Is Notre Dame Basketball a Legitimate NCAA Tournament Contender this Season?

Notre Dame impressed in dominating win at Georgetown on Saturday

Nov 16, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton (3) takes a shot over Georgetown Hoyas forward Jordan Burks (23) during the second half at Capital One Arena. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

As Notre Dame fans look to the football team to finish the regular season strong and make the College Football Playoff, the men's basketball team has gotten off to a hot start in the 2024-25 season.

Expectations aren't anywhere near the level of the football team's entering the year, but the thought is that the team should take a big step in head coach Micah Shrewsberry's second season in charge.

Matt Allocco was on a heater for Notre Dame with FOUR threes in the first half. ☘️

📺 NBC & Peacock | @NDMBB pic.twitter.com/BYIg2w7I7j

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 16, 2024

Notre Dame beat Georgetown 84-63 in the nation's capital Saturday and wasn't really challenged in the second half. The Irish crossing the 80-point mark was something that happened already for a third time, matching the season output for 80-point games from a year ago.

Matt Allocco led the way offensively for Notre Dame, scoring 17 points and hitting four treys. Markus Burton added 16 points and five assists while Tae Davis added 13 and pulled in a team-high eight rebounds.

Notre Dame moved to 3-0 on the young season with this being its first game against a power conference foe. For reference, Georgetown beat Notre Dame in South Bend 72-68 in overtime last season.

Notre Dame an NCAA Tournament Contender?

Just how high should expectations be for Notre Dame and Shrewsberry as winter approaches?

A couple of college football's best-known analysts had high praise for the Fighting Irish following Saturday's dominant showing, and maybe just maybe, a trip into March is fair to expect.

John Fanta was on the call for NBC during Notre Dame's rout of Georgetown and sees something special coming for the Irish under Shrewsberry.

Micah Shrewsberry is building something in South Bend and we got a taste of it today. Notre Dame put up a complete performance in the 84-63 win at Georgetown. Matt Allocco was a great add, Burton/Shrewsberry are a special duo and Tae Davis does winning things. @NDmbb is rising.

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) November 16, 2024

Meanwhile, Jon Rothstein (who has long been praiseful of Shrewsberry) responded to a compliment from the legendary Dick Vitale and put the idea of Notre Dame being a potential tournament contender out there.

We all are praying for your recovery, @DickieV!

Notre Dame looked terrific yesterday.

A potential bubble team in South Bend! https://t.co/xqJDFkh39f

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 17, 2024

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Take:

The schedule was more favorable down the stretch last year for Notre Dame but its worth remembering that as bad as this team was in the early part of the year, it did go on a stretch where it won five-of-six ACC games in late-February and into early-March.

It is improved talent-wise from that and although I'm not expecting them to earn an NCAA Tournament bid this coming spring, I do expect to see this team not just put up a better record overall, but also be much more competitive against some of the better teams in the ACC that it simply has not been in recent years.

Notre Dame (3-0) returns to action Tuesday night at home when it will play host to North Dakota.

More From Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated

Notre Dame's 5 Toughest Games of 2024-25 Season