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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Rutgers Scarlet Knights are set to face off in an NCAA Tournament play-in game on Wednesday, March 16th. The game will tip-off at 9:10 p.m. ET from the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, and will be broadcast on truTV. The winner of this First Four matchup will face No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Rutgers
Date: Wednesday, March 16
Tip time: 9:10 p.m. ET
TV channel: truTV
Live stream: truTV Watch, truTV App
Notre Dame went 22-10 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament. In the quarterfinals, Notre Dame was upset by Virginia Tech, who went on to win the tournament. Freshman guard Blake Wesley led the Irish in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game. He also was strong defensively, adding 1.2 steals per game. Notre Dame knows how to score from deep. The Irish shot 37.7% from beyond the arc this season, which ranks 19th in the NCAA.
Rutgers went 18-13 and entered the Big Ten tournament as the No. 4 seed. They were upset by Iowa in the quarterfinals who went on to win the tourney. The Scarlet Knights were led by senior forward Ron Harper Jr., who averaged 15.6 points per game. Rutgers is one of the most efficient defensive teams in the field. They rank 43rd in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom. They say defense wins championships but the Scarlet Knights are going to need to rely on their defense to win this game.
March Madness Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Point spread: Notre Dame -1
Point total: 132
Moneyline: Notre Dame -115, Rutgers -105
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