Notre Dame had their five-game winning streak snapped Saturday with a stunning loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers. They will look to bounce back from their shock defeat when they take on the Boston College Eagles who are in the midst of a two-game tailspin.
Who will emerge victorious in this Holy War clash? Read on below for a preview of this college basketball matchup and while you’re at it you can check out our NCAA game preview of the showdown between Georgia Tech and Duke here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Boston College Eagles vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Preview
Where: Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame
When: Wednesday, February 4, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Boston College Eagles (+13) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-13) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Boston College Eagles
What in the world is happening to Boston College?
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The Eagles stumbled to yet another defeat, their fourth in their last five games, with a humbling 64-49 loss to the Clemson Tigers Saturday. It has been quite a rocky start for the Eagles in the ACC tournament so far, sliding down to 1-7 in conference play this season.
Once again, the main culprit behind their recent defeat was their poor field goal shooting. The Eagles shot just 18 of 46 from the field for a measly 39 percent clip. It was much worse in the first half where they buried just 6 of 23 field goal attempts for a ghastly 26 percent clip.
For the season, the Eagles are a lowly 190th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 43.2 percent shooting clip. They will need to execute much better on the offensive end if they are to record an upset against high-scoring Notre Dame this coming Wednesday.
The onus is on Olivier Hanlan and Aaron Brown to carry the scoring cudgels for the Eagles. They lead the team in scoring this season, averaging 16.4 and 14.8 points per game respectively. They did their part in their last game against Clemson, combining for 30 points on 10 of 20 shooting from the field.
The problem for Boston College in that game, however, was their lack of bench support. The Eagles’ supporting cast scored just seven points against the Tigers last Saturday. They will need to have a more balanced offensive attack if they are to hand the Fighting Irish their second straight loss and record their first win over a seeded team in the tournament this season.
Boston College is 3-2 ATS in their last five games on the road.
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Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Surely no one saw this coming.
Notre Dame’s unbeaten streak on the road came to a screeching halt with a shocking 76-72 loss Saturday to the Pittsburgh Panthers. There was no miraculous comeback for the Fighting Irish this time around as they crashed to just their third defeat in 23 games this season.
For a moment, though, it seemed like Notre Dame would stage a magical fight back once again. Down eight with less than three minutes remaining in the ballgame, the Fighting Irish made one final push behind star guard Jerian Grant. Grant scored nine straight points to give Notre Dame an improbable 72-71 lead with 31 seconds left to play.
The Panthers recovered just in time, though, as James Robinson broke Notre Dame’s hearts with a running jumper with 12 seconds remaining in the game clock to give Pittsburgh the lead for good.
For Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and the rest of the Fighting Irish, however, it’s back to the drawing board for them once again. What makes this defeat so deflating for Notre Dame is that it comes on the heels of their stunning four-point win over fourth-seeded Duke at home last Wednesday.
Fortunately for them, they will return to the friendlier confines of Purcell Pavilion when they take on the Boston College Eagles this coming Wednesday. Notre Dame is 16-2 in their 18 home games thus far this season. Also working in Notre Dame’s favor is their recent record against Boston College. They are 6-0 in their last six meetings with the Eagles.
If they are to stretch their winning run against Boston College to seven games, they need to get their high-octane offense going once again. Their 72-point output against Pittsburgh was way below their season average of 81.2 points per game, ninth-best in the NCAA.
Better playmaking from Grant will go a long way for Notre Dame against the Eagles. After dishing out 12 assists in their win against Duke, Grant only had three dimes against the Panthers. He will have a much easier time in facilitating the offense against the Eagles, though, which is 138th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 64.6 points per game this season.
Notre Dame is 1-3 ATS in their last four home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Notre Dame (-13) cruises past Boston College, 85-66.
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