Notre Dame Basketball: Five reasons why the Irish can make a deep run in March

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Dec 4, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey signals to his players in the first half against the North Carolina A&T Aggies at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Coaching

Every year people seem to ask the question, “is this Mike Brey’s best coaching job yet?” He seems to get the most out of his teams and they seem to overachieve and break every expectation set for them.

Brey has won 67.2 percent of his games while coaching the Irish and they always seem to make a run in March.

In 2015, Notre Dame came within seconds of upsetting then undefeated Kentucky. After the season, the Irish lost Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton to the NBA. The following year Notre Dame made another Elite Eight run only to lose to eventual runner-up North Carolina, 88-74, in a game that was closer than the score indicates.

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The Irish lost Demetrius Jackson to the NBA and expectations were lower than normal for this season. All the Irish have done since is win games and they find themselves in the hunt for the ACC title with a 17-5 record overall. The Irish have played far into March with Brey at the helm, so what is to say they won’t make it an Elite Eight three-peat?

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