Louisville Cardinals vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview
Where: Purcell Pavilion – South Bend, Indiana
When: Wednesday, January 4, 2016, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Louisville Cardinals (-2) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+2) – view all NCAA basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ACC Network
Writer’s Pick: Louisville Cardinals (-2)
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Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (-2)
The Louisville Cardinals bounced back well from their 61-53 loss to the No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers in their ACC opener. The No. 9 Cardinals (12-2) demolished No. 16 Indiana 77-62 in Indianapolis on New Year’s Eve.
Donovan Mitchell responded well to getting benched for his awful 7-point showing against the Hoos. He led the way with a season-high 25 points off the bench for the Cards against Indiana. Meanwhile, Louisville’s shutdown defense limited the Hoosiers to 32 percent shooting from the field, including just 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers are the second top offense Louisville has neutralized in its last few games. It also did quite a number on a Kentucky attack which was coming off a 103-point performance against North Carolina. They limited the Wildcats to 5-of-22 from 3 in a 73-70 Louisville win.
The Louisville defense is now ranked No. 1 in KenPom.com’s ratings, and are allowing the third-lowest 3-point percentage in the country. They should be well-equipped to stop another very good Notre Dame offense which is reliant on the 3-pointer.
The battle-hardened Cardinals have already faced five ranked teams this season and the Irish will be the sixth, and the fourth one in a row. They are 3-2 in those first five games. They also lost to Baylor, which is now the No. 2 in the country.
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+2)
No. 23 Notre Dame (12-2) was pushed all the way by Pitt on the road, but got its ACC campaign off to a winning start. Steve Vasturia drained a game-winning 3 in overtime to give the Irish the 78-77 win. Bonzie Colson led the Irish with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Matt Farrell had 16.
The Irish are once again one of the very best offenses in the country. They’re averaging 82.2 points per game, and are No. 10 in offensive efficiency per KenPom.com. A big part of their success stems from the fact that they just don’t turn the ball over. They are turning the ball over just 11.8 percent of the time per 100 possessions, the fourth-best mark in the country.
Farrell is a very solid, experienced guard who should be able to navigate past the Louisville press. Notre Dame’s ability to avoid turning the ball over has been a major reason why it’s won its last two meetings against the Cardinals.
Notre Dame lost its first two meetings this season against ranked opposition, but those games – against No. 1 Villanova and No. 15 Purdue – were on a neutral court. Having home-court advantage in this matchup should play to the Irish’s advantage in what will likely be a closely-contested game against Louisville. They are a perfect 9-0 in South Bend this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Louisville’s defense slows down Notre Dame’s defense just enough to grind out a hard-fought 67-62 road win.
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