Notre Dame at Virginia: 1/13/21 College Basketball Picks and Prediction

Defensively, Notre Dame is allowing their opponents to average 74.5 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field. The Fighting Irish have a rebound margin of -4.6 and a turnover margin of -2.8.

The 18th ranked Virginia Cavaliers won their 3rd straight game and improved to 7-2 on the season after defeating the Boston College Eagles, 61-49, this past Saturday. Virginia was outstanding defensively against Boston College and was able to pull away for the victory after a 9-0 Cavaliers run gave Virginia a 56-39 lead with 6:01 left in regulation. Virginia shot 45.3% from the field and 26.7% from beyond the arc while Boston College was held to just 30.9% shooting from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. Virginia was outrebounded by Boston College by a 37-33 margin, however, won the turnover battle by a 11-7 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Cavaliers was Jay Huff who had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, & 1 steal.

On the season, Virginia is averaging 71.6 ppg on 49.2% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers are averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game on 34.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Virginia has been led by Sam Hauser (13.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.0 apg), Jay Huff (12.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg), Trey Murphy III (11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.2 apg), & Kihei Clark (10.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.3 apg).

Defensively, Virginia is holding their opponents to an average of 59.4 ppg on 40.4% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers have a rebound margin of 3.1 and a turnover margin of 2.2.

The Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games and just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Cavaliers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Virginia was able to defeat Notre Dame on the road earlier this season in a 66-57 margin and it’s hard to imagine that the Cavaliers not having the same defensive success against a Fighting Irish team that ranks just 213th in scoring offense & 167th in FG%. Notre Dame doesn’t have much depth as they have 4 players that play 33+ minutes and between the fact that I think the Fighting Irish will fade as the game goes on, much like what happened at Virginia Tec, and that I think Virginia will have success offensively as Notre Dame ranks just T-265th in scoring defense, I’m taking Virginia to cover this large home spread. Good Luck!