The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish knew they were going to be seriously tested in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament (they’re in the same group as overall No. 1 Kentucky, after all), but few expected their first scare to come so soon. The Northeastern Huskies brought the heat in the round of 64, and exposed the type of issues that the Irish may be vulnerable to in later rounds.
The No. 6 Butler Bulldogs will try and pick up where the Huskies left off after beating the No. 11 Texas Longhorns in their Round of 64 matchup. Read on for more on what should be a high-octane game in Pittsburgh, and don’t miss our complete coverage of every March Madness game, including our breakdown of Friday’s Providence vs. Dayton and Saturdays’ UCLA vs. UAB games.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 6 Butler Bulldogs Preview
Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh
When: Saturday, March 21, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Butler Bulldogs – view all March Madness lines
Betting on the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
On paper, Notre Dame’s first game didn’t look a thing like a No. 3 seed taking on a No. 14. But then, in the end, the Irish got the result two other three seeds didn’t on Thursday, surviving a very tight round of 64 game with a four-point win while No.3 Baylor lost to No. 14 Georgia State in the West 57-56, and No. 3 Iowa State lost to No. 14 UAB in the South, 60-59.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Notre Dame looked their usual dominant offensive selves on Thursday, scoring 69 points. The Irish were led by Zach Auguste (25 points) and Jerian Grant (17) in terms of scoring, but Demetrius Jackson may have been the team MVP in this one, filling out the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks. Jackson was everywhere on the court and made one of only two Notre Dame three-pointers on the afternoon.
Grant had a strong game as usual for the Irish, as the elite guard went 7-for-12 from the field while before makingkey defensive plays to close it out for Notre Dame.
The Irish may not have wanted such a tight finish in their first game of the tournament, but there are some positives to pull from the victory over the Huskies. Northeastern was a strong offensive team, and Notre Dame got it done defensively when they needed to. The primary criticism of the Irish, even after their victory in the ACC Conference Championship, was their defense, and if they can protect their rim even at an average level, they will continue to progress through the bracket.
Butler will present a more substantial challenge for the Irish on the offensive end, than Northeastern did. Notre Dame got away with a poor shooting performance from beyond the arc against the Huskies, hitting six fewer threes than they did per game during the regular season.
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Betting on the No. 6 Butler Bulldogs
Butler beat the Texas Longhorns the same way it’s been many teams this year: outstanding defense and a solid offense that does just enough. Though they trailed at time and the game was close throughout, Butler took charge when it counted and closed out a 56-48 win in the Round of 64.
Texas was expected by some to make a run in this tournament, but the Bulldogs had the answers defensively, holding Texas to 34% shooting from the floor and 32% from beyond the arc. And good thing too, because Butler had a poor shooting game themselves, going 16 for 48 from the floor and 4 from 13 from downtown.
These Bulldogs are no strangers to the Madness, though, having made two Cinderella runs to the national title games in the last five years alone, and this team seems to be built in the similar model. The Bulldogs allowed just 60.8 points per game this past season, and have enough offensive talent in Kellen Dunham (20 points on 5 of 15 shooting against Texas) and Andrew Chrabascz (7 points on 2 of 10) to survive even on off nights.
Butler’s offense may be without a key player on Saturday, as Roosevelt Jones left the game with a knee injury before hobbling back onto the floor for a late bucket that made it 44-37. Jones is questionable for the game against Notre Dame.
Turnovers could prove to be the key to this game on Saturday. Notre Dame put up 22 points in transition against Northeastern, while Butler outscored Texas 16-6 on points turnovers. Whichever team keeps their head and makes the most of their possessions could have the edge here.
Writer’s Prediction
Butler pushes the Irish to the brink and covers, but ultimately Notre Dame prevails behind a deadly performance from Grant.
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