last time the Irish played in Columbus for the NCAA Tournament they won the 2018 national championship, defeating UConn and Mississippi State in the Final Four and national title game, respectively.
The winner of Notre Dame’s first-round contest will take on the winner of the first-round tilt between No. 3 seed Ohio State and No. 14 Howard in the second round on Monday, March 23. The Irish are in the Fort Worth regional, which will be played on either Friday, March 27 or Saturday, March 28.
NOTRE DAME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Notre Dame and Fairfield have played one time prior in program history, with the Irish defeating the Stags 75-62 in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 28, 1987.
The Irish have won two national championships in program history, coming in 2001 and 2018.
Notre Dame owns a 75-28 record in its 30 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The Irish have now made each of the last five NCAA Tournament fields.
Notre Dame has an all-time record of 26-4 in NCAA Tournament first round games.
The Irish have advanced to at least the Sweet 16 on 21 occasions, including in each of their last 14 tournament appearances.
This marks the second time the Irish have earned a No. 6 seed in the tournament with the other time occurring in 1997 when the team made a run to the Final Four.
Notre Dame has advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four nine times and has played in seven national title games.
The full bracket is below. CLICK HERE for printable bracket.
There are several interesting matchups in the Fort Worth bracket for the Irish should they get past Fairfield. Outside of any possible games against ACC foes, the Irish could see a regional rival in the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Notre Dame advances to the Elite 8 for the first time I’m a number of years, rival UConn could be waiting for them. The Huskies beat the Irish in January, 85-47.
