Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech ACC Tournament Picks and Predictions: Irish Put Up Better Fight

The Virginia Tech Hokies are in this game thanks to a three at the buzzer by Darius Maddox that sunk the Clemson Tigers. Will Virginia Tech ride that wave and find a way to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament?

The Hokies won by six when these teams met back in January, but you’ll want to keep reading our Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame college basketball picks and predictions to find out if they’ll do it again in this Thursday, March 10 showdown. 

Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech odds

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Despite opening as a 1-point favorite, Notre Dame is now getting 1 or 1.5 points in this game. The team that got the double bye in this tournament is suddenly an underdog, which isn’t a common scenario. Meanwhile, the total is up from 130.5 at open to 131.5 in some places. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.

Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech predictions

• Prediction: Notre Dame +1.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Over 130.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Notre Dame +1.5 (-110)

Predictions made on 3/10/2022 at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech game info

• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2

Notre Dame at Virginia Tech betting preview

Injuries

Notre Dame: Robby Carmody G (Out), Elijah Taylor F (Out).
Virginia Tech: No injuries to report.

Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.

Betting trend to know

Virginia Tech is 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 games following a no-cover. Find more NCAA betting trends for Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech.

Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech picks and predictions

Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.

Spread analysis

Virginia Tech was barely able to get by a Clemson team that looked a bit gassed on Wednesday night. The Hokies blew an 11-point halftime lead and ended up winning on a buzzer-beating triple from Maddox in overtime. It also took a 15-point effort from Storm Murphy, who averages only 7.6 points per game, to even get to that point.

Overall, it was just an uninspiring performance from Virginia Tech, and it’s hard to see the team mustering up enough to knock out Notre Dame here. 

When these teams met in January, the Hokies simply couldn’t miss. They shot 59.2% from the floor and 50.0% from deep in that game, and this Fighting Irish defense just isn’t bad enough to allow that to happen again.

Defense isn’t Notre Dame’s strength on the floor, but the team is 69th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency (all efficiency stats from KenPom.com) this year. The team should be able to do a solid enough job on the Hokies to allow their offense to get them across the finish line here. 

Blake Wesley will likely be the best guard on the floor in this game, and his versatility as a scorer should give Virginia Tech fits in this one. Meanwhile, the floor will be spaced for him and Paul Atkinson Jr. in this one, as Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski are both snipers from the outside.

All in all, it isn’t hard to envision this Fighting Irish offense getting blistering hot in this game, especially with the Hokies likely having tired legs on defense. 

Prediction: Notre Dame +1.5 (-110) 

Over/Under analysis

These two teams combined to score 152 points when they met in January, and the Over has now hit in two of the last three meetings between these programs. And while Virginia Tech is 28th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, Notre Dame is 35th in that regard.

These are two teams that really run great stuff on the offensive end, and both have players that can step up and make big shots — especially from 3-point land. It’s just hard to see this game not going Over, especially with this number being so low. 

The Over is also 7-1 when Notre Dame is playing as a favorite away from home this season, with those games seeing an average of 143.6 points per game. The Over has also hit in each of the last seven games that Notre Dame has played, and the Fighting Irish’s 72.3 points per game in those contests certainly helps. Their ability to shoot it is a huge part of the reason you’ll want to be taking the Over here. 

Prediction: Over 130.5 (-110)

Best bet

Not only do the Fighting Irish have a ton of players that can impact this game from the wing, but Atkinson also gives them the edge around the basket. It’s hard to see where the Hokies have a legitimate edge in a game like this, even if they did win in their only regular-season meeting.

That game was, however, played in Blacksburg, where the Hokies had a huge home-court advantage. With this one being on a neutral floor, we should see the better team prevail. 

Notre Dame also happens to be 4-0 against the spread  in its last four games as an underdog and Mike Brey will definitely use that as a way to get his team fired up here. The Fighting Irish also happen to be 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with winning records. 

Pick: Notre Dame +1.5 (-110)

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