Louisville, Notre Dame in top-25 ACC affair

By Michael Robinson, Sporting News	@TheLinemakers


There's a top-25 affair in the ACC on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) when No. 16 Louisville welcomes No. 12 Notre Dame to the KFC Yum! Center. This is the first meeting between the teams this year. Line: Louisville -4 , Total: 136 Louisville (23-6 SU, 11-16-1 ATS) is in fourth place in the conference at 11-5, trailing Virginia (16-1), Duke (13-3) and Notre Dame (12-4). The Cavaliers have already wrapped up first place. Coach Rick Pitino is more concerned about getting his team focused after a major late season distraction. Starting point guard Chris Jones (13.7 PPG, 3.6 APG) was suspended in February and ultimately dismissed from the team. Freshman Quentin Snider is the new point guard, averaging 10.0 points and 4.0 assists in the three recent games Jones missed. Snider needs to be a threat offensively, as only four Louisville players (including Jones) are averaging more than 3.3 PPG on the year. The Cardinals do have cause for optimism after an 81-59 win at Florida State last Saturday as 5.5-point favorites. It was the most points they've scored since January 4, averaging just 61 PPG the prior eight (UNDER 7-1). It also snapped a four-game ATS losing streak. The Fighting Irish (24-5 SU, 10-11 ATS) haven't played in eight days, last losing 65-60 to Syracuse as 8.5-point home favorites. They shot just 34.7 percent from the field against the Orange zone and will have to do a lot better against Louisville, who also runs a zone after applying full-court pressure. This matchup has been dominated by the OVER, going 10-1 in the last 11, with an incredible six going into overtime. The Linemakers' lean: Louisville needs this game as it tries to hold off North Carolina for the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament -- the top four get a double-bye -- and appears to be rallying around the loss of Chris Jones. Saturday's win at Florida State was the Cardinals' best offensive effort of the season. Also, might Notre Dame be a bit rusty after an eight-day layoff? We'll lay the 4.5 with Louisville here. Read Mike Robinson's complete college basketball preview, including a lean on San Diego State at UNLV, right here at The Linemakers on Sporting News . Win a seat at the SuperContest: Register for Satellite Series