Old Dominion vs. Notre Dame 2010 NCAA Bracket Predictions: The No.6-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Big East) will tangle with the dangerous 11-seed Old Dominion University Monarchs (CAA) in a South Bracket first round game with an early 12:25 p.m. Eastern Thursday tip off in New Orleans. NCAA Bracket oddsmakers at SPORTSBETTING.COM list the Irish as slight 2-chalk favorites with a 121.5 total.
Notre Dame heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 23-11 record overall. The Irish finished with a 10-8 regular-season BIG EAST mark and tied for seventh overall with Georgetown in the final standings. By virtue of its win over the Hoyas during the regular season, Notre Dame was the No. 7 seed in the championship.
Old Dominion won the CAA regular season crown outright with a 15-3 league mark and 26-8 overall record. The highlight of the Monarch's season was their 61-57 road victory over then 11th ranked Georgetown.
Notre Dame caught fire late in the season after an injury to star forward Luke Harangody. The Irish became much more deliberate on offense and stayed that way even after Harangody's return during the Big East tournament. That pace certainly wn't bother the Monarchs, who are a deliberate team known for its defense. ODU has good size and is extremely physical, and actually prefers the bump-and-grind style of play.
NCAA Tournament Predictions: Calling for an upset in this game. The Monacrchs already own a victory over Georgetown of the Big East. Today they will go 2-0 on the season vs. the Big East. ODU +2.
