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Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame vs. Vanderbilt Sweet 16 Preview, What To Watch For

Notre Dame is back in the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight year after beating Ohio State on Monday in the round of 32.
Jared Shlensky|
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish bench cheers during the NCAA women's basketball tournament second round game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 23, 2026. Notre Dame won 83-73.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish bench cheers during the NCAA women's basketball tournament second round game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 23, 2026. Notre Dame won 83-73. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Sixth-seeded Notre Dame pulled off the upset against third-seeded Ohio State on Monday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating the Buckeyes, 83-73. And, maybe m

ost impressively, ND did it in Columbus on Ohio State's home court.

But the Fighting Irish's road to the Elite 8 won't be easy. Notre Dame faces second-seeded Vanderbilt on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Notre Dame

Notre Dame is officially back in the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight season after beating Ohio State. Head coach Niele Ivey has only been the head coach in South Bend for six years, and she's exceeded expectations during her time.

Outside of her first year at the helm, Ivey has recorded at least 23 wins, including 12 or more victories in conference play. But this might be her best work yet, considering ND entered the tournament as a six seed and a heavy underdog against Ohio State.

ND enters Friday's matchup 24-10 and playing its best basketball. The Fighting Irish have won nine of their last 10 games, eight of which have been by double digits.

Notre Dame also happens to arguably have the best player in women's college basketball in junior guard Hannah Hidalgo.

Scouting Notre Dame

We'll get to Hidalgo later, but let's focus on ND as a team first. The Fighting Irish do two things really well. Force turnovers and make free throws. And I've been saying that for a while now.

ND ranks ninth nationally in steals per game (13.3) and 11th in free throw percentage (78.5%).

As for Hidalgo. Well, she's in a tier of her own. She nearly recorded the first quadruple-double in NCAA Tournament history after finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, and six assists in ND's first-round win over Fairfield, and she nearly recorded a triple-double against OSU.

Hidlago finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight steals on Monday and continues to show the world she's one of the best on-ball defenders in the history of women's college basketball.

She currently leads the nation in steals per game (5.5) and is third in points per game (25.2). Hidalgo was also named the ACC Player of the Year for the second straight season and became the first player in ACC history to win Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons.

And on Tuesday, she set a couple more records. Not only did she grab a career-high with 13 boards, but she also broke Notre Dame's single-season scoring record.

About Vanderbilt

It's been a while since Vanderbilt played in the Sweet 16 -- 17 years to be exact -- but the Commodores are back, and they're really good. Vanderbilt is 29-4 after beating Illinois, 75-57, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday. Before beating Illinois, Vandy crushed High Point, 102-61, in the first round.

Fortunately for ND's sake, they won't have to play the Commodores at home. Vandy was a perfect 18-0 at home this season and has won five of its last six, four of which have been by double digits.

Scouting Vanderbilt

Similar to Notre Dame, the Commodores have their own star player -- Mikayla Blakes -- and as a team can really score and are tenacious defensively.

Blakes leads the nation in scoring (27.1 PPG) and has been on a tear as of late. Blakes finished with 25 points on Monday and was one assist away from a triple-double.

As a team, Vanderbilt is eighth in the nation (85.2 PPG) in scoring and has scored 74+ points in 14 straight games. And the Commodores are just as dangerous on defense. Vandy forces more than 20 turnovers a game and really took it to an Illinois team that entered Monday's game one of the best at taking care of the ball.

Game Time

Tip-off on Friday from Dickies Arena is at 1:30 p.m. (ET). Friday's Sweet 16 matchup is scheduled to be televised on ESPN, and if Notre Dame wins, they'll play the winner of UConn vs. North Carolina.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster

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