The Pittsburgh Panthers (16-10) travel to face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-15) on Saturday, February 22nd. This game will be played at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend and televised on CW. Pittsburgh is coming off a win in their previous game, while Notre Dame is looking to get back on track from a loss to the SMU. Tip-off is set for 2:15 ET.

Pittsburgh Panthers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Panthers Are Coming Off A Win

Pittsburgh Panthers Recent Game/Games

Pittsburgh improved to 16-10 on the season with an 80-69 home win over Syracuse on Tuesday. The Panthers, who were -10.5 favorites, covered the spread. The total points for the game reached 149, exceeding the O/U line of 146.

Pitt turned the game around after trailing 41-34 at halftime, holding Syracuse to 28 points in the 2nd half while scoring 46 points of their own.

The Fighting Irish Are Coming Off A Win

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Recent Game/Games

Notre Dame’s season took another hit on Wednesday as they fell to 11-15 after a 97-73 loss to SMU. The Irish were slight favorites at home, but they didn’t cover the spread. The game’s total points reached 170, surpassing the over/under line of 144.5.

Notre Dame found themselves in a deep hole early, trailing 50-25 at halftime. While they managed to score 48 points in the second half, they also allowed 47, making it difficult to mount a comeback.

Panthers Offense Breakdown

Pittsburgh’s offense put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 48.1% from the field and 43.5% from three-point range, with an effective field goal percentage of 57.4%. They connected on 18 of 24 free throws, hitting 75% from the line, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, dishing out 12 assists as a team.

Chris Bell led the way with 23 points, hitting 7 threes at a 58.3% clip. Zack Austin and Ishmael Leggett each added 19 points, with Austin shooting 80% overall and 75% from deep, while Leggett hit 60% of his threes and contributed 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Fighting Irish Offense Breakdown

Notre Dame put up 73 points in their last game, shooting 41.8% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 50.9%. They connected on 32.3% of their three-point attempts, going 10-for-31, while hitting 54.2% of their shots inside the arc. At the free-throw line, they made 68% of their attempts, finishing 17-for-25.

Kario Oquendo led the way with 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. Braeden Shrewsberry added 21 points, hitting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Matt Cross contributed 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Chuck Harris dished out 7 assists to go along with 11 points.

Panthers Team Defense

Despite Pittsburgh’s defensive efforts, they allowed 69 points on 48% shooting from the field. The opposing team connected on 26 of their 54 field goal attempts.

From beyond the arc, Pittsburgh’s defense gave up 10 threes on 23 attempts, a 43% shooting rate. They also sent the other team to the line 24 times, where they hit 18 free throws, shooting 75%.

Fighting Irish Team Defense

Even with Pittsburgh’s defense giving up 69 points, they struggled to contain their opponent’s shooting, allowing them to hit 48% from the field. Inside the arc, the Panthers gave up 16 baskets on 31 attempts, a 51% success rate for the other team.

From three-point range, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed 10 threes on 23 attempts, with their opponent shooting 43%. At the free-throw line, the other team went 18/24, making 75% of their shots. Pittsburgh also gave up 11 offensive rebounds.

Panthers vs Fighting Irish Trends

• In their last ten games away from home, the Panthers have a straight up record of 3-7 while going 3-7 vs the spread. The team’s offense averaged 68 points per game in these contests.
• Through their last ten home contests, the Fighting Irish offense has averaged 67 points per game while allowing an average of 73. Notre Dame posted an overall record of 2-8 while going 4-6 ATS.
• Going back to their previous three games as the underdog, Notre Dame has an ATS mark of 1-2 while going 0-3 straight up.
• Although the Panthers have a strong straight up record in their last five games as the betting favorite, they have not done as well vs the spread going 2-3.

Panthers vs Fighting Irish Prediction

Coming in as the underdogs at +2.5, we have the Fighting Irish as the way to go on the point spread. Not only do we have them covering, but our projections show they have a good one of winning this one straight-up, if you’re looking for a higher payout on the moneyline.

Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 142.5, and our model predicts the Panthers and Fighting Irish to score a combined 145 points. We recommend betting on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.