NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame is headed to Greensboro, N.C., for a second-round NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships matchup at approximately 9:40 p.m. Friday against Xavier.

Head coach Mike Brey’s Irish (22-11), picked for ninth in the BIG EAST Conference back in October before standout Tim Abromaitis was lost for the season in November with a knee injury, came on strong to finish third in the BIG EAST Conference (13-5 in league play).

The Irish handed top seed Syracuse (East Region) its lone regular-season loss — and also defeated 2012 NCAA participants Marquette (No. 3), Louisville (No. 4), Connecticut (No. 9), West Virginia (No. 10) twice, South Florida (No. 12) twice and Detroit (No. 15).

The Irish received a number-seven seed in the South Region, marking the first time in history the Notre Dame men have been seeded seventh in the NCAA Championships.

Notre Dame’s men’s basketball team takes on 10th-seeded Xavier (21-12 and runner-up in the Atlantic 10 Conference title game Sunday) Friday in a second-round game in Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum (capacity 23,500), based on NCAA pairings released Sunday night. If Notre Dame advances, the Irish Sunday would take on the Duke (No. 2 seed at 27-6)-Lehigh (No. 15 seed at 26-7) winner in a third-round matchup.

The other second-round games played in Greensboro feed into the Midwest Region: top-seeded North Carolina (29-5) against winner of a first-round game between Lamar (23-11) and Vermont (23-11), along with eighth-seeded Creighton (28-5) versus ninth-seeded Alabama (21-11).

The Irish previously have made seven NCAA appearances in the Brey era:

• In 2011, the second-seeded Irish defeated No. 15 Akron 69-56 in the second round, then dropped a third-round contest 71-57 to No. 10 seed Florida State in Chicago.
• In 2010, the sixth-seeded Irish dropped a first-round South Region game 51-50 to No. 11 seed Old Dominion in New Orleans.
• In 2008, the fifth-seeded Irish defeated No. 12 George Mason 68-50 in a first-round game in Denver, before losing a second-round contest 61-41 to No. 4 Washington State.
• In 2007, the sixth-seeded Irish dropped a first-round Midwest Region game in Spokane 74-64 to 11th-seeded Winthrop.
• In 2003, the fifth-seeded Irish defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 70-69 in an NCAA first-round game and fourth-seeded Illinois 68-60 in a second-round matchup (both in Indianapolis) before falling 88-71 in a West Regional semifinal to top-seeded Arizona in Anaheim, Calif.
• In 2002, the eighth-seeded Irish men defeated Charlotte 82-63 in the first round in Greenville, S.C., before falling to top-seeded Duke 84-77 in the second round.
• In 2001, sixth-seeded Notre Dame defeated Xavier 83-71 in the first round in Kansas City, Mo., before dropping a second-round game 59-56 to third-seeded Ole Miss.