OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – It would be easy to forgive Muffett McGraw if she started taking Final Four appearances for granted.
After all, the Notre Dame women’s coach has become a regular of sorts on college basketball’s biggest stage – reaching her fifth straight Final Four with a 77-68 win over No. 2 seed Baylor on Sunday night.
Despite the top-seeded Fighting Irish’s wild success, their longtime coach has only grown more appreciative of the ride as the wins have piled up.
In fact, McGraw – likely because this season’s success was less expected than some of the others – encouraged her youthful group to enjoy every part of this week leading up to next weekend’s clash with fellow top-seed South Carolina (34-2) in Tampa, Florida.
“I’m planning on celebrating it a little bit more because they need that,” McGraw said. “They need to understand how special this is, and I will enjoy watching the freshmen enjoy it because for them it’s the first time, and it’s going to be a really special one.”