NCAAB: Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (7:00 PM ET, ESPN)

The Big East title is up for grabs and the race will be influenced by a critical game Thursday night when Notre Dame welcomes Pittsburgh to South Bend.


2008-02-20

The Big East title is up for grabs and the race will be influenced by a critical game Thursday night when Notre Dame welcomes Pittsburgh to South Bend. The Irish are unbeaten at home, and bettors figure to look favorably on that fact.

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Notre Dame has the same amount of losses as the three teams ahead of them in the Big East standings and will look to keep pace with the pack, in a meaningful contest with Pittsburgh. The Fighting Irish bounced back from loss to Connecticut with win at Rutgers 71-68, not surprisingly, failing to cover at a place where victories have been scare. Including this contest, coach Mike Brey’s team should be favored in every game except one in the remaining six regular contests, as they look secure one of the four top seeds for Big East tourney.

The Irish (19-5, 9-12 ATS) have been anything but lucky for backers, covering the spread once in last six outings. Nonetheless, they still could snag a Big East title, with contest at Louisville the biggest obstacle, besides Pittsburgh. Luke Harangody is still the odds on favorite to be conference player of the year if he plays as he has all season. Harangody has exceptional skills within ten feet of the basket, with a variety of shots and ways to draw fouls. He and his Notre Dame teammates will put 34-game home winning streak on the line against the Panthers.

Pittsburgh (19-6, 12-8 ATS) is part of a large contingent in the league with five losses, putting them two games back from receiving tourney bye. Pitt is coming off ugly performance at Marquette, losing by 18 points. Levance Fields has made it back to the court and coach Jamie Dixon hopes he can be more of help at South Bend. Teammates feel it’s just a matter of time before Fields is ready, "He's been back with us for only a short period of time. We're still getting used to him being back. Once he's back at full strength, he's going to be a big piece to our puzzle." -- Pitt F Sam Young told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Panthers are buoyed by the fact they are 15-4 ATS after one or more consecutive losses over the last three seasons.

Notre Dame is a better matchup for Pittsburgh, who has really struggled against teams with quick backcourts. Other than Tory Jackson, the Irish backcourt players are rather slow afoot. Despite its 14-0 record at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame is just 5-6 ATS. Coach Brey does not receive enough credit for assembling solid offensive clubs, as this year’s model is averaging 80.7 PPG. When facing better than average defensive teams, N.D. with F Rob Kurz, G Kyle McAlarney and F Ryan Ayers coming off the bench, can blister a good defenses holding teams to 64 or fewer points (after 15 games) with 29-14 ATS mark.

Pittsburgh figures to be a four to six point road dog at Sportsbook.com and is 8-0 ATS versus teams who make eight or more three balls a game like the Irish, over the last two seasons. It will be up to the Panthers defense to shutdown Notre Dame, since they are 10-26 ATS when they allow 75 to 80 points in a game.

ESPN will have the broadcast of this Big East showcase contest starting at 7 Eastern. Despite being in the same conference, these teams have only met once in the last three seasons. The underdog is 4-1-1 ATS in most recent matchups.

StatFox Take – Notre Dame by 3

NCAAB: Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (7:00 PM ET, ESPN) News

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