Cavaliers vs. Fighting Irish Prediction
The last time the third-ranked Virginia Cavaliers played on the road, they suffered their only loss this season last weekend. Can Virginia dominate enough to cover the spread today as it returns to the road to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish?
Game Snapshot
617 Virginia Cavaliers at 618 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Purcell Pavilion at 1PM ET
TV: CBS
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Cavaliers are an 11.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total sits at 123.5 points. As of Saturday morning, 72 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Virginia. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest updates.
Cavs rebound from loss
Virginia bounced back from a tough loss at Duke to dominate at home Tuesday night with a 68-45 victory over Wake Forest. The Cavaliers (17-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference led 36-23 at halftime and rolled from there. Virginia shot 22-of-57 from the field, 7-of-21 from 3-point range and 17-of-21 from the free throw line. Kyle Guy paced the Cavs with 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting including 3-of-7 from 3-point range plus 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. He added four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jay Huff contributed 12 points, two boards and two blocked shots off the bench. Mamadi Diakite tallied 11 points and seven caroms. De’Andre Hunter registered 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Ty Jerome added 10 points, five assists and three boards.
Irish drop third straight
Notre Dame suffered a 63-61 defeat at Georgia Tech Tuesday night to fall to 11-8 on the season and 1-5 in the ACC. John Mooney led the Fighting Irish with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting plus 2-of-2 at the free throw line. He also notched 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and blocked shots. Nate Laszewski added 19 points and six rebounds off the bench. Notre Dame was outscored 35-31 in the second half of the defeat. The Irish shot 21-of-65 from the field, 7-of-30 from 3-point distance and 12-of-15 at the charity stripe.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Virginia
The Cavaliers are 22-8 ATS in their last 30 road games. Virginia is 53-25-3 in its last 91 Saturday games.
Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish are 0-4 ATS in their last four home games. Notre Dame is 0-4 ATS in its last four Saturday games.
Prediction:
I’m still not sure if people realize how good this Virginia team is, even after hanging in there with Duke on the road up until the buzzer. Maybe it is the stigma of being the first No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 in the NCAA Tournament. KenPom.com has the Cavaliers ranked as their No. 1 team, while they are fifth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and third defensively. The difference this season from the last two is how good Virginia is on the offensive end. Virginia still plays at a super slow pace, but it leads to a lot of easy baskets. After not shooting particularly well against Wake Forest, look for a better offensive performance here against a Notre Dame team outside the top 100 in defensive efficiency. I’m betting on the Cavs to cover on the road.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: VIRGINIA CAVALIERS -11.5