Kentucky Wildcats at Notre Dame Fighting Irish - NIT Elite 8

NCAA Basketball Sports Betting

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (20-14 SU, 11-18 ATS)
Wednesday, March 25

BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds:  NOTRE DAME -2.5, Total 144.5

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• KY has covered five of its last 15 games
• KY has played its last five games UNDER the total
• KY has covered one of its last five games
• KY has lost four of its last five games SU
• KY has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
• ND has covered six of its last 20 games
• ND has won four of its last five games SU
• ND has played its last eight games UNDER the total
• ND has won seven of its last eight home games SU
• ND has played its last six home games UNDER the total
• KY has covered four of the last five meetings
• KY has won the last five meetings SU
  
  

It's been a season of bitter disappointment for Notre Dame, which was considered by some to be a possible Final Four contender at the season's outset. The Irish, competing in the rugged Big East, had a tough time making shots at one point and lost six straight conference games, marking the longest losing streak they've ever had under coach Mike Brey. That took them out of contention in the conference, and with a loss to West Virginia in the second round of the Big East conference post-season tournament, they were relegated to the NIT.

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Certainly we know what this team is capable of; if you look at their slate you'll see that they beat the Louisville Cardinals by 33 points, which is their largest margin of victory ever in a Big East game, over a club that was the NCAA Tournament's #1 overall seed. There is still a lot of explosiveness, with Luke Harangody having another all-conference year, improving on last season's numbers to average 23.3 points and 11.9 rebounds. Kyle McAlarney has shot 43% from three-point range, but he has been just a 32% shooter over his last six games.

That's symbolic of what the Irish have done from the field lately. The shooting numbers just haven't been there, with the team hitting 35%, 38%, 41% and 39% over the last four games. That may be enough when you're facing the likes of Rutgers in the Big East tourney), UAB or New Mexico, and it's tough to make that work against a Kentucky team that can defend (allowing 38.6% shooting). The Wildcats have had a tougher road here, scoring win over Creighton and UNLV, and with Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks, they have arguably as potent a duo as does Notre Dame.

One key here is the Kentucky has turned the ball over 18 times a game on the road, though. Notre Dame, as bad as they might have been this season, still put together a 16-4 SU record at the Joyce Center. We're relatively certain, through their performances, that they would like to erase the memories of the tough luck season. Let's side with the Irish, the 2.5-point favorite in the BetUS Sportsbook.

JAY'S PLAY:  NOTRE DAME -2.5
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)