Blogging the Bracket, College Basketball Bracketology

Updated with SB Nation link. I guess the idea of playing basketball against the likes of SMU and Houston didn't sit well in South Bend. The first info I saw on this subjecthttp://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8369070/notre-dame-sports-football-hockey-acc came from ESPN's Brett McMurphy, who has a good track record with this sort of thing. While I've been expecting a move like this for some time (based on message board chatter), I didn't quite expect it today. The Fighting Irish will now see a sizable chunk of its football schedule filled with ACC opposition (5 games according to McMurphy). Plus, they'll join fellow ACC rival Boston College in Hockey East. (Note the ACC will need four more teams to sponsor hockey as a conference, a big number, but not too sizable.) The big question is when this move happens, given the Big East's 27-month notice requirement. But, hey, it's not like Notre Dame would have much issue getting past that hurdle financially. Another is if football joins the conference down the road at some point, perhaps when the NBC money runs out.