Notre Dame to play North Dakota for first time in over 80 years
We slowly but surely are starting to see the college basketball schedule leak out. We haven’t seen much for Notre Dame except for a tournament in Las Vegas. However, we now know the Irish will be playing a program it hasn’t faced since the year the U.S. entered World War II.
The Grand Forks Herald is reporting that the Irish will welcome North Dakota to Purcell Pavilion on Nov. 19. To find the only other meeting between the teams, you have to go back to Feb. 4, 1941. The Irish won that game, 46-38, at the long-demolished Notre Dame Fieldhouse.
North Dakota athletic director Bill Chaves indicated his appreciation for the Irish and their history:
“I think back to my childhood when Notre Dame was playing UCLA. UCLA had all those amazing teams. (The Fighting Irish) were the ones to break up the 88-game winning streak. It’s kind of a neat thing for history buffs, and certainly it’ll be exciting for this year’s team.”
The Fighting Hawks are coming off an 18-14 season in which they placed second in the Summit League. When the Irish last played a team from that conference in December 2013, they lost, 73-69, to North Dakota State, which went on to upset a ranked Oklahoma team in that season’s NCAA Tournament.
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