Liberty draws Notre Dame in NCAA first round

When Libertys named popped on the screen during the NCAA womens tournament selection show Monday night, the team, which was gathered on the club level of the schools football press tower, let out a cheer.

Flames coach Carey Green, however, was a little taken aback by where the tournament committee had placed his team. Liberty will open tournament play on Sunday in South Bend, Ind., as a No. 16 seed against the top seed in the Raleigh Region, homestanding Notre Dame. Tipoff is at 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN2.

The Fighting Irish went 30-3 during the regular season, losing only to undefeated No. 1 Baylor, NCAA team West Virginia and No. 3 Connecticut, a team the Irish beat twice in the regular season. Liberty, which won the Big South tournament title on Sunday in High Point, N.C., hasnt been seeded 16th since going undefeated in the regular season in 1998. Libertys reward that season was a trip to Tennessee.

It was a little bit of sticker shock, Green said. I thought the team deserved a little bit of a higher seed than that. It was a slap in the face.

Liberty (24-8) won 18 of its final 19 games, including two victories against High Point on its home floor. But the similarity between the 2011-12 team and the 1997-98 version of the Flames is strength of schedule. Liberty won just five non-conference games this season, with only two coming against Division I opponents.

Both of those opponents were weak. Liberty won at UNC Greensboro, which went 4-25 and finished dead last in the Southern Conference, and the Flames beat Lipscomb, which went 6-23 and tied for last in the Atlantic Sun, on a neutral floor.

But Green has an argument. Liberty is ranked No. 95 in the RPI, and Samford (No. 103), Tennessee-Martin (No. 104) and Navy (No. 188) all earned No. 15 seeds. The tournament committee did some shifting to keep lower seeds closer to home. Navy will make the short trip to College Park to face Maryland, while Samford will make a 200-mile trip from Birmingham, Ala., to Nashville, Tenn., to face Duke.

Hampton, which is No. 63 in the RPI, ahead of 12 tournament teams, was dropped to a No. 16 so it could play Fresno Region No. 1 seed Stanford in nearby Norfolk.

It is what it is, Green said. Its a dream, though, a great opportunity for us. Were playing our best basketball of the year at this point in time. Well be prepared.

The Flames will face a significant challenge in the Irish, who advanced to last years national title game before falling to Texas A&M. Notre Dame has won at home by some incredibly lopsided margins this season, including wins over Indiana State (99-34), Hartford (98-43), Marquette (95-42), Purdue (66-38), Central Florida (90-38), Longwood (92-26) and Pittsburgh (120-44).

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Liberty draws Notre Dame in NCAA first round