Notre Dame Basketball No. 29 In ESPN Countdown Of Most Successful Programs

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish check in at No. 29 in ESPN's countdown of the top 50 college basketball programs of the last 50 seasons.

Related: 30 Defining Moments in Notre Dame Football History, 1987-2011: Through Two Undefeated Teams for a National Title

ESPN put together a point system to quantify success in college basketball over those 50 years, and the rankings are based on the point total for each team.

Positives: Made Final Four in 1978; 10 top-15 finishes in a dozen seasons from 1970-81; 16 consensus All-Americans; five top-10 picks.

Negatives: No conference titles of any kind since joining Big East for 1995-96 season; haven't advanced past Sweet 16 since 1979; six losing seasons from 1991-99.

Notre Dame's best decade by this measure was the 1970s, where they finished with the seventh-best point total in the nation.

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