It will be a battle between ACC opponents when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-6, 1-3 ACC) welcome the No. 17 North Carolina State Wolfpack (14-3, 2-2 ACC) to Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. The game starts at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 19, 2019, and will air on ACC Network.
North Carolina State Wolfpack at Notre Dame Fighting Irish Free Prediction
In the Wolfpack’s last game, they were beaten by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 71-67. Wake Forest was effective at getting and making free throws. The Demon Deacons made 23 of their 28 free throws (82.1 percent), while the Wolfpack were just 7-9 (77.8 percent). Torin Dorn was the game’s high scorer with 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting.
The Fighting Irish lost to the No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels in their last matchup, 75-69. North Carolina out-rebounded Notre Dame. The Tar Heels had 16 offensive rebounds and 47 total rebounds, while the Fighting Irish had seven and 36, respectively. Notre Dame’s John Mooney finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds in the contest.
Ball protection could play a significant role in this matchup. Notre Dame commits the second-fewest miscues in the country (turnover percentage of 14.0 percent), while the ball-hawking defense of North Carolina State forces the 11th-most (opponents’ turnover percentage of 24.4 percent). It will also be a tale of two tempos as the up-and-down Wolfpack rank 48th in possessions per game, while the more half-court oriented Fighting Irish rank 274th.
After splitting two games last season, this will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams. The Wolfpack won the most recent game 76-58. The Wolfpack had a much better offensive rebounding percentage (38.7 vs. 21.2) and had a better turnover percentage (16.4 vs. 20.0).
North Carolina State Wolfpack at Notre Dame Fighting Irish Odds Pick
Pick: SU Winner – Notre Dame, ATS Winner – North Carolina State, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes:
North Carolina State ranks 33rd in steals per game (8.1) while Notre Dame ranks 164th (5.5).
Bettings Trends:
The Wolfpack’s average margin of victory in their last five games has been 6.4, down from 18.8 for the season.
During their last five games, the Fighting Irish have scored an average of 65.8 points per game (9.0 below their season average) and allowed an average of 70.0 points per game (1.4 above their season average).
^^^^^
