Who’s Playing
Notre Dame @ Texas Tech
Regular Season Records: Notre Dame 24-10; Texas Tech 26-9
What to Know
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the #12 Texas Tech Red Raiders are set to clash at 7:10 p.m. ET March 20 at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame isn’t expected to win, but seeing as the odds didn’t stop them last game, maybe the squad has another upset up their sleeve.
The Alabama Crimson Tide typically have all the answers at home, but this past Friday the Fighting Irish proved too difficult a challenge. Notre Dame strolled past the Crimson Tide with points to spare, taking the game 78-64. Notre Dame can attribute much of their success to guard Cormac Ryan, who shot 7-for-9 from beyond the arc and finished with 29 points and six boards.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech earned some postseason bragging rights after a successful outing this past Friday. They steamrolled past the Montana State Bobcats 97-62. It should come as no surprise that the experts had more or less unanimously put their money on Texas Tech. Their guard Terrence Shannon Jr. looked sharp as he had 20 points and six assists.
A pair of numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: The Fighting Irish are second worst in college basketball in takeaways, with only 10.1 on average. To make matters even worse for Notre Dame, the Red Raiders come into the matchup boasting the 17th most takeaways per game in college basketball at 16.1. So the cards are definitely stacked in Texas Tech’s favor.
How To Watch
- When: Sunday at 7:10 p.m. ET
- Where: Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl — San Diego, California
- TV: TBS
- Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds
The Red Raiders are a big 8-point favorite against the Fighting Irish, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Red Raiders as a 7.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -105
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Series History
This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.