Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers, Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Monday, January 24, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Pittsburgh -10
Current Line: Pittsburgh -11
Opening Total: 140
Current Total: 138.5
Money Line: Pittsburgh -700 / Notre Dame +550
The fifth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers (19-1, 7-0 Big East) have proven themselves as the best team in the conference so far this season and will likely move up the rankings even before they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-4, 5-3) on Monday. The Panthers (-11) figure to rise after beating Syracuse a week ago, seeing the Orange lose again on Saturday and watching Kansas go down as well.
Of course none of that really matters at this point of the season, but all Pittsburgh can keep doing is win games. The Panthers are riding a nine-game winning streak since suffering their only loss to Tennessee on a neutral court back on December 11. They are coming off an 80-50 rout of DePaul on the road Saturday, handing the Blue Demons their 20th straight loss in league play.
Pitt earned the biggest road win in school history and was led by Gilbert Brown’s 17 points while Ashton Gibbs added 13 points and Gary McGee finished with a career-high 15 rebounds. Rebounding has been key for the Panthers in their last three games, as they have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 17.7 per game during that stretch. In fact, they have held an edge on the board in their last nine games since losing to the Volunteers.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame has had no problem winning at home this season but has struggled mightily on the road. The Fighting Irish have gone 4-0 in Big East home games but are 0-3 on the road, losing by an average of more than 17 points per game. They have won their last two games – both at home – beating Marquette and Cincinnati and covering the spread each time.
Notre Dame knocked off Marquette on Saturday 80-75 behind a career-high 28 points from Ben Hansbrough, who made 10 of 15 shots from the field, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range. Hansbrough helped fuel a 16-5 run that brought the Irish back from a 48-37 deficit. His 3-pointer with 10:28 left gave them a 60-57 lead and helped them outscore the Golden Eagles 44-30 in the second half.
Pittsburgh has struggled against Notre Dame recently, dropping the last two meetings along with three of the past four. The Irish are 4-1 against the spread in the last five games between the teams with the OVER going 5-2 in the past seven. However, the UNDER is 3-1 in the last four games for both teams overall.
Now that you have read this college basketball betting preview featuring the Pittsburgh & Notre Dame, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
