Pittsburgh vs Notre Dame 12/28/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will travel to the Petersen Events Center to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 6-5 on the season after defeating the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 83-73, this past Wednesday. Notre Dame led by a 42-37 margin at halftime and was able to pull away late for the victory after taking a 75-65 lead with 5:04 left in regulation. Notre Dame shot 49.1% from the field & 55.2% from beyond the arc while allowing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to shoot 46.6% from the field & 47.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Fighting Irish was Dane Goodwin who had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, & 3 steals.

On the season, Notre Dame is averaging 70.3 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Fighting Irish are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 34.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Notre Dame has been led by Dane Goodwin (15.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Blake Wesley (13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg), Paul Atkinson Jr. (11.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 spg), & Cormac Ryan (8.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.3 apg).

Defensively, Notre Dame is allowing their opponents to average 65.3 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Fighting Irish have a rebound margin of 2.0 and a turnover margin of 0.5.

The Pittsburgh Panthers won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 5-7 on the season after defeating the Jacksonville Dolphins, 64-55, this past Tuesday. Pittsburgh was solid on the defensive end against Jacksonville and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after a 14-0 Panthers run gave Pittsburgh a 50-35 lead with 8:03 left in regulation. Pittsburgh shot 37.7% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Jacksonville to shoot 36.4% from the field & 42.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Femi Odukale who had 28 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 block.

On the season, Pittsburgh is averaging 60.7 ppg on 40.6% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 4.5 three-pointers per game on 29.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Pittsburgh has been led by John Hugley (14.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.5 apg), Femi Odukale (12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.4 apg), Jamarius Burton (11.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.3 apg), & Mouhamadou Gueye (7.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg).

Defensively, Pittsburgh is holding their opponents to an average of 63.7 ppg on 41.0% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of 5.8 and a turnover margin of -3.6.

The Fighting Irish are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a losing home record, however, are just 4-14 ATS in their last 18 games overall. The Panthers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall & 11-5 ATS in their last 16 Tuesday games.

Notre Dame has won 3 of their last 4 games, which includes and impressive win against Kentucky, and come into this game ranked 225^th in scoring offense & 109^th in scoring defense. Pittsburgh has been led by their defense this season which ranks 78^th in scoring defense & 115^th in defensive FG%, however, the offense has struggled as it currently ranks just 334^th in scoring offense, t-309^th in FG%, & 308^th in 3P-FG%.

Notre Dame has been playing some solid basketball as of late, however, this is a team that has really struggled on the road this season, posting an 0-2 road record and just a 1-3 record at neutral sites. Pittsburgh can struggle to score the basketball, however, this is a defense that I think is going to give Norte Dame some trouble, and as I expect this to be a low-scoring, competitive game at the end, I’m taking Pittsburgh and the points. Good Luck!