The Pittsburgh Panthers will travel to Purcell Pavilion to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.
The Pittsburgh Panthers lost their 3rd straight game and dropped to 6-13 on the season after being defeated by the 4th ranked Duke Blue Devils, 86-56, this past Tuesday. Pittsburgh struggled on both ends of the court against Duke and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 36-19 margin. Pittsburgh shot 42.1% from the field & 27.8% from beyond the arc while allowing Duke to shoot 59.3% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was John Hugley who had 19 points, 6 rebounds, & 1 assist.
On the season, Pittsburgh is averaging 62.3 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of 3.2 and a turnover margin of -3.4. Offensively, Pittsburgh has been led by John Hugley (14.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.3 apg), Jamarius Burton (12.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg), Femi Odukale (11.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg), & Ithiel Horton (10.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg).
Defensively, Pittsburgh is allowing their opponents to average 67.8 ppg on 43.5% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of 3.2 and a turnover margin of -3.4.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 21-9 on the season after being defeated by the Florida State Seminoles, 74-70, this past Wednesday. Notre Dame struggled on the offensive end against Florida State in the 2nd half and could not fight back after the Seminoles took a 69-64 lead with 3:48 left in regulation. Notre Dame shot 43.5% from the field & 26.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Florida State to shoot 41.2% from the field & 41.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for Fighting Irish was Blake Wesley who had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, & 2 steals.
On the season, Notre Dame is averaging 72.1 ppg on 45.8% shooting from the field. The Fighting Irish are averaging 9.1 three-pointers per game on 37.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Notre Dame has been led by Blake Wesley (14.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg), Dane Goodwin (14.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.3 apg), Paul Atkinson jr. (12.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), & Prentiss Hubb (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.9 apg).
Defensively, Notre Dame is holding their opponents to an average of 66.6 ppg on 43.0% shooting from the field. The Fighting Irish have a rebound margin of 0.5 and are averaging 5.3 steals per game.
The Panthers are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. Notre Dames, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 March games. The Fighting Irish are 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games & 8-0 ATS in their last 8 Saturday games.
Pittsburgh has been able to pull off some recent victories this season, however, the Panthers have really struggled as of late, losing their last two games by 20+ points, and come into this game ranked just 337th in scoring offense & 291st in FG%. This is an important game for Notre Dame and their NCAA Tournament hopes as they can’t afford a home loss to Pittsburgh after losing at Florida State earlier this week and as I think the Notre Dame defense, which ranks 99th in scoring defense will give the Panthers a bunch of trouble in this one, I think the Fighting Irish offense does enough get a 15-point win and cover this large home spread. Good Luck!