The CSU Northridge Matadors and Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Purcell Pavilion. The CSU Northridge Matadors look for a win after losing their opener to USC. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 11 games last year and enter the 22nd season under coach Mike Brey.
The CSU Northridge Matadors are averaging 49 points on 32.8 percent shooting and allowing 89 points on 56.3 percent shooting. Darius Brown II is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds, while Atin Wright is averaging 10 points and 1 assist. Elijah Hardy is dishing 3 assists and Miles Brookins is grabbing 3 rebounds. The CSU Northridge Matadors are shooting 23.5 percent from beyond the arc and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. The CSU Northridge Matadors are allowing 30 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 20 rebounds per game.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish return their top-three scorers from last season and four of their top-five scorers overall. Notre Dame also gets a big time transfer in Paul Atkinson from Yale, as he was a firs-team All-Ivy selection in 2020. Needless to say, Notre Dame is going to be a tough out in the ACC this season, even if they’re not ranked at the moment. Prentiss Hubb returns after averaging 14.6 points and 3.2 rebounds, while Nate Laszewski averaged 13.3 points and 0.8 assists. Dane Goodwin is a third double-digit returning scorer, and Cormac Ryan averaged 4.4 rebounds.
The Matadors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The under is 4-0 in Matadors last 4 overall. The over is 5-0 in Fighting Irish last 5 overall.
There’s value to getting a bunch of points with a team that has a game under its belt, but the Cal State-Northridge Matadors aren’t good if we’re being honest. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are also loaded with returning production, and got even better with transfers and recruiting. It should be a smooth transition for Notre Dame. I’ll eat the big number.