Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame: Spread and Score Predictions for 1st Round Matchup

Can Georgia Tech defeat Notre Dame and advance in the ACC Tournament?

The ACC Tournament begins today and the action tips off with Georgia Tech and Notre Dame. 

This is the third matchup of the year between these two teams, with Notre Dame winning each of them by a combined ten points. Georgia Tech has won four of their last six games while the Fighting Irish have recent wins over Clemson and Wake Forest. 

The winner of this game is going to advance to face No. 5 Wake Forest. 

Georgia Tech and Notre Dame are meeting in the ACC Tournament for the second time. The 15th-seeded Fighting Irish defeated the No. 10-seed Yellow Jackets, 78-71, in the opening round of the 2019 tournament in Charlotte.

In Tech’s 45-year history in the ACC, the Yellow Jackets have lost three games to a team in the same season 14 times, most recently in 2022-23 to Pittsburgh. Notre Dame defeated the Jackets twice during th regular season, 75-68 in overtime in Atlanta, and 58-55 in South Bend.

Miles Kelly (14.1 ppg) leads three Yellow Jackets averaging in double figures this season, including freshman forward Baye Ndongo (12.0) and junior guard Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (10.0). Tech’s other rotation players average between 4.8 and 9.3 points per game.

Notre Dame has one of the better defenses in the ACC, with only Virginia ranking higher in PPG allowed. The Fighting Irish are also 4th in field goal percentage allowed and sixth in three-point percentage allowed. 

Offensively, Notre Dame struggles. They are 14th in the ACC in PPG, last in field goal percentage, 14th in three-point percentage, 7th in rebounding, and 14th in turnovers. The offense for Notre Dame revolves around freshman guard Markus Burton, who averages 17.3 PPG while shooting 42.3% from the field and 29.7% from three. The Yellow Jackets defense is going to have to key in on him and fellow guard Braeden Shrewsberry to ensure they advance today. 

For Georgia Tech, there are a few keys to today's game. The Yellow Jackets have to keep turnovers and points off turnovers to a minimum, three-point shooting has to be better, and Miles Kelly has to be close to full strength. After the Virginia game, Damon Stoudamire said that Kelly was struggling with a back issue. 

Damon Stoudamire said Miles Kelly has a bad back and is trying to play through that. He has been bothered by it for a few weeks. He couldn't get it going tonight. He said he was laboring to play tonight so he sat him in the second half to save him for next week.

— Kelly Quinlan (@Kelly_Quinlan) March 10, 2024

How to Watch Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame

Who: Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame

When: 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 11th

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.

Watch: ACC Network

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM channel 371

Other ways to listen: SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Georgia Tech enters this game as a 1.5-point underdog. 

Prediction

Georgia Tech has been the highest-variance team in the ACC this season. They have beaten the upper-tier teams in the conference while also losing to teams at the bottom. Seemingly over the past two weeks, they had figured some things out until losing to Virginia, but they were playing consistently. This game could truly go either way, but I think that Georgia Tech finds a way to win their first-round game and advance. 

Final Score: Georgia Tech 68, Notre Dame 63 (Georgia Tech+1.5)

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