1985 Notre Dame Basketball: A Return To The NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame basketball came into 1985 after three seasons of rebuilding. Following the eight years of 1974-81 where Digger Phelps had them routinely contending with the nation’s elite, the Irish had fallen on hard times. 1982 was a losing season. In 1983 and 1984, they started to win again but settled for NIT bids at a time when only 48 teams made the NCAA Tournament. In 1985, the Irish combined natural continued growth with a dynamic new freshman to return to March Madness.

A FRESH SPARK

David Rivers was the new face in South Bend. An exciting point guard playing in an era when freshmen making an immediate impact wasn’t nearly as common as today, Rivers averaged 15 points/4 assist per game.

Ken Barlow was the Irish anchor in the post. A 6’10” junior, Barlow averaged 15 points/7 rebounds. He was joined up front by Donald Royal, an emerging sophomore, who grabbed six rebounds a night. Phelps also had reliable rebounders in Tim Kempton and Jim Dolan.

Notre Dame was unranked to begin the season. But coming off a year where they had reached the championship game of the NIT, and the NCAA Tournament entering its first year with a 64-team field, there was reason for optimism.

DECEMBER QUESTIONS

It was difficult to get a read on the Irish through December as they won seven of their first nine games. They took care of the games they were supposed to win, but only beating NIT-bound Creighton, coached by Willis Reed, was even modestly noteworthy.

There was no shame in losing at home to Bob Knight’s Indiana, who came in ranked #11. Or on the road at archrival DePaul, ranked second nationally. But those losses would look worse as time went on, with the Hoosiers collapsing and missing the NCAA field, and the Blue Demons barely getting in.

Notre Dame was 7-2, but the calendar pivoted to the New Year with the quality of this team still to be determined.

CLOSE CALLS, CONTINUED QUESTIONS

After a couple of more perfunctory wins, the Irish went on the road to play Marquette. In an age of Midwest Catholic independents, Notre Dame played MU—along with DePaul and Dayton—on a home-and-home basis. The Warriors would be on the NCAA Tournament bubble by year’s end, so getting out of Milwaukee with a 63-62 win was significant.

A week later, after beating a bad Holy Cross team, the Irish got their second crack at the Blue Demons. It was a Super Bowl Sunday showcase, with the nation waiting to watch Dan Marino and Joe Montana go at it on the football field. It was also a day when much of the country experienced historically freezing weather. Notre Dame was a bit cold themselves, and lost another decision to DePaul, 71-66.

Dayton was bound for the NCAA field, and the Irish finally got a notable win when they knocked off the Flyers. But the following Saturday, they missed a chance against an even bigger opponent. Maryland, coached by Lefty Driesell, was headed for the Sweet 16. The Irish left College Park on the wrong end of a 77-65 score.

Notre Dame went on to take care of Providence and St. Louis. They moved into February 11-5. We were no closer than we were at the beginning of the season to knowing what this Irish team truly had.

BATTLING ON THE BUBBLE

UCLA was another opponent who would settle for the NIT, but on the first Sunday of February, were still in play for an NCAA bid. Notre Dame’s 53-52 escape in Westwood helped get them some separation.

A pair of high-profile opponents were on the February docket. Syracuse and Duke were both ranked in the national top 10. The Irish lost a close 65-62 decision to the Orange at home and fell 81-69 to the Blue Devils in Durham. Surrounding these games, Notre Dame handled three non-descript opponents.

Then came a short trip to Indianapolis to play Butler. The Bulldogs were a respectable, but not particularly noteworthy team. They handed the Irish a 70-69 upset loss. Notre Dame closed the month with a record 17-8. They were firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament and three difficult games in early March to end the regular season would decide their fate.

CLOSING WITH A FLOURISH

Washington was headed for the Pac-10 title, with a forward in Detlef Schrempf who went on to a solid NBA career. Playing the Huskies was a great opportunity for the Irish. They took advantage, with a 57-50 home win for the Sunday afternoon TV audience.

Another home date with Marquette was an enormous bubble battle. Notre Dame completed a season sweep with a 66-60 win. Whether the Irish needed this game per se is a matter of speculation, but it’s worth noting that the Warriors’ bubble burst and ND’s didn’t.

An impressive 80-73 road win at Dayton removed any doubt as to the Irish fate. When the brackets were announced on Selection Sunday, Notre Dame came up as the 7-seed in the Southeast Region (today’s South bracket). They didn’t even the need to expansion to 64 teams to qualify.

And even better—in an era where home cookin’ was more tolerated, Notre Dame was slotted to play at home in South Bend on the first weekend.

OUTSHOOTING OREGON STATE

Oregon State was the opponent in Thursday’s Round of 64. The Beavers may have been a 10-seed, but they had the legendary Ralph Miller on the sidelines, and they had A.C. Green—soon to be a starter on the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers—leading the way at forward. And against Notre Dame, Green was as good as advertised, getting 26 points/12 rebounds. Oregon State as a whole shot 52 percent.

But the Irish were even better and they were more balanced. They shot a sizzling 64 percent from the floor. Rivers hit of eight of his 12 shots en route to 21 points. Scott Hicks, the two-guard dropped in 14. Joseph Price, another guard who had only marginal production all year, stepped up with a 16-point game. Notre Dame’s return to the NCAA Tournament began with a 79-70 win.

A LATE HEARTBREAKER

North Carolina, the 2-seed, was waiting on Saturday. This was a loaded Tar Heel team. Kenny Smith, a future NBA champion point guard with the Houston Rockets and longtime studio analyst after his playing days were over, quarterbacked the offense. Brad Daugherty, an eventual #1 overall draft pick was at center. Notre Dame was mismatched.

But they were also on their home floor, and this is March where anything can happen. The Irish hung tough. Rivers played well again, scoring 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting. And in the closing moments, Notre Dame had the ball in a 58-58 tie game. An upset was in their grasp.

With eight seconds left, this potentially magical afternoon turned sour. Rivers, under pressure, dribbled the ball off his leg. It was scooped up by North Carolina, who quickly raced the other way and got an easy basket. The Irish suffered a heartbreaking 60-58 loss.

BACK TO MARCH

It was a tough way to end the season, but 1985 signaled that Notre Dame basketball was back. While they never reached the national heights of the 1974-81 glory years, this was the first of six consecutive NCAA bids, a stretch that included rising as high as a 3-seed in 1986 and making the Sweet 16 in 1987.