Boston College Eagles vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 1/16/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston College Eagles vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021

Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: Boston College (+3.5)

The Boston College Eagles (3-9) go to Purcell Pavilion on Saturday where they'll take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-8). Boston College opens this game as 3.5-point underdogs. The O/U has been set at 152.

Boston College will play this game with a win-loss record of 3-9 so far this year. The Eagles are connecting on 34.8% on three-point shots (114 of 328) and 67.5% from the charity stripe. They average 72.9 points per contest (166th in the country) while shooting 43.6% from the floor. They are losing possession via turnover 14.5 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Boston College is pulling down 33.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 145 assists this year, which ranks 150th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. On defense, the Eagles have forced 14.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They are 280th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 167 relinquished on the year. The Eagles defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 48.4% (347 of 717) and they relinquish 36.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 308th in college hoops in opponents points per game (78.0).

The Boston College Eagles played the Miami Hurricanes and notched a win by a score of 84-62 in their last game. Boston College ended having earned a 47.6% field goal percentage (30 out of 63) and buried 18 out of their 35 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Eagles made 6 of 10 attempts for a rate of 60.0%. When talking about rebounding, they compiled 33 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 16 dimes in the matchup in addition to having 8 steals and 7 blocked shots. When it comes to defense, Boston College allowed 47.6% from the floor on 30 out of 63 shooting. Miami distributed 8 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. Additionally, the Hurricanes snagged 34 boards (9 offensive, 25 defensive) and got 7 blocks. Miami walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by burying 12 of their 18 tries. They converted 2 out of their 16 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Rich Kelly is someone who was a major contributor for this game. He was able to score 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He played 38 mins played and also snagged 2 boards. Kelly finished the game shooting 62.5% from the field and also dished out 4 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in the game for the Eagles was Jay Heath. He grabbed 7 boards and accounted for 4 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 47.4% from the field for the matchup by connecting on 9-of-19 (25 points). Overall, Heath was on the court for 37 min.

Notre Dame has a win-loss mark of 3-8 this season. Notre Dame has tallied 774 pts on the season (70.4 per contest) and they average 31.2 boards per game. The Fighting Irish are committing 12.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 81.2% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Fighting Irish are hitting on 44.4% from the field, which ranks 186th in college basketball. They are assisting teammates 13.8 times per game (149th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.7 times per contest. The Fighting Irish on defense are ranked 282nd in college basketball in PPG allowed with 75.0. They are able to force 8.2 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.4% from the field (263rd in Division 1). The Notre Dame defense surrenders 38.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (99 of 255) and their opposition makes 77.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 14.9 dimes and 35.5 boards every game, which is ranked 285th and 198th in D-1.

For their last game, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took a loss by a final score of 80-68 against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Fighting Irish were able to pull down 20 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 24 for the contest. They also blocked 2 tries while getting 4 steals in this contest. The Cavaliers had 17 fouls in this contest which took the Fighting Irish to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to convert 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 95.0%. In the matter of shots from beyond the arc, Notre Dame buried 5 of their 22 tries (22.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Irish finished 22 out of 51 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.1%. The Fighting Irish permitted the Cavaliers to make 31 of their 57 tries from the floor which had them shooting 54.4% in this contest. They went 50.0% from distance by going 12 out of 24 and ended up going 6 of 7 from the free throw line (85.7%). In relation to rebounding, Notre Dame permitted Virginia to get 24 overall (2 on the offensive side).

Cormac Ryan was important for the Fighting Irish in the game. He made 4 of 8 for this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which gave him 16 points. Ryan grabbed 4 boards in his 28 minutes and accumulated 2 assists for the game. One more player who was a determining factor for Notre Dame was Trey Wertz. He totaled 13 points in 24 minutes played via 4 of 9 from the floor for this game. Wertz wrapped this one up going 44.4% from the floor in addition to totaling 4 dimes and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston College (+3.5)

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