The No.3-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish (29-5) take on the No.7-seeded Wichita State Shockers (28-4) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. The game starts at 7:15 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 26.
The Fighting Irish won a close one over Butler 67-64 in the third round. Demetrius Jackson played well, contributing 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals for the Fighting Irish. The Shockers, meanwhile, are coming off a 78-65 win over Kansas in the third round. Tekele Cotton stood out, recording 12 points, three assists, and two steals.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a balanced matchup. Notre Dame’s sweet-shooting offense ranks second in the nation in that metric at 58.6%, while Wichita State is 32nd-best in the nation at forcing opponents’ misses (45.0%). The Shockers should also expect to protect the ball well. They rank sixth at avoiding errors (TO% of 15.2%). Conversely, the Fighting Irish force the sixth-fewest turnovers in the nation (opponents’ TO% of 25.2%).
Notre Dame is a small underdog, with Wichita State favored by one. The Over/Under (O/U) is set at 137 points. The Fighting Irish enter the game with records of 31-5 Straight Up (SU) and 15-13 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Notre Dame is excellent from the perimeter, shooting a stellar .392 from three-point range. The Fighting Irish, sporting the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.61), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, Wichita State has a SU record of 30-4 and an ATS record of 18-14-1. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Shockers. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.48.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time Notre Dame and Wichita State played, Wichita State won, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record (0-0).
Predictions: SU Winner – WSU, ATS Winner – WSU, O/U – Over
Notes
The Wichita State Shockers rank 18th for their offensive rating of 112.7. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a defensive rating of 146.5 (ranked 11th).
Notre Dame has the second-ranked average field goal percentage at 51.0%. Wichita State has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-2).
The Wichita State Shockers rank lower for their field goal percentage (105th) than their effective field goal percentage (99th), while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank the same for both metrics (second).
Notre Dame ranks 34th in assists, recording 15.1 per game. Wichita State ranks 84th with 13.9 assists per game.
The Wichita State Shockers rank 89th in offensive rebounds. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank 114th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
