The No.6-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22-11) play the No.14-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (28-5) in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Barclays Center. Action gets underway at 2:40 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 20 and can be seen on CBS.
The Fighting Irish come into this game on a high note after beating Michigan 70-63 in the First Round. V.J. Beachem was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting. The Lumberjacks, meanwhile, are coming off a 70-56 win against West Virginia in the First Round. Thomas Walkup led the game in scoring by registering 33 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
Over the last five games, Walkup has been hot for the Lumberjacks. During that stretch, he has averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength, as the high-octane offense of Notre Dame (13th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 116.7) takes on the elite defense of Stephen F. Austin (second in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 91.2).
The Fighting Irish are attempting to build on their records of 22-11 Straight Up (SU) and 15-15-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have had a lot of success in their last 10 games, going undefeated both SU and ATS. Notre Dame has been steady from the free throw line, shooting an impressive .737. Notre Dame is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35.
Over on the other bench, the Lumberjacks head into the game with records of 4-4 ATS and 28-5 SU. The Lumberjacks are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 10th in Division I at 1.52. Switching gears to the Stephen F. Austin defense, teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Lumberjacks, who are the top team in the country in terms of three-point field goals allowed with 168 this season.
This game marks the first time Notre Dame and Stephen F. Austin have played one another in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – SFA, ATS Winner – SFA
Notes
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks rank 15th for their offensive rating of 115.9. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a defensive rating of 108.0 (ranked 54th).
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 22nd in the nation with a FG% of 47.9%. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have split their games this season (4-4) when opponents have a similar or higher FG%.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Notre Dame is 37th and 31st in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Stephen F. Austin ranks 27th and 22nd in these categories.
Ranked second in the nation, Stephen F. Austin has an average of 18.7 assists per game. Notre Dame ranks lower at 169th with 13.4.
Notre Dame, the 98th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.0 per game. Stephen F. Austin does worse, ranked 155th with 3.5.
Making 9.3 steals per game, Stephen F. Austin is ranked fifth in the country. Notre Dame has a winning 3-1 record when it allows at least 9 steals.
