NCAAB: Fighting Irish vs Shockers Predictions
College basketball betting action sees the Notre Dame Fighting Irish taking on the Wichita State Shockers on Thursday March 26 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA Tournament long.
Are the Shockers on another collision course with Kentucky? They will have to get by the Irish first.
Bet on College Hoops
SWEET 16
#3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. #7 Wichita State Shockers
Thursday March 26
7:15PM
Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, OH
CBS
NCAAB Betting Line: Wichita State -1.5
NCAAB Betting Total: 137.5
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Notre Dame
The Irish have two hard fought wins under their belt as they approach the Sweet Sixteen. The come into Thursday as a slight underdog even though they are the higher seed in the Tournament but that is probably more about how respected their opponent is as opposed to a slight.
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Further, it is probably justified after last week. This Notre Dame team can be very good but their lack of depth is scary. One injury or foul trouble can quickly derail what has been a very strong season.
Just because they don’t have a ton of depth doesn’t mean they don’t have some unsung heroes.
In the win over Butler it was Steve Vasturia who led the way with 20 points, making up for the fact that Pat Connaughton had a light game at the offensive end.
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People want to rag on ND for not being super athletic, which is debatable, but I don’t think it will be a factor in this one.
Wichita State
I want to join the loud chorus that is saying that the Shockers win over Kansas on Sunday was not an upset.
It can be tough to make comparisons across leagues and such but Wichita State is better than Kansas right now…and if you believe the oddsmakers they are better than Notre Dame too.
The Shockers got their usual strong production from a deep backcourt, though with Evan Wessel contributing much more than usual, that group shows even more bite than normal.
They are not the biggest but it is tough to find a more accomplished backcourt than the trio of Ron Baker, Fred Van Vleet and Tekele Cotton.
Together they have won a ton of games and they make sure that Wichita State cannot be taken lightly.
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The Shockers are not as good or as big up front as they have been the last couple of seasons but this one will likely come down to which backcourt gets it done.
NCAAB Betting Trends
- Under is 9-2 in WICH last 11 Thu. games.
- Over is 13-6 in WICH last 19 neutral site games.
- ND are 21-6 ATS in their last 27 Thu. games.
NCAAB Betting Prediction: Wichita State -1.5
I expect that this could easily be the best game of the Tournament.
4* Score Prediction: Wichita State 74 – Notre Dame 71
Look for it to go back and forth with big takes and makes from both sides. In the end the Shockers take it. They are just a little more big game ready than ND.
Check out our Updated College Basketball Betting Odds.
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