NCAA Basketball: 3 teams in need of a big conference tourney run

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-12, 8-9 ACC)

When Bonzie Colson suffered an injury a couple of months ago, Notre Dame disappeared from the national stage. If he missed the rest of the regular season, the Fighting Irish were virtually guaranteed to make it no higher than the NIT.

But Colson did come back on Wednesday, making his long-awaited return. He scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the victory over Pitt.

With Colson in the lineup, Notre Dame is a completely different team – an NCAA Tournament threat, if you will.

The committee can’t entirely discount what the Fighting Irish were like in his absence, though. The team won less than half of their games without Colson on the court and won less than half of their ACC games altogether.

They do, however, have one ACC game remaining in the regular season: at Virginia. The Fighting Irish drastically improve their optics with a win over the Cavaliers, and that’s before the conference tournament even begins.

Without a win against Virginia, the Fighting Irish will finish outside of the top nine in the conference, subjecting them to the first round of the ACC Tournament. They’ll be safe if they can forge a path to the semifinals.