The No.6-seeded Butler Bulldogs take on the No.3-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the third round of the NCAA tournament at Consol Arena – Pittsburgh, PA. The game starts at 9:40 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 21.
The Fighting Irish beat Northeastern 69-65 in the second round. Jerian Grant had 19 points, five rebounds, and two assists for Notre Dame. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are coming off a 56-48 win over Texas in the second round. Kameron Woods stood out for Butler, posting six points, two rebounds, and two assists.
The Fighting Irish should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank third in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 14.4%). Meanwhile, Butler forces the 66th-fewest turnovers in the nation (32.3%).
Notre Dame is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Fighting Irish are attempting to build on their records of 30-5 Straight Up (SU) and 15-12 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Notre Dame has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 14 made free throws per game, which is 34th-best in Division I. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Notre Dame, which ranks fourth at 1.61.
Across the court, Butler has a SU record of 23-10 and an ATS record of 18-13.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time Notre Dame and Butler played, Butler won, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 1-0. The Bulldogs also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 1-0. Neither Notre Dame nor Butler has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – BUTLER, ATS Winner – BUTLER
Notes
Ranked 11th, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 146.5 points per 100 possessions. The Butler Bulldogs rank 93rd in offense, scoring 106.5 points in the same number of possessions.
The Butler Bulldogs average a field goal percentage of 43.9% this season. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 6-4 when opponents have a FG% of 43.9% or greater.
The Butler Bulldogs rank higher based on their field goal percentage (148th) than their effective field goal percentage (186th), while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank the same for both metrics (second).
Notre Dame ranks 33rd in assists, registering 15.1 per game. Butler performs worse at 262nd with 11.5 assists per game.
Butler, the 60th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 36.7 rebounds per game. Notre Dame does worse, ranked 251st with 32.8.
The Butler Bulldogs make an average of 6.4 steals per game. When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish give up 6 or more steals, they are a formidable 13-2.
