March Sadness - Kentucky at Notre Dame
by Robby Maddux
NIT Betting Online - Luck Of The Irish
Ok, sports betting friends, it's not the two meet in the NIT's quarterfinals. So let's take a peak at the game and make a winning selection, while we anxiously await Thursday's NCAA Tournament play to resume.
Notre Dame was a preseason top-10 team among the BetUS NCAA basketball odds on favorites to win the Big East. Kentucky wasn't supposed to compete for a national championship, but after 17 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, another visit to the Big Dance seemed like a formality to the basketball wagering community.
While the season didn't play out that way for either club, the stakes will be high for both in this matchup at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. The winner takes another step closer to an NIT championship, and they'll be headed to the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Fighting Irish are led by star forward Luke Harangody, who was a candidate for Big East Player of the Year and widely regarded as one of the best players in the country. Harangody enters Wednesday's game averaging 23.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. What Harangody lacks in athleticism he makes up for with raw strength. Pound for pound he's one of the best scorers in the game.
The Fighting Irish started the tourney with a 70-64 win versus UAB on Tuesday, March 17, and is entering Wednesday's game coming off a victory over New Mexico 70-68 posted on Thursday, March 19. With having nearly a week's worth of rest, they'll have fresh legs to help defend a more a faster and athletic Kentucky team.
To get here the Wildcats beat UNLV 70-60 on Tuesday, March 17, and on Monday, March 23, they survived 65-63 against Creighton. In the game versus Creighton, Kentucky played from behind most of the game but found themselves in position to win after Justin Carter missed two free throws with 36.4 seconds left.
Kentucky is led by junior Jodie Meeks, who led the SEC in scoring with 23.8 points per game. Patrick Patterson (17.9 ppg., 9.4 rpg.) is the Wildcat's other key player. They are hands down the best two players on a young team that has just one senior among the 18 players on its roster and four underclassmen in their eight-man rotation. Notre Dame suits four seniors, which includes Harangody and three-year starting junior Tory Jackson.
Analysis: Kentucky has defeated Notre Dame ten consecutive times SU, covering the spread in the last four. The Irish have not beaten the Wildcats at the Joyce Center since March 5, 1990. But that trend ends in this contests, because outside of Meeks and Patterson you're hard pressed to find a third legit scoring threat wearing a blue jersey. Patterson will work hard inside against Notre Dame's Harangody, who'll prevail in what will be a fun matchup to watch. Experience, rest and depth will send the Fighting Irish to the Garden for the NIT's Final Four. BetUS odds are giving Notre Dame a 3-point edge.
Free NIT Picks: Notre Dame -3
