Conference tournaments are well underway. The bubble is popping for some teams, while others are playing themselves into higher seedings as Selection Sunday looms.
On Saturday, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and a slew of midmajors are battling in their conference tournament semifinals. The Big East is competing in the quarterfinals.
Our women’s basketball experts at The Athletic are here with their takeaways as teams fight for a conference title.
Did Notre Dame lose No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed?
The Irish entered the ACC tournament not only looking to defend last year’s conference tournament title but also to potentially solidify a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Those hopes seemed dashed, however, as Duke bounced Notre Dame out of the tournament semifinals with a 61-56 win.
Notre Dame scored a season-low 56 points, almost 30 points below its 85.7-point average, stifled by the Blue Devils’ grinding defense. The Irish made only five baskets in the first 15 minutes of the second half and finished the loss shooting just 37.5 percent from the field.
Star Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo scored 23 points, but she received little help on offense. Her star backcourt partner Olivia Miles didn’t play for more than half of the fourth quarter after appearing to roll her left ankle…
