Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 20 Indiana Hoosiers
Saturday, 12/17/11, 4:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Indiana -8.5
Current Betting Line: Indiana -9
Opening Total: 141
Current Total: 141
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Notre Dame will battle in-state rival Indiana on Saturday in Indianapolis inside the Conseco Fieldhouse. This will be the ninth meeting between the two programs in Indianapolis, with the Irish coming in with a 2-6 mark in such contests. “I’m really looking forward to this weekend,” commented Irish guard Joey Brooks. “I feel like we’re getting better.” The team comes in on a two-game winning streak, which includes a 65-47 win over Dartmouth as 18-point favorites. Notre Dame is 0-3 ATS in neutral court contests this year, while the ‘under’ is 12-5 in that situation.
The Fighting Irish shouldn’t be overlooked in this matchup due to tallying a 61-14 record during the Mike Brey era. Notre Dame doesn’t have a senior in its starting five, as sophomore guard Eric Atkins leads the team in averaging 13.9 points per game. It’s still important to note that the program is the only one in the country to have at least six players score at least 20 points this season. Forward Tim Abromaitis was expected to be the star, but he’s out for the season due to a knee injury.
Indiana captured a thrilling 73-72 win over the Kentucky Wildcats as 5.5-point home underdogs last Saturday, as the team comes in shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three-point range. “I don’t want them to put it behind them,” commented head coach Tom Crean. “I want them to build on it.” Freshman forward Cody Zeller is certainly the player to watch in this affair, being named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week three times, ranking 10th nationally in scoring for first-year players. Indiana is 5-10 ATS in December the last two-plus seasons.
The Hoosiers have been getting great contributions from the bench, including sophomore Will Sheehey, who is averaging 11.6 points per game. Everyone around the program is hoping that a full week was a enough time to get over beating a No. 1 team for the first time since the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Indiana shot 60 percent from beyond the arc against one of the best defenses in college basketball. Creating mistakes on the defensive end is going to be key in this game, especially with the squad averaging 24.2 points per game off of turnovers.
Bettors will likely back the Irish due to the underdog being 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings, while the Hoosiers are 0-4 ATS on a neutral floor.
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