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While Irish basketball fans knew most of the games on the 2015/16 schedule, there were still a number of non-conference home games left to announce.
Date | Day | Opponent | Venue |
Oct 30 | Friday | St. Francis Fighting Saints (IL) (Ex) | Purcell Pavilion |
Nov 5 | Thursday | Caldwell Cougars (Ex) | Purcell Pavilion |
Nov 13 | Friday | St. Francis Red Flash (PA) | Purcell Pavilion |
Nov 17 | Tuesday | Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers | Purcell Pavilion |
Nov 21 | Saturday | UMass-Lowell Riverhawks | Purcell Pavilion |
Nov 26 | Thursday | Monmouth Hawks* | Orlando |
Nov 27 | Friday | Dayton Flyers/Iowa Hawkeyes* | Orlando |
Nov 29 | Sunday | TBA* | Orlando |
Dec 2 | Wednesday | @Illinois Illini& | State Farm Center |
Dec 8 | Tuesday | Stony Brook Seawolves | Purcell Pavilion |
Dec 13 | Sunday | Loyola-Chicago Ramblers | Purcell Pavilion |
Dec 19 | Saturday | Indiana Hoosiers# | Bankers Life Fieldhouse |
Dec 21 | Monday | Youngstown State Penguins | Purcell Pavilion |
Dec 29 | Tuesday | Liberty Flames | Purcell Pavilion |
Jan 2 | Saturday | @Virginia Cavilers | John Paul Jones Arena |
Jan 7 | Thursday | @Boston College Eagles | Conte Center |
Jan 9 | Saturday | Pittsburgh Panthers | Purcell Pavilion |
Jan 13 | Wednesday | Georgia Tech Yellowjackets | Purcell Pavilion |
Jan 16 | Saturday | @Duke Blue Devils | Cameron Indoor Stadium |
Jan 20 | Wednesday | Virginia Tech Hokies | Purcell Pavilion |
Jan 23 | Saturday | Boston College Eagles | Purcell Pavilion |
Jan 28 | Thursday | @Syracuse Orange | Carrier Dome |
Jan 31 | Sunday | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | Purcell Pavilion |
Feb 3 | Wednesday | @Miami Hurricanes | Bank United Center |
Feb 6 | Saturday | North Carolina Tar Heels | Purcell Pavilion |
Feb 8 | Monday | @Clemson Tigers | Bon Secours Wellness Arena |
Feb 13 | Saturday | Louisville Cardinals | Purcell Pavilion |
Feb 20 | Saturday | @Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | McCamish Pavilion |
Feb 24 | Wednesday | @Wake Forest Demon Deacons | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
Feb 27 | Saturday | @Florida State Seminoles | Donald L. Tucker Center |
Mar 2 | Wednesday | Miami Hurricanes | Purcell Pavilion |
Mar 5 | Saturday | NC State Wolfpack | Purcell Pavilion |
*=Advocare Invitational &=ACC/Big Ten Challenge #=Crossroads Classic
At first glance, this year's schedule looks a bit tougher than last year's with multiple tough opponents in Orlando's Advocare Invitational (Iowa or Dayton, then potentially Wichita State), Illinois on the road in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and Indiana in the Crossroads Classic. Additionally, the bottom of the schedule got a bit more difficult. Last season, ND's RPI was stuck in the 30s for much of the year due to some terrible teams at the bottom of the schedule. The Irish played multiple teams with a 300+ RPI (Binghampton, Grambling State, Coppin State, Chicago State, and Fairleigh Dickenson) in the 14/15 season, and despite blowing most of these teams out by 30+ points, the Strength of Schedule hit probably kept ND from earning a two-seed come March. Using last year's RPI as a guide, this year's schedule has just one 300+ team (Liberty), and two more 250+ opponents (UMass-Lowell and Youngstown State). While teams like Stony Brook (112), Monmouth (178), St. Francis (193), and Loyola-Chicago (87) aren't the most exciting opponents, they are all top 200 opponents that should help the Irish with seeding come March.
In ACC play, the Irish drew relatively easy repeat opponents. Notre Dame will face Boston College, Wake Forest, Miami, and Georgia Tech twice, and the rest of the conference just once. ND does open conference play with a tough game at Virginia, and has road games at Duke and Syracuse in January, but the stretch run is relatively manageable giving ND a chance to build momentum for another run in the ACC Tournament. The home ACC schedule is highlighted by games against Louisville and North Carolina both on Saturdays in early February. Pittsburgh, Miami, and NC State should also be exciting home dates. While the 2015/16 schedule isn't perfect since it lacks a truly exciting OOC home game, it should put the Irish in better position for seeding come March which is a vast improvement over last year's.