On Monday, December 21st, the Youngstown Penguins will be taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they seek to find some consistency in their up-and-down season. This game will start at 7:00 PM ET at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana, with details about the TV to be provided later. For all those seeking to have a piece of this game in the NCAA Basketball odds, here is your go-to guide.
How to Bet on Youngstown at Notre Dame NCAAB Odds
Why Bet on the Penguins
Ahead of their clash against Michigan on Sunday, the Penguins are 5-6 on the season, thanks to their 99-58 blowout win over Division III Geneva on Tuesday Night. The Penguins showed their class in that game, not trailing at any point in the game, with double-figure contributions from Sidney Umude (career-high 21 points), Matt Donlan (15) and Cameron Morse (14). Even more notably, the Penguins racked up an impressive 28 steals in that game, including a career-high 6 steals from Jordan Andrews.
If the Penguins can bring more of that performance on Monday, they’ll definitely have a chance of hanging close with Fighting Irish. Needless to say, with the Penguins averaging 76.5 PPG scoring (125th in the nation) and allowing 75.2 (254th in the nation), it won’t be easy to stop Notre Dame. Nonetheless, Youngstown is one of the better teams in the nation in terms of moving the ball, averaging 16.5 assists, something that should allow them to test Notre Dame’s defense.
Why Bet on the Fighting Irish
Unlike the Penguins who just got back to winning ways on Tuesday after a two-game slide, the Fighting Irish enter Saturday’s game against Indiana (followed by the Youngstown game) on a three-game winning streak. More interestingly, Notre Dame’s two losses on the season came by two-or-less points (70-68 defeat to Monmouth and 74-73 defeat to Alabama). So, in short, Notre Dame has really been a good team this season, and with a bit of some luck, they’d have come into this game with a flawless 9-0 record and seated atop the ACC standings, rather than their current 7-2 record that places them 7th in the ACC.
That notwithstanding, the Fighting Irish look more than capable of taking care of the ball against the inconsistent Penguins. Led by the dynamic duo of Zach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson, who are both coming off double-double performances of 23 points with 11 rebounds and 19 points and 10 assists, respectively, it’s hard to imagine that the Fighting Irish will struggle against Youngstown State.
My Expert NCAAB Picks & Final Score Prediction
Despite the fact that the Monmouth and Alabama losses came at home, it would be hard to dispute that the Fighting Irish have been one of the most impressive teams at home. Plus, with a solid rebounding game (39 RPG), a free-flowing offense that is streaking on three straight 80-plus points and a surging defense that has held its last two opponents to replica 61 points; there is simply no way Youngstown State will be walking out of Notre Dame with a win. Simply put, expect the Fighting Irish to hold Youngstown State to less than 70 points en route to a comfy double-digit win.
My Final Score Prediction: Notre Dame 80, Youngstown State 65.
