The Mountaineers only beat Bucknell by six points in their game. Neither team was particularly impressive to begin the tournament and since the level of competition has gone up on both sides, better efforts will be needed to advance. West Virginia is the higher seed and it may be the slight favorite, but this is the type of game that could go either way.
A Sweet Sixteen berth will be on the line when Notre Dame and West Virginia face off.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 12:10 p.m. ET at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The game will be televised live on CBS.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds
Notre Dame is 26-9 straight up and 18-10-1 against the spread. The Fighting Irish have played in eight neutral court games this season, covering in half of them. Notre Dame did not cover against Princeton and was lucky not to be the victim of an upset. The Fighting Irish has gone 11-6-1 against the spread as the favorite this season and has covered in seven of 11 attempts as the underdog.
West Virginia is 27-8 straight up and 15-16-1n against the spread. The Mountaineers have been in six neutral site games and have not fared very well, failing to cover in five of them, including against Bucknell. The Mountaineers are 13-15-1 against the spread as the favorite this season and have covered in two of three games as the underdog.
Player to Watch
Bonzie Colson -- Notre Dame’s leading scorer did not disappoint in his first NCAA tournament appearance on Thursday. The junior forward finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in his team’s win over Princeton.
He is averaging a double-double on the season, putting up 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds a game on the season for the Irish. Colson was a part of the Notre Dame teams that made it to the Elite Eight the last two seasons and will looking to make another deep run this year, this time as the go-to guy on the court.
Colson is capable of putting up monster numbers and he proved that with his performance against Florida State on February 11th, finishing with 33 points and 13 rebounds. He is shooting 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from behind the three-point line this season.
Key Stat
66.3. That’s how many points opponents are averaging against this stout West Virginia defense this season. The Mountaineers finished the regular season ranked first in the nation in turnovers forced with 695.
Jevon Carter leads the Mountaineers in steals, averaging 2.6 a game. As a unit, the defense is averaging 10 steals per game this year.
Notre Dame comes into this matchup averaging 78 points per game. The Fighting Irish will need to limit the mistakes on offense and focus on ball protection in this one.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This is an interesting contrast in styles. When the game is in the halfcourt, Notre Dame will likely have the advantage, but if West Virginia can force a more helter skelter style of play, it will be favorable to the Mountaineers.
West Virginia likes to make games ugly, and this should be one. Notre Dame will be a little too far out of its comfort zone, and the Mountaineers should be able to limit the scoring enough to pull out a win to advance.
College Basketball Odds: West Virginia 77, Notre Dame 73
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