Louisville vs. Indiana
Which ranked team will pick up a big win on New Year’s Eve when No. 16 Indiana faces No. 6 Louisville from Bankers Life Fieldhouse?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Louisville is favored in this game, as the Cardinals are getting odds of -2.5 points against Indiana. The over/under total for the game has been set at 144.5 points. Louisville has won its last two meetings with Indiana, covering the spread in both wins.
Louisville is coming off a 61-53 loss to Virginia at home back on Wednesday night to fall to 11-2 on the season and 8-3 against the spread. The Cardinals are putting up 76.1 points per game on offense while allowing just 60.3 points per contest. The Cardinals hold opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent from 3-point land. Quentin Snider is posting 11.6 points per game to lead the team while Donovan Mitchell is adding 11.5 points per contest.
Indiana is coming off a surprising 87-83 loss at home to Nebraska to open Big Ten play. The Hoosiers are now 10-3 on the season and 6-5 against the spread. IU has an impressive offense, posting 88.4 points per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from 3-point land. Defensively, Indiana is pretty good as well, holding opponents to 67.6 points per game while holding them to 38 percent shooting and 28.5 percent from 3-point land. James Blackmon Jr. is the leading scorer with 17.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while Thomas Bryant is adding 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.
NCAA BB Quick Links: Free Matchup Reports | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Scoreboard | Betting Trends
Both teams are coming in whimpering a little bit, but I think Louisville is more likely to respond. I feel the Cardinals have the better coach and more poise than Indiana. The Cardinals had a bad night against a good Virginia team, while Indiana fell to a lackluster team in Nebraska. Louisville should be able to slow down what Indiana does on offense while being able to expose some of the defensive weaknesses of the Hoosiers.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: LOUISVILLE -2.5