Tipoff time: 9:10 p.m. ET Wednesday 3/16/2022
The First Four concludes on Wednesday with a matchup between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Dayton. It’s an interesting matchup as Rutgers aims to make its first back to back March Madness appearances in nearly fifty years. Rutgers battled to an admirable 18-13 record in a tough Big Ten conference this year before falling to the eventual Big Ten champions from Iowa in the conference playoffs. Notre Dame had a disappointing end to its season with a quarter finals loss in the ACC tournament as the number-two seed. The Irish lost to Virginia Tech by a score of 87-80, but rattled off an impressive season with a 22-10 overall record.
Notre Dame has the 30th ranked offense according to Kenpoms rankings, and the 83rd best defensive ranking. Rutgers sits 108th and 43rd in those categories respectively. We are in March, and in a game with a point spread of one point, free throws are going to matter. Notre Dame has a massive edge in free throw percentage, with a 75% efficiency compared to Rutgers at 70%. Notre Dame is also a 15th ranked team in the nation at 3-point FG percentage, compared to Rutgers which is an abysmal 300th. Rutgers has a major edge in rebounding, but I just don’t think it can keep up to the Irish offense. On a neutral field I’m laying it with the better shooting team. Take the Irish by a point on Wednesday.
Joey G.
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