The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had to go on a 14-0 run against Duke to storm back for a victory in overtime in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday. Is there anything left in the tank to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday in the semis?
You can bet on college basketball odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
HOW THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The key for North Carolina on Thursday against Pitt was to run as fast as it could to take advantage of a team which had just played an emotionally draining game the day before. The key here is going to be exactly the same against Notre Dame.
Sure, the Fighting Irish are more talented than the Panthers are, and they're going to be motivated to retain their ACC Championship they won a year ago, but the fact of the matter is that it's really tough to continue to win these close games day after day.
At the under 12:00 timeout on Thursday, North Carolina was up 57-55 against Pittsburgh. Four minutes later, it was 68-55, and the game was effectively over.
That's when the buckets started getting really easy. Joel Berry II was driving to the hoop constantly, and Brice Johnson found himself with dunk after dunk.
The Tar Heels shot 58.9 percent from the field and only turned the ball over 10 times. That's absolutely relentless, and that's what UNC has to be against Notre Dame as well.
HOW THE NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Steve Vasturia, Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste all played over 40 minutes against Duke, but they all played so darn well. All five starters scored in double figures, and both Bonzie Colson and Auguste had double-doubles. Auguste tied the record for the most rebounds in an ACC Tournament game with 22.
But do these bigs really have anything left to give here? Vasturia and Jackson both went 0-fer from beyond the arc against Duke, and that obviously can't happen again. For as great as Auguste played against the Blue Devils, he isn't pulling in 22 boards against Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and the rest of the Carolina bigs, nor is Notre Dame going to manage a 43-34 rebounding advantage.
Hitting threes is going to be the key to be the great equalizing factor. V.J. Beachem and Matt Ryan combined for all seven of Notre Dame's threes on Thursday, but they'll need some help on Friday.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
North Carolina is going to be a big favorite in this game, and it's tough to say that isn't justified. Maybe the Fighting Irish are able to dig deep and keep this one close for a while, but if Marcus Paige starts running the ball up and down the court and shots start coming up short from distance, Notre Dame is in a heck of a lot of trouble.
Mike Brey's team should be proud of its accomplishments to this point, but it has to know that getting ready for the NCAA Tournament next week is of utmost importance. UNC has a No. 1 seed to go out and get, and we think it's going to make a big statement about grabbing that slot by crushing the Fighting Irish and moving on to the ACC Tournament Final on Saturday.
North Carolina 84, Notre Dame 68
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go.
Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will go down Friday, March 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Verizon Center. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
