Notre Dame Fighting Irish Basketball

While Notre Dame is definitely better known for its performance on the gridiron than the hardwood, this is something of an oversight given the many excellent Fighting Irish basketball teams that the school has produced over the decades. While the Irish men’s basketball team is still searching for its first NCAA title, they have still managed to qualify for 33 NCAA March Madness postseason basketball tournaments throughout their history, progressing to the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions and the Elite 8 on 7. The Irish made their sole appearance in the Final Four back in 1978, where they lost out to the Duke Blue Devils in a heartbreaking 90-86 semifinal (followed by a dramatic 71-69 third place game loss to the Duke Blue Devils Basketball). Through the years, the Irish have produced some excellent basketball players who have gone on to star in the NBA, including Austin Carr, Orlando Woolridge, and Adrian Dantley, as well as the notorious Bill Laimbeer who went on to become the head goon of the Detroit Pistons’ title-winning (and jaw-breaking) Bad Boys team of the 1980s. In recent years, the Irish have struggled to make an impact at the conference or national level, though they did have a pair of back to back Elite 8 appearances in March Madness in 2015 and 2016. Following a very poor season in 2022-23 that saw the team finish 14th in their conference with a dismal record of 11-21, Notre Dame fans will be hoping for much more from their team in 2024 and the years to come. 

How can I get cheap tickets to Notre Dame Fighting Irish games?

All Notre Dame Fighting Irish teams, led by the popularity of their storied football team, inspire loyalty and devotion from students, alumni, and local fans, and the basketball team is no different, despite its varied fortunes over the years. Fans flock to the Purcell Pavilion in huge numbers for Irish basketball home games, often selling the place out well in advance. This can make it difficult to get a hold of tickets, particularly for postseason tournament games, key conference deciders, or rivalry matchups (see below). To get your hands on the cheapest tickets to Notre Dame Fighting Irish games, search the TicketX listings on this page and use our handy TicketX seating chart to compare prices and locations. You can purchase tickets from TicketX with just one click for the lowest commission fees! 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Rivalries

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a long-standing cross-nation rivalry with the UCLA Bruins which is well known in both football and basketball. The rivalry stems back to when the Bruins were the dominant force in college basketball in the West and the Irish often challenged them as representatives from the East. While UCLA leads the all-time series 29-21, the Irish won the most recent clash in 2019 by a score of 75-61. The Fighting Irish also have rivalries with the Louisville Cardinals, Marquette Golden Eagles, and Syracuse Orange.

Are Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball games exciting?

Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball fans are known for packing out the stands of the Purcell Pavilion for home games, clad in some combination of lime green and gold, belting out school songs and chants to inspire their team to victory.