The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Oklahoma Sooners have good records, but plenty of questions, on the young college hoops season as they get set to face off at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the men’s basketball doubleheader at the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday Night.
While college football takes center stage for both Notre Dame and Oklahoma with both schools nabbing a College Football Playoff spot, Notre Dame has looked pedestrian against lesser teams, including taking a loss to Radford. The Fighting Irish topped Illinois last game and are looking to follow that up with another win to help the team get back on track.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma comes into the game with some good wins against larger schools, but they weren’t in the same class as Wisconsin when the two programs clashed a week ago. Both teams could use a win as a springboard, but which will be lucky—or good—enough to go home with the victory?
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Oklahoma Sooners
Date and Time: Tuesday, December 4, 2018, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Fighting Irish vs. Sooners TV Coverage: ESPN
The Irish narrowly squeezed by Illinois a week ago in their last game, beating the Illini 76-74, to advance to 6-1 on the young campaign.
In that contest, Notre Dame got 19 points apiece from T.J. Gibbs and D.J. Harvey as the duo performed well in the backcourt.
Gibbs leads the team in scoring here in the early going, but 19 points is still a good night for the junior guard, particularly considering he managed to go 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, well above his meager three-point percentage heading into the contest.
Harvey’s been a better three-point shooter this year and he played well at the line, too, finding his way to 10 free throws and sinking seven.
Overall, the Irish are a young team, but a deep one. The Fighting Irish are getting meaningful minutes from as many as 10 different players on a nightly basis though most of the strength is on the outside. John Mooney may be the primary exception as the junior forward is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 PPG while delivering 8.9 RPG.
At just 6’9” Mooney isn’t a particularly imposing frontcourt presence. As he showed in the Illinois game, however, he can disappear offensively from games. His consistency going forward will be key as when he’s on, he can shoot form the inside and outside. All that considered, he is a strong defender.
Speaking of defense, that’s right up Rex Pflueger’s alley. He’s the lone four-year senior on a rather young roster and thus a key leader. He’s also a dynamic defender having twice been named Notre Dame Defensive Player of the Year.
Despite the 6-1 record, there are serious concerns for Notre Dame. The Irish lost earlier this year to Radford University when the shooting disappeared, sinking just 36-percent of shots from the floor. That was even a game when Mooney was on his game with 24 points, leaving just 36 to the rest of the team.
On the other side of the court, Oklahoma has its own questions despite a strong 6-1 record, identical to that of the Irish.
The Sooners’ lone loss, however, at least came against a ranked opponent, albeit against then-No.25 Wisconsin. The Badgers, however, won in commanding fashion in the Battle 4 Atlantis, holding Oklahoma to 58-points and outscoring them by 20.
Overall, the Sooners are averaging 73 PPG with 19.1 of those coming from Christian James. James is actually the only Oklahoma player to average double digits although four others have 8.9 PPG or more, showing a bit of balance around James.
James is a senior guard who has steadily improved year after year. He had just 11.9PPG last year, but was a solid all-around player. This year, however, he’s started off hot with a much better shooting percentage, inside and out.
While backcourt is in good hands with James and plenty more experience from Miles Reynolds and Aaron Calixte, the inside has center Jamuni McNeace holding down court. The senior is a rebounding machine and has 2.1 BPG to boot. He can score, block and rebound, giving Oklahoma a nice edge over a relatively small Notre Dame squad. While McNease isn’t a great option from the free throw line, he’s great otherwise. Brady Manek helps solidify the inside, too. He’s just shooting 35-percent from the floor, but is good enough offensively to allow his 9.1 RPG to play up.
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Oklahoma has the experience in this one. They’ve got mostly the same team as last year save Trea Young. That’s a big loss, but there are enough quality guys and we’ve seen enough improvement from a few to have hope. This Sooners’ team will take advantage of that experience this year—and in this game. The Sooners, however, may have a tough time in the future given the lack of freshmen talent, but they’ll worry about that in the future.
For now, watch to see how well Mooney performs in this game. It’ll also be crucial for the Irish to shoot well from the outside and that includes Gibbs. The Irish are a bit of an inconsistent team so it’ll be important to watch how the team comes out early in this game.
On a different topic, stars may get the publicity, but a good, solid, balanced team is most important. The Sooners don’t have a bright star, but Christian James has started to step into that role and Manke and McNeace outside are better than anything Notre Dame has to offer. For a game that should end up a close one, there will be plenty of live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu as this one unfolds. Be sure to be part of the action.
Key Player
McNeace and Manek are strong forces inside, leaving a short, guard-heavy Notre Dame team a bit mismatched. That leaves John Mooney as the key to this game.
Mooney is the primary option inside. Nae Lazweski has more height and is a good rebounder, but he only sees 16 minutes per game for a reason. Mooney has been on the court a lot early, taking a much bigger role than years past.
If he’s playing well, he provides a threat inside and can help stretch defenses out while clearing a lane to allow his teammates more success.
The Irish need to be able to compete inside. Oklahoma is a veteran team and while it’s lacking a star like Tre Young, it still has quality players inside and out. The Sooners can compete with a stacked Irish backcourt. Notre Dame, in turn, needs to show it can compete inside and that boils down to Mooney more than anyone else.
Fighting Irish vs. Sooners Live Betting
The Irish and Sooners are both interesting programs this year, but while Oklahoma has its flaws—including lack of freshman talent—it’s better positioned for success this year than Notre Dame.
The face he Irish have already lost a bad one to a nobody team. The Sooners appear to be the better team. They’ve got more experience than Notre Dame and a more balanced team. The Irish cannot compete in the front court with Oklahoma and while the backcourt is talented and deeper, the Sooners have enough answers there to at least make things interesting.
In the end, look for a close game between these two programs and take the points if the spread becomes too skewed. The Notre Dame win over Illinois could be a sign of things to come, but for now, Oklahoma has shown a bit more against a bit better in the early going.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Tuesday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Oklahoma 73, Notre Dame 70
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