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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Notre Dame Georgia prediction and pick.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs are used to playing big games in late December … on the gridiron. Here, they meet in a key midseason basketball game before heading into the heart of their respective conference seasons. Both teams are 7-3 through 10 games. Notre Dame's three losses occurred to Saint Bonaventure, Syracuse, and Marquette, while Georgia's losses were against UAB, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. Notre Dame beat Michigan State. That's the Irish's best win to date this season. Georgia's best win is probably against Bucknell. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and first-year Georgia coach Mike White, who came to Athens from the University of Florida, are both in search of a nonconference win before they head into conference action in a week and a half.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Notre Dame-Georgia College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Notre Dame-Georgia Odds
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: -2.5 (-118)
Georgia Bulldogs: +2.5 (-104)
Over: 133.5 (-110)
Under: 133.5 (-110)
Why Notre Dame Could Cover the Spread
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The Irish can cover the spread because they're a better team than Georgia. The Irish have better wins (Michigan State) and don't have worse losses. Georgia's loss to Georgia Tech is particularly notable because Notre Dame plays in the ACC against the Yellow Jackets. Georgia also lost to Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons could be an NCAA Tournament bubble team. Georgia Tech, though, is expected to be a lower-tier ACC team, the kind of team Notre Dame did beat last season and should be able to beat this season. That's one of the more revealing data points when looking at these two teams and their resumes through the first six weeks of the regular season.
The other point to make is that Georgia has not played since December 6. Notre Dame's last game was December 11. Both teams will be physically fresh for this game, but Georgia not playing in nearly two whole weeks is a very, very long layoff. Notre Dame should be able to get on top of this game in the first half. Georgia might need a little while to get back into a normal rhythm and flow.
Why Georgia Could Cover the Spread
After a win over Michigan State, Notre Dame entered December with just one loss. It seemed the Fighting Irish had an especially good team on their hands. While this isn't a bad Notre Dame team, the Irish's stock was clearly overvalued coming out of that Michigan State blowout victory. The Irish subsequently lost to Syracuse at home and were then crushed at home by Marquette. Opponents paid more attention to the Irish, but this team also wasn't ready for the increased scrutiny and more focused scouting from the opposition. Mike White has had a lot of time to formulate a game plan for Notre Dame. College basketball coaches generally don't have a week and a half to prepare for one opponent. White struggled at Florida as a recruiter, but he is regarded as a good in-game coach. He will have good adjustments for Notre Dame. That will be decisive.
Final Notre Dame-Georgia Prediction & Pick
Notre Dame is a better team, and Georgia's accumulated rust will probably matter. Take the Irish.
Final Notre Dame-Georgia Prediction & Pick: Notre Dame -2.5
