NCAA Tournament First Round: Notre Dame vs. Xavier Preview
Game: (7) Notre Dame – (10) Xavier 3/16 9:45 PM ET
Game Analysis: The Fighting Irish are an outstanding interior team. Forwards Jack Cooley and Tim Abromaitis lead their team with near double-doubles. The “Twin Bell Towers” will frustrate the Xavier guard combo of Tu Holloway and Marl Lyons all night. Xavier began the season on an 8 game winning streak, but the Musketeers have posted a mediocre 13-12 record since then. The team can score and rebound, but has struggled with taking quick shots and not allowing shots to develop. Holloway can get hot when his shots start dropping so an upset is never out of the question.
Matchup to Watch: G Jerian Grant, Notre Dame vs. G Tu Holloway, Xavier– Grant has been on fire in the last couple weeks as he has averaged an amazing 15.1 points and 5.5 assists in his last 17 contests. While Holloway has put up comparable numbers for Xavier, by posting 17 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.1 dimes a game. The head-to-head contest will be one of the better point guard matchups in the entire tournament and will without a doubt have a tremendous affect in the game.
Prediction: Notre Dame 67 – Xavier 59
FEATURED PARTNERS
- Raven Symone Addresses Rumors About Her Sexual Orientation, "ANTM" Girlfriend
- They Can't Spell, But They Tweet
- What's The Oldest Photo Of You On Facebook?
- MMA fighter King Mo -- Petitions Hulk Hogan for Wrestling Advice
- Tim Tebow -- Allegedly Asks for Twitter Photo to be Taken Down
- UFC Champ Jon 'Bones' Jones -- Arrested for DUI
- Mick Jagger, ‘Lazy Sunday 2,’ Kristen Wiig Sendoff and Other Highlights of the SNL Season Finale
- Mark Zuckerberg Gets Hitched
- Calvin Johnson Can Hit Home Runs Too