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

Notre Dame basketball is one of the top 50 programs of the last 50 seasons according to ESPN.

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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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