Connecticut Huskies vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Pick and Preview
Saturday, Jan. 24 - 7 p.m. Eastern - ESPN
Connecticut Huskies (16-1) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-5)
College basketball's best current home-court win streak will be severely tested Saturday night when the Connecticut Huskies travel to South Bend, Ind., to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame has won 45 games in a row on its home court. As the Irish go for #46 Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN will televise the game. ESPN College GameDay also will be on site at the Joyce Center for the Connecticut-Notre Dame game. Connecticut is ranked third nationally, while Notre Dame is #19.
Season Results: Connecticut has a mid-week game at home against #21 Villanova before traveling to Notre Dame. Since losing to Georgetown in late December, which is Connecticut's only loss of the season, the Huskies have won five straight games, including three Big East wins on the road: At #22 West Virginia (61-55), at Cincinnati (81-72), and at St. John's (67-55).
The Irish will enter the Connecticut-Notre Dame game on a two-game losing streak and having lost three of five. Two of Notre Dame's three Big East wins have come in South Bend: Against #10 Georgetown (73-67) and against Seton Hall (88-79).
GET THE BEST LINES AT DIAMOND SPORTSBOOK TO PLACE A BET ON THE UCONN/ND GAME The Connecticut-Notre Dame game is the fourth game in a stretch where the Irish are scheduled to play eight Top 20 teams over 10 games.
Entering the week, Connecticut is tied for third in the Big East Conference standings at 5-1, just half a game behind undefeated Marquette. Notre Dame is tied for eighth at 3-3.
The Irish rank second in the Big East in scoring at 81.2 points per game, while Connecticut is fourth at 78.7. The Huskies are fifth in the league in scoring defense at 61.4 points per game, while Notre Dame is 14th at 70.2. Connecticut and Notre Dame are the top two teams in the Big East conference in 3-point field goal percentage. However, the Irish are shooting almost twice as many 3-pointers as Connecticut. The Irish lead the Big East at 9.4 3-point field goals made per game, while Connecticut is 15th in the league at 4.9 made 3-pointers per game.
Last season, Connecticut and Notre Dame split a pair of games. Notre Dame won 73-67 at home as a 5.5-point favorite, while Connecticut won 84-78 at home as a 4.5-point favorite.
Connecticut and Notre Dame will play a second time this season on Feb. 28 in Storrs, Conn.
Point Spread Records: Entering this week, Connecticut has lost four of its last six games ATS, although the Huskies are 3-1 this season ATS in road games. Connecticut is 1-1 ATS this season as a road favorite and 2-0 ATS as a road underdog. Over its past six games, Connecticut has been involved in the "under" five times.
Notre Dame has lost four of its last five games ATS. The Irish are 2-1 ATS in home games, and they were favored in all three of those games. As an underdog this season at neutral sites and on the road, Notre Dame is 1-3 ATS. Notre Dame has been involved in the "over" in its last three games.
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