Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Syracuse Orange Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Syracuse Orange

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-10) are hitting the road to JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday where they will take on the Syracuse Orange (12-9).

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced Virginia and went home with a loss by a final score of 100-97 in their last contest. Notre Dame wrapped up the contest having earned a 47.5% FG percentage (29 of 61) and made 11 of their 27 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Fighting Irish buried 28 of 34 shots for a percentage of 82.4%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled 29 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists for the contest while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about the defense, Notre Dame allowed the other team to go 47.7% from the field on 31 of 65 shooting. Virginia distributed 21 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Virginia collected 36 boards (11 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Virginia finished shooting 80.0% at the free throw line by making 28 of 35 shots. They converted 10 of 29 shots from beyond the arc. In regard to personal fouls, the Fighting Irish finished with 25 and Virginia finished the game with 27 personal fouls.

Cole Certa is someone who was a contributor for the contest. He ended up scoring 34 points on 10 out of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 40 minutes played and pulled down 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 52.6% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

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Notre Dame enters this game with a win-loss mark of 11-10 so far this season. They turn it over 11.5 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Notre Dame is grabbing 37.6 boards per game and has accumulated 253 dimes so far this year, which is 313th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Irish are connecting on 35.5% on shots from beyond the arc (179 of 504) and 69.9% from the free throw line. They have an average of 74.0 pts per contest (243rd in the country) while connecting on 44.8% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Irish are forcing 9.5 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They are giving up 31.5% on 3-point shots and they rank 126th in college hoops in opponents PPG (71.5). The Fighting Irish are giving up a FG percentage of 42.5% (510 of 1,199) and they relinquish 32.1 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 141st in the nation in giving up assists with 269 relinquished this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Syracuse Orange took a defeat with a final score of 88-68 when they faced North Carolina State. The Orange were able to pull down 17 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 8 steals in the matchup. North Carolina State had 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Orange to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They were able to convert 9 of those for a percentage of 56.3%. With regard to shots from distance, Syracuse buried 7 of 23 attempts (30.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Orange finished shooting 26 for 67 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.8%. The Orange allowed North Carolina State to make 33 of 65 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.8% for this game. They finished shooting 29.2% from distance by shooting 7 out of 24 and finished the game at 15 of 18 at the charity stripe (83.3%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Syracuse permitted North Carolina State to pull down 44 in total (15 on the offensive glass).

Donnie Freeman ended up being a factor for the Orange in this game. He converted 9 of 18 for this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 10 rebounds. He earned 24 points in his 34 minutes of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes.

Syracuse has a win-loss mark of 12-9 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Orange are shooting 46.7% from the floor, which ranks 109th in the nation. Syracuse has totaled 1,581 points so far this season (75.3 per game) and they grab 35.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.2 times per game (248th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per contest. The Orange are responsible for committing 16.4 fouls every game and they shoot 63.4% from the charity stripe.

The Orange on defense are ranked 81st in college in PPG allowed with 69.9. They are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.9% from the field (84th in college). The Syracuse defense allows 31.8% on shots from beyond the arc (134 of 421) and opponents are converting on 72.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 13.1 assists and 36.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 167th and 293rd in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Notre Dame

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