Western Michigan Broncos vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/20/2021

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Monday, December 20, 2021

Venue:  Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN

Where to Watch:  ACC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  WMU +20.5, ND -20.5; Over/Under:  140 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  WMU +20.5, ND -20.5; Over/Under:  141.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  WMU +20.5, ND -20.5; Over/Under:  140.5 points

 

Western Michigan Broncos:  4-6 (10th place, MAC)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  4-5 (14th place, ACC)

 

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Western Michigan Broncos:  3-2 last 5

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  1-4 last 5

 

 

 

WMU is coming into this game with a 4-6 record overall and they are 0-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. Their 2 losses in that span were against the Valparaiso Crusaders and the Detroit Mercy Titans while their win came against the Aquinas College Saints in their last game. Lamar Norman Jr. led the team in points in that game with 19 while Mack Smith was next on the team with 14 points. Adrian Martin led the team in assists in that game with 2 while Smith led the team in rebounds with 10. They are 43.6% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 69.5% from the free throw line with their shooting this season. Their offense is averaging 67.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 78.6 PPG against them. WMU has an ATS record of 3-4 this season and their O/U record is 5-2.

 

 

ND is coming into this contest with a 4-5 record overall and they are 3-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Kentucky Wildcats while their 4 wins in that span came against the Texas A&M Aggies, the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Boston College Eagles, and the Indiana Hoosiers in their last game. Dane Goodwin led the team in points in that game with 15 while Blake Wesley was next on the team with 14 points. Paul Atkinson also scored 11 points in that one as well. Cormac Ryan and Prentiss Hubb both led the team in assists off the bench with 2 each while Atkinson led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 36.2% from the field, 18.2% from 3-point range, and 76.9% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 67.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.9 PPG against them. ND has an ATS record of 2-7 this season and their O/U record is 3-6.

 

WMU is coming into this matchup as a 20.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. ND has not been having a good season sitting at the bottom of their conference already with a losing record. They only have 4 wins all season and only 1 of those wins came by over 20 points, and that win was against Chaminade. They have not played well this season WMU has not really lost any games by that many points in their last few games. The best bet to place in this game is on WMU to cover the spread here as they will keep it closer than that.

 

Western Michigan Notre Dame Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Monday, December 20, 2021 (8:00 pm ET start time) is ND 77 WMU 65.

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Western Michigan Broncos: 5-2 O/U in all games. 5-2 O/U as an underdog. 5-1 O/U after 3 consecutive non-conference games. 89-51 O/U when playing only their 2nd game in 8 days. 7-3 O/U after a game where they made 78% of their free throws or better. 65-35 O/U after a combined score of 125 points or less. 5-1 O/U after playing a game as an underdog.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 4-8 ATS as a favorite of 10 or more points. 1-7 ATS in all games. 46-77 ATS as a home favorite of 10 or more points. 3-11 ATS against MAC opponents. 5-16 ATS after a non-conference game. 8-14 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 8 days. 7-15 ATS in non-conference games.

 

 

Western Michigan Broncos:  B. White (G) Out indefinitely - Leg injury.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  R. Carmody (G) out for season - Knee injury.

 

 

“It’s hard to get assists when you’re missing shots. You also don’t get assists on free throws, we shot 23 free throws tonight. Would we like the (assists) number to go up? Absolutely… but I think sometimes there’s an anomaly in those stats.” - Clayton Bates on his team’s win against Aquinas.

 

 

“Yeah, I think we just got some stops in that time period, middle second half, whatever it was, started sharing the ball better too. Got some good looks, and really boxed out, played together. We just need to do that for a full 40. Can't go in spurts and expect to win games like that, but we put ourselves in position, and just couldn't get it done today.” - Dane Goodwin on their loss against Indiana.

 

 

 

A. Martin 

M. McMillan 

L. Norman 

M. Smith 

T. Wright

 

P. Atkinson 

D. Goodwin 

P. Hubb 

N. Laszewski 

C. Ryan

 

 

PPG: L. Norman Jr. (18.4)

APG: A. Martin (2.1)

Reb/G: M. Hastings (6.9)

 

PPG: D. Goodwin (14.3)

APG: P. Hubb (2.8)

Reb/G: N. Laszewski (7.8)

 

Coaches:

Western Michigan Broncos: Clayton Bates (2nd season)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Mike Brey (22nd season)