Since 1953, the initial year when Notre Dame accepted a bid to the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball, the “Final Four” of its greatest moments in its history have been:

• The school-record 18-game winning streak during the 1953-54 season, led by future Notre Dame athletics director Dick Rosenthal (1987-95) — with the 18th coming against No.1-ranked and reigning national champion Indiana (65-64) in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight.

The 22-2 Fighting Irish then were declared the favorite to capture the national title — only to be upset by Penn State in the next round.

Since then, no other Notre Dame men’s basketball team has won more than 12 straight contests.

• Snapping UCLA’s NCAA-record 88-game winning streak on Jan. 19, 1974 with a one-in-a-million 71-70 comeback victory to move to No. 1 itself for the first time in the history of the Associated Press poll that began in 1949. That is the single-most famous game for the program.

• Advancing to the Final Four for the first time in 1978 with consecutive wins against Houston, Utah and DePaul. It remains the lone Final Four appearance.

• Finally, five years ago to the exact week and days, the University of Notre Dame men’s basketball enjoyed its greatest single month in the program’s history.

A RUN FOR THE AGES

This year’s ACC Tournament, where No. 7 Notre Dame plays No. 10 seed Boston College tonight (Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m., ESPN2) will be held in Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum for the first time … since 2015.

Because it is Leap Year, the exact dates of when the tourney is played also are the same (March 10-14).

Same team hotel, same lucky shirts, same Waffle House …

“We may all rub the trophy on the way to the bus … I’m trying to channel as much karma as possible,” Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey said this Sunday after his 19-11 team (10-10 in the ACC) defeated Virginia Tech in the regular season finale.

Why do I consider March 2015 the greatest month in the men’s basketball program history?

First, the Irish won more games in that month than any other ever, finishing 8-1. Moreover, five of those wins were against ranked opponents, also a standard in a single month.

Second, it was the first and only time Notre Dame won a conference championship.

Third, it joined the 1978 Final Four team as the only teams to win three straight NCAA Tournament games (duplicated in 2016 as well).

Led by seniors Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton in the ACC Tournament, the Fighting Irish:

• On March 12 defeated Miami, 70-63, a team that earlier in the year won at Notre Dame.

• On March 13 in the semifinals, shocked No. 2 Duke, 74-64 — a Blue Devils outfit that would go on to win the national title.

• On Saturday March 14 in the championship, scored on an amazing 16 of 18 possessions in the second half while going on a 34-15 run (including 26-3 at one point) in a stunning 90-82 conquest of North Carolina — which would capture the national title a year later.

“I’m a little bit in awe of what my team did,” remarked a jubilant Brey, who had his first losing record (15-17) a year earlier. “To win a championship going through Tobacco Road is extremely powerful.”

With a supporting cast to Grant and Connaughton that included Demetrius Jackson, Zach Auguste, Steve Vasturia as starters — all of whom averaged double-figure scoring — with V.J. Beachem and freshman Bonzie Colson coming off the bench, Notre Dame next advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years with hard-fought wins over Northeastern (69-65), No. 24 Butler (67-64 in overtime) — the same day Brey’s mother, Betty, passed away — and No. 14 Wichita State (81-70).

In the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, No. 1 and 37-0 Kentucky made all nine of its field goal attempts in the final 12:16, plus two free throws with six seconds remaining, to survive a 68-66 classic versus the Irish.

Augmenting it as the greatest month in the school’s basketball history is the Irish women were 9-1, also winning the ACC title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament championship before losing to No. 1 UConn.

The two programs combined for a 68-9 mark overall — 32-6 by the men and 36-3 by the women — with their .883 winning percentage the best in the land by any two Division I programs.

There is always room to add a fifth to the Final Four.

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