Notre Dame vs. South Carolina Prediction, Preview, and Odds
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Fighting Irish are 3-2 on the season and coming off two straight wins. South Carolina comes into this matchup at 5-0 including three straight wins in the Arizona Tip-off Classic. The opening tap is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
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Irish Still Fighting
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back in action for the first time in nearly a week to take on South Carolina on the road as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Irish improved to 3-2 last Wednesday on Thanksgiving Eve with a 75-55 win over Maryland Eastern Shore at home. The Irish were led by their best perimeter performance on the season, drilling 13-of-27 shots from three-point range. Nine different Notre Dame players hit a three in the game. They also had a season-high 18 assists on the 29 field goals made in the contest. The Fighting Irish were led by Braeden Shrewsberry with a game-high 13 points including 4-of-6 from long range. Markus Burton also had a big night with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals in an all-around effort.
The Fighting Irish hope to pick up a quality road win against the undefeated Gamecocks on Tuesday night. The Irish are 281st in the country in points per game entering this contest. They are 161st in field goal percentage but just 304th in 3-point shooting. The Irish defense has been their strong suit thus far. They are 95th in points allowed per game this season. They are 94th in defensive field goal percentage, but just 231st in 3-point defense. The Irish are middle-of-the-pack in rebounding, ranking 166th in the country. They are slightly below average in turnovers, ranked 201st in the nation.
NCAAB Predictions and find your match.
South Carolina Rolling
The South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a great start this season, winning each of their first five games out of the gate. They swept through the Arizona Tip-off last week with three straight wins including a 75-68 victory over Grand Canyon to take the tournament title. The Gamecocks were led by B.J. Mack who had 27 points including 21 points in the second half. Mack hit four 3-point field goals in the game and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Teammates Myles Stute and Jacobi Wright rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Gamecocks with 12 and 10 points respectively. Mack was named Tournament MVP after the team's first-ever victory of Grand Canyon.
South Carolina hopes to stay perfect with a win over the Irish at home on Tuesday night. Like Notre Dame, this will be their first game in nearly a week so early rust could be expected. South Carolina ranks 116th in the nation in points per game this season. The Gamecocks are 126th in field goal percentage and an impressive 26th in 3-point shooting. Defensively, the Gamecocks are 73rd in the nation in points allowed per game. They are 113th in field goal defense and 91st in 3-point defense. The Gamecocks are 153rd in turnovers per game while tied with the Irish, ranking 166th in total rebounding.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
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To me, this game comes down to which team executes better beyond the three-point stripe. The two teams are nearly equal in the percentage of points they get from three-point field goals. Notre Dame is ranked 161st in the country in points off of 3-point shots while South Carolina is 126th in the percentage of points that come from the three-ball. So while both teams rely on the shot, only the Gamecocks are efficient with the shot. Notre Dame relies on volume, ranked just 304th in 3-point shooting. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, rank 26th in the nation in 3-point shooting. Notre Dame also struggles to defend the 3-point shot, compared directly with South Carolina. Notre Dame is just 231st in 3-point defense in the country while South Carolina is ranked a solid 81st in the nation defending the 3-ball. Neither team has a distinct advantage in any other category so I'm leaning toward the Gamecocks to pull this game out with better perimeter shooting.
Take South Carolina.
Prediction: South Carolina
Full-Game Total Pick
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The pace of play and shooting percentages typically decide the total of a game and that is why I'm leaning heavily toward the under in this game. Notre Dame is in the lower third of the country in pace of play, ranked just 317th. The Gamecocks aren't much better, ranked 292nd in pace of play. Both teams like to move the ball to set up the best shot and both teams do a better-than-average job of defending the paint. The advantage in this game will be South Carolina's perimeter shooting compared with Notre Dame's shooting. The total should stay down as these two evenly matched teams limit second-chance shots and rely on their ability to knock down shots.
Take the under.
Prediction: Under
Mark has been a sports fanatic since childhood. He is also an avid follower of sports analytics and has used it in his own betting analysis for over two decades. Now we have Mark on our team here at Stat Salt. He holds degrees in marketing, broadcasting, and English and uses this vast array of assets to dissect and analyze game matchups. Mark will provide you with a wide variety of statistics to consider and a strong opinion in each matchup that he covers. Please follow him daily for an up-to-the-minute analysis of all the important games.
