Stanford Cardinal vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 3/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Stanford Cardinal vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

TV: ESPNU

The Stanford Cardinal (18-11) are hitting the road to Purcell Pavilion on Wednesday where they will compete against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-16).

The Stanford Cardinal faced SMU and went home with a win by a final score of 95-75 in their last game. Stanford ended with a 51.0% FG percentage (26 of 51) and buried 14 out of their 27 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinal made 29 of their 32 shots for a percentage of 90.6%. In regard to rebounding, they compiled 26 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 dimes in the game while forcing 9 turnovers and having 8 steals. In terms of the defense, Stanford let their opponent shoot 47.4% from the field on 27 of 57 shooting. SMU totaled 9 dimes and had 2 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, SMU snagged 25 rebounds (8 offensive, 17 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. SMU finished 70.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of their 20 tries. They buried 7 of their 18 tries from 3-point range. Concerning fouls, the Cardinal ended up finishing with 18 while SMU recorded 25 fouls.

Benny Gealer is one player who played a role for the game. He accounted for 30 points on 8 out of 12 shooting. He played 36 mins and snagged 4 boards. He finished shooting 66.7% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Stanford will take the court with a mark of 18-11 so far this year. They lose possession via turnover 10.8 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Stanford is snagging 34.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 349 dimes for the campaign, which is 331st in the country in terms of passing. The Cardinal are hitting 34.9% on shots from 3-point land (264 of 757) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 75.8 points per game (183rd in college) while going 43.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Cardinal are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.8 fouls. They are currently ranked 9th in D-1 in giving up assists with 311 conceded so far this season. The Cardinal are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.6% (721 of 1,580) and they concede 33.0 boards per game as a team. They give up 33.9% on 3-point shots and they are 136th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (72.4).

The last time they took the court, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish walked away with a victory by a final of 96-90 against North Carolina State. The Fighting Irish were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 3 steals for the game. North Carolina State had 21 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Fighting Irish to the charity stripe for a total of 28 attempts. They were able to make 22 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 78.6%. In the matter of three-point shots, Notre Dame buried 12 of 25 tries (48.0%). When all was said and done, the Fighting Irish shot 31 out of 59 from the field which had them shooting 52.5%. The Fighting Irish allowed North Carolina State to convert 31 out of their 67 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.3% in this game. They finished shooting 29.4% from downtown by shooting 10 out of 34 and walked away from this one shooting 18 out of 22 at the charity stripe (81.8%). In reference to how they rebounded, Notre Dame permitted North Carolina State to snag 27 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Cole Certa ended up being a major contributor for the Fighting Irish for the game. He made 9 out of 17 for this contest for a field goal rate of 52.9%, and earned 2 rebounds. He accumulated 32 points in his 41 mins of playing time and accumulated 2 dimes for this contest.

Notre Dame has a record of 13-16 this season. The Fighting Irish commit 17.6 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 12.4 times per game (291st in the country) and they are giving up possession 11.6 times per contest. Notre Dame has 2,161 pts so far this season (74.5 per contest) and they snag 36.8 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Fighting Irish are hitting on 44.9% from the floor, which ranks them 202nd in the nation.

The Fighting Irish on defense are ranked 219th in D-1 in PPG given up with 74.9. They are forcing their opponents into 9.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (149th in D-1). The Notre Dame defense surrenders 33.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (263 of 795) and opponents are converting on 75.6% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 14.2 assists and 33.4 rebounds every game, which ranks them 249th and 122nd in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Stanford

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