Wisconsin Badgers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sweet 16 Betting Preview & Odds
Friday night Sweet 16 hoops and we will take a look at the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, which will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. TBS will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:27 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Irish listed as 1.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 131.5.
The Wisconsin Badgers came into the tournament having won 11 of 14 games and were playing very well and so far they have kept that solid play up in the Big Dance and they beat Pittsburgh 47-43 in game and then followed that up with a 66-63 win over Xavier in the 2nd round. The Badgers were 10-5-2 ATS vs Tournament teams this year and they are 16-4 ATS in their last 20 vs the AC, plus they are 10-2 ATS their last 12 vs a team with a winning record. The Badgers have just 5 players that average more than 2.9 ppg and are led by Nigel Hayes, who scores 15..8 ppg, but he has scored just 18 total points in the first two games of the tournament. Bronson Koenig is 2nd at 13.3 ppg and he led the team with 20 vs Xavier. Ethan Happ rounds out the double digit scorers on the team and also leads them in rebounding at 7.8 rpg. Wisconsin has not been a good offensive team this year as they come in ranked 282nd in the nation in scoring, putting up just 68.1 ppg, while also ranking 247th in shooting overall, 155th in 3-point shooting and 151st at the charity stripe. On defense they have been solid as usual as they come in ranked 18th in the nation in points allowed, giving up just 63.9 ppg, but they are just 129th in defensive FG% overall and 323rd in 3-point defense. The Badgers come in at 217th in the nation in rebounding, while they commit just 10.8 turnovers per game (30th) and force just 12.0 turnovers per game (219th).
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a solid year again and here they are with a shot at going to the Elite 8. The Irish took out Michigan in game one by a 70-63 score and then they got a tip in by Rex Pfleuger with just 1.5 seconds left to beat Stephen F Austin 76-65 in round two. That’s the kind of win that can really propel a team and the Irish are hoping for just that. The Irish are 8-2 ATS their last 10 vs the Big 10 and we also note that Sweet 16 favorite of less than 6 are 10-3 ATS if they are off a 1 point win. Notre Dame is led by Demetrius Jackson, who averages 15.8 ppg and led the team with 18 vs SFA, while Zach Auguste is 2nd at 14.3 ppg and he leads the team in rebounding at 10.9 rpg. He had a huge game vs SFA as his scored 16 points and grabbed 15 boards. Steve Vasturia (11.6 ppg), Bonzie Colson (11.4 ppg) and V.J. Beachem (11.6 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Notre Dame has been a decent offensive team as they come in ranked 120th in the nation in scoring at 75.6 ppg, while also ranking 30th in shooting overall, 58th from long range and 58th at the charity stripe. On defense they check in at 141st in the nation in points allowed, giving up 70.5 ppg, while ranking 135th in defensive FG% overall and 312th in three point defense. The Irish are 170th in the nation in rebounding, while committing just 9.9 turnovers per game (10th) and forcing 9.5 turnovers per game (347th).
