Notre Dame vs. No. 6 West Virginia (-5) Point Spread Preview

Notre Dame's (23-10, 15-10-1 ATS) 50-45 win over Pittsburgh in its first game of the Big East tournament extended the Irish win streak to six games. The Irish have also been incredibly impressive at the sportsbook; Notre Dame has covered seven consecutive games on college basketball odds.

The win over Pittsburgh was a defensive struggle, but Notre Dame's big three still managed to produce some points. Brad Wannamaker paced the Fighting Irish with 16, while teammates Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson scored 12 apiece. Harangody also buried three crucial free throws in the final two minutes of the game. He's the second-leading scorer in the nation at 23.3 points per game and will be instrumental in Notre Dame's chances come March Madness.

West Virginia (25-6, 13-16 ATS), meanwhile, disposed of Cincinnati 54-51 in their opening Big East tournament game. The victory improved the Mountaineers to 6-1 in their last seven outings, including four straight wins. West Virginia failed to cover against Cincy and is 5-5 against the spread in its last 10 games.

The Mountaineers needed a last-second shot to put away the Bearcats. De'Sean Butler-who posted 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win-buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to seal the victory. Butler also led West Virginia in scoring during the regular season, averaging 17.1 points per game. Second-leading scorer Kevin Jones (13.6 PPG) played a key role against Cincy, racking up a team-high 17 points and six boards. Overall, the team shot just 21-60 (.350 percent) from the field.

The Irish and Mountaineers have met once this season, with Notre Dame prevailing at home 70-68 in early January. Jones had a tremendous performance for West Virginia, posting a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Butler, though, missed an attempted game-winning three as time expired. Not surprisingly, Harangody was the story for Notre Dame; he scored 24 points against the Mountaineers, including the winning free throw with 1.9 seconds left. At one point, Notre Dame led by 22.

The win improved Notre Dame to 7-3 straight up against West Virginia over their past 10 meetings, although the teams have split 5-5 against the spread in that span. The total (SportsInteraction.com) has set it at 128 went under in all 10 of those meetings.

Game Prediction

As mentioned above the total has gon under in the last 10 meetings between these clubs. I'd also like to add that the Irish changed their defense system 6 games ago. Over that 6 game span they have allowed only 54.6 PPG. Take the under 128 (SportsInteraction.com).