We continue our coverage of The New York Life ACC Tournament with our pick and prediction for this First Round matchup. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-20) will do battle with the Virginia Tech Hokies (18-13). This game is sure to be a good one! Check out our college basketball odds series for our Notre Dame-Virginia Tech prediction and pick.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended at 14th-place in the ACC standings with a 3-17 record. They've been on the other end of some bad losses and have just two wins in their last fourteen games. They'll hope to avenge their loss to Virginia Tech earlier in the season and bounce them from the tournament tonight.
The Virginia Tech Hokies finished 11th in the ACC with a 8-12 conference record. They've won their last two games and will be carrying some momentum into this first round matchup. If they can win this game, they'll feel confident heading deeper into this tournament and making a run before their average season concludes.
Here are the Notre Dame-Virginia Tech college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
ACC Tournament Odds: Notre Dame-Virginia Tech Odds
Notre Dame: +6.5 (-102)
Virginia Tech: -6.5 (-120)
Over: 143.5 (-110)
Under: 143.5 (-110)
How To Watch Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech
TV: ACC Network
Stream: fuboTV
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Notre Dame Could Cover The Spread
Notre Dame looked great in beating a No. 25 Pittsburgh team at home for Mike Brey's last game. They played inspired basketball and will be inclined to keep doing so to keep their season alive. They'll have a decent matchup here in Virginia Tech, but Notre Dame will have to focus on rebounding the basketball. They rank 423rd in the country in rebounding. They'll also need to bring their assist totals up and keep the ball moving against an active Hokies defense.
Notre Dame hasn't been covering well at 9-21 ATS. As the dog, they're 2-12 and haven't won a neutral site game this year. They'll be at a big disadvantage but can hang in close if they start to draw fouls and get to the line. They shoot great as a team at 76% from the line and can end scoring drought if they are able to engage the Virginia Tech bigs.
Why Virginia Tech Could Cover The Spread
Virginia Tech will have the upper-hand having won this first meeting 93-87. On the road, Virginia Tech managed more rebounds than Notre Dame and were smarter with the basketball. Despite a career night from the Irish's Nate Laszewski, Grant Basile matched his 33-point total and lifted the Hokies to a huge win. Look for the pair to be matched up again in this one as Basile will have the option to kick it out to his shooters.
The Hokies are 3-1 SU at neutral site games, but have gone just 1-3 ATS. Notre Dame played them close last time, so look for the Hokies to lock in on Laszewski and prevent another scoring outburst. Virginia Tech will have to lock up the offensive boards and make the most of second-chance opportunities. They'll want to get out to an early lead to prevent any Notre Dame comebacks if they get hot.
Final Notre Dame-Virginia Tech Prediction & Pick
Notre Dame showed signs of life in their last home game, but this seems to be a bad matchup for them at this point in the season. Virginia Tech looked like a tournament team for some time and just play more consistent basketball than the Fighting Irish. They shoot the ball well and are a much better passing team. With the prediction, let's go with the less volatile of the two teams and take the Hokies to cover.
Final Notre Dame-Virginia Tech Prediction & Pick: Virginia Tech Hokies -6.5 (-120)
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