After securing at least one tournament win in each of the last three seasons, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have had to settle for a number-one seed in the NIT. Though they went only 8-10 in conference play, they were still able to compile a solid 19-14 record against Division I opponents, including a win in November over the then sixth-ranked Wichita State Shockers. They also had wins over tournament-bound Florida State and Syracuse.

Seeing the Orange get in over the Irish is especially confounding. Despite Syracuse's slightly superior 21-13 record, their 9.04 nERD is 1.79 points lower than Notre Dame's 10.83. By our rankings, that puts the Irish above Miami and Rhode Island, who were given a 6 and 7 seed, respectively. Yes, the ACC already has nine teams in the Dance, but by trying to be equitable, they left out a team that was more deserving than many.