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The 3-7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost to ranked Virginia Tech over the weekend and will remain in the Commonwealth of Virginia this week. They are scheduled to take on the 7-2 No 18 Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
The Irish have had an extremely rough season so far, only winning one of their last five games. The offense is chugging along fine for the most part, averaging over 70 points per game. But the defense is giving up nearly 80 points each time out. The Irish are also hitting less than 45% of their free throw chances, so Mike Brey and his squad are leaving plenty of points out on the court.
Virginia is cruising along, with their only loss in the last month coming at the hands of No. 1 Gonzaga. UVA is hovering around where Notre Dame is in terms of their normal offensive output, but their defense can be stifling. The Cavs are allowing under 60 points per game to their opponents, which is good for the 10th best unit in the nation.
These two teams already faced off last month in South Bend, and UVA used their defense to their advantage. In the game, Notre Dame was held to just 57 points, while the Cavs came close to their usual point total of 71. UVA had three players in double figures that night while all of ND’s offense essentially came from two players, Nate Laszeweski and Juwan Durham.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
You can watch Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Virginia on Wednesday, January 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network, or you can watch at WatchESPN and the ESPN App stream that if you have an ACCN subscription.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Point spread: Virginia -10
Point Total: 124.5
Money line: Notre Dame +420, Virginia -560
The Best Bet
UVA should win this one just like their previous matchup in South Bend. The Cavs defense will be too much for ND to overpower.
Pick: UVA -10
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