Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the Big East Tournament last night with a win over the Rutger Scarlet Knights. Their prize is a meeting with West Virginia tonight at Madison Square Garden. The two teams last met on February 18th when the Mountaineers recorded a 79-68 win in Morgantown, WV. Tonight's game is set to tip off at 7:00pm ET and will be televised live on ESPN.
Notre Dame vs West Virginia College Basketball Picks at Sportsbook.com are favoring the Mountaineers -5.5 against the spread.
The Irish were able to overcome Rutgers last night despite a rough outing from star forward Luke Harangody. Notre Dame's guard trio of Tory Jackson, Kyle McAlarney, and Ryan Ayers made up for Harangody's 3-of-17, seven point performance by combining for 33 points, seven assists, and 13 rebounds. As a team Notre Dame hit 44.4 percent from beyond the arc in the 61-50 victory; they held Rutgers to a feeble 16.7 percent from downtown in advancing their overall record to 18-13.
Notre Dame is now 2-2 in neutral site games this year and they are averaging 77.1 points per game while giving up 71.1 in return.
The West Virginia Mountaineers finished the regular season in seventh place in the Big East standings with a 10-8 conference record. As a result, they earned a first round bye in the conference tournament. Bob Huggins squad, which is 21-10 overall, enters this evening's battle having won six of their last nine contests. However, they stumbled in their last outing, a 59-62 home loss to Louisville.
The Mountaineers hit just 2-of-12 from three point range while the Cardinals knocked in nine of their 17 deep shot attempts. The difference negated a 36-21 rebounding edge for West Virginia and double-doubles from forwards Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks. Louisville also had 11 steals and eight blocked shots in garnering the Big East regular season title.
West Virginia is also 2-2 this year when playing at a neutral site, collecting wins over Marquette and Iowa while losing to Kentucky and Davidson. They are averaging 72.4 points per game this season and giving up a stingy 61.3 per contest.
Sportsbook.com's Notre Dame vs West Virginia College Basketball Picks:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish +5.5 (-110), Over 139.5 (-110), +200 (Moneyline)
West Virginia Mountaineers -5.5 (-110), Under 139.5 (-110), -240 (Moneyline)
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