It will be a battle between Atlantic Coast opponents when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-5) welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies (12-6) to Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20 and will air on EFC and ES3.
The Fighting Irish beat Duke 95-91 on Saturday. Bonzie Colson played a key role, recording 31 points and 11 rebounds to notch his second double-double this season. The Hokies are coming off a 78-77 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Zach LeDay led the team in scoring with 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
Over the last five games, Colson and Demetrius Jackson have played well for the Fighting Irish. During that stretch, Colson has averaged 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks. Not to be outdone, Jackson has put up 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers.
The frequency with which the Hokies shoot free throws could play a key factor in this game. They rank first in the nation in FTA rate (50.6), but Notre Dame is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the line (ranking 21st by allowing a FTA rate of 26.3).
Notre Dame is a heavy 11-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 154 points. The Fighting Irish look to build on their records of 12-5 Straight Up (SU) and 6-8-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Notre Dame has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking seventh in the nation with a FG% of .499. The Fighting Irish, sporting the 12th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.60), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, Virginia Tech has a SU record of 12-6 and an ATS record of 6-5-1.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time Notre Dame and Virginia Tech played, Notre Dame won, moving its SU record against the Hokies to 4-0. Additionally, Notre Dame leads the matchup ATS with a record of 3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – ND, ATS Winner – ND, O/U – Over
Notes
Notre Dame is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Notre Dame’s last 12 games.
Notre Dame is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games at home.
The Virginia Tech Hokies hold a solid 4-1 SU record in matchups against Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish currently sit at 3-2 in these games.
In its last game, Virginia Tech won by a margin of one point. Notre Dame is 0-2 in games decided by a margin of three points or less. Virginia Tech has a 3-2 record in close games.
The Virginia Tech Hokies average 71.5 possessions per game and 1.075 points per possession. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish earn fewer possessions with 64.7, but they score more points with 1.224.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 12th in the country with an eFG% of 56.8%. The Virginia Tech Hokies have a winning 2-1 record in games where opponents have a similar or higher eFG%.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish average 20.0 three point attempts per game, while the Virginia Tech Hokies attempt 15.0. When attempting 20 or more three pointers in a game, Notre Dame is 7-3 while Virginia Tech is undefeated (2-0).
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank 12th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.60, while the Virginia Tech Hokies rank outside the top 100 (233rd) with an A/TO of .96.
The Virginia Tech Hokies rank 98th in offensive rebounds. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank 186th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Virginia Tech forces a turnover rate of 19.9%. When Notre Dame turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 2-1 record.
