Notre Dame vs Syracuse CBB Hoops Handicapping
Unbeaten No. 2 Syracuse puts its record on the line on Monday, when it hosts Notre Dame at the Carrier Dome.
Unbeaten No. 2 Syracuse puts its record on the line on Monday, when it hosts Notre Dame at the Carrier Dome.
The Blue Devils are looking good and are probably getting better. They have won 5 straight but this is their first true road game of the season, which I think it significant given that their top player is a freshman.
Settling for a middling finish after running the table during the 2012 regular season, Notre Dame is hoping that the New Era Pinstripe Bowl can give their senior class a shot at going out in a blaze of glory.
The Stanford Cardinal have locked up a spot in the Pac-12 championship with the Oregon Ducks’ loss last weekend, but there’s still rankings and bragging rights on the line this week against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
This is a nice late season battle for both of these teams. Neither of these teams is in contention for the BCS Championship but these are proud programs who will be up to try and best the other.
The 23rd-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been winning plenty of close games of late, and one of their most tightly contested games on last season’s run to a perfect regular season came against the Pittsburgh Panthers, who they will again meet this weekend.
The Navy Midshipmen will take their tricky and effective option on the road to face a No. 25 Fighting Irish team that will look to destroy another one of America’s armed forces on Saturday in South Bend.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may not be having the season they had in 2012, but they can find solace in one simple fact: They’ve been much better than their Week 9 opponent, the Air Force Falcons. On the year, Notre Dame is 5-2 while Air Force is just 1-6.
The latest chapter in the storied rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and USC Trojans will be written on Saturday when the teams face off in South Bend. Notre Dame came out on top in last year’s meeting, but haven’t beaten USC at home since 2001, losing five in a row to the Trojans in South Beach.
This West Region match up pits 10th seed Iowa State facing 7th seed Notre Dame. Notre Dame finished the season with 25 wins and had some solid wins and Iowa State ended the season well before losing to Kansas, for the 3rd time this season, in their conference tournament.
Louisville got over their 3-game losing streak and they have won their last 3 games including beating a ranked Marquette team.
Syracuse is a top 10 team, but when the new rankings come out they will not be since they have lost 2 straight. One the other side of the coin Notre Dame may creep back in the top 25, as they have won 3 straight.
The Fighting Irish are ranked in the top 20 and they stayed that was snapping their 2-game losing streak in their last game. They have a tough game tonight against a Hoyas’ team that has a solid defense.
Notre Dame had a solid start to the season easily winning by 50 points, but they may have a tough time from a Purdue team from the Big 10, who easily won their season opener. Both teams are getting QB’s back from suspensions for this big game.
Even though both teams lost in some upsets last week each has a chance to get a double-bye in the Big East tournament. The Irish have won 3 straight against the Hoyas, but they are underdogs in this game and overall this season they are 5-4 facing ranked teams.
They are not a mid-major but Notre Dame may be the most surprising team in the top 25 right now.