Notre Dame vs Rutgers Odds, Lines and Spread

• Notre Dame is a 1.5-point favorite over Rutgers in an NCAA Tournament FIrst Four game Wednesday
• Rutgers has made the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons, tying a school record.
• Read below for Notre Dame vs Rutgers odds, analysis and betting prediction

Notre Dame (22-10, 17-15 ATS ) is a 1.5-point favorite over Rutgers in an NCAA Tournament First Four game at the Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday at 9:10 pm ET on truTV.  Notre Dame is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Rutgers (18-13, 14-16-1 ATS) became the first unranked team in Division I history to beat four straight ranked teams during a stretch in February.

The winner of this game will play No. 6 seed Alabama in a West Region game in San Diego on Friday.

Rutgers vs Notre Dame Odds

Odds from BetMGM on March 15. Editor’s note: no line movement as of March 16 at BetMGM.

Notre Dame is a 1.5-point favorite over Rutgers in an NCAA Tournament game with the total set at 131.5, one of the lowest the Fighting Irish have seen this season. Notre Dame is -120 on the moneyline, meaning the Fighting Irish have a 56.3% implied win probability. At +100 on the moneyline, the Scarlet Knights have a 50% implied win probability.

Neither Team Finished Well

Neither Rutgers nor Notre Dame enter this game with a lot of momentum as the odds to reach the Final Four indicate. Both teams are +25000 longshots to make it all the way from the First Four to New Orleans.

The Scarlet Knights made the NCAA tournament on the strength of a early February surge when they became the first unranked team in Division I history to defeat four straight ranked teams with consecutive Big Ten victories over Michigan State, Ohio State Wisconsin and Illinois.

Rutgers has lost four six after that, however, including to eventual Big Ten tournament champion Iowa in the quarterfinals, which hurt their odds to win March Madness.

Notre Dame locked up its bid by winning 11 of 13, but it has lost two of three and three of six. The Irish lost at Florida State in the penultimate game of the ACC regular season and were the second of ACC tournament champ Virginia Tech’s four victims in the tourney.

Notre Dame vs Rutgers Head-to-Head Results

Notre Dame was 9-2 straight up and 3-8 ATS in the last 11 meetings with Rutgers, although the teams have not met since each left the Big East in 2013, Notre Dame for the ACC and Rutgers for the Big Ten. Six of the last nine games went under the total.

This will be their first meeting in the NCAA tournament. Irish coach Mike Brey is 14-6 against Rutgers as you consider different types of March Madness bets.

Betting Trends

Rutgers is 2-3 straight up and 1-4 ATS in its last five games after a streak in which it was 4-2 straight up and 6-0 ATS. Notre Dame is 3-3 straight up and 2-4 ATS in its last six. Since a Jan. 31 loss to Duke, the Fighting Irish are 8-3 straight up and 7-4 ATS.

He beat Purdue at the buzzer. And he beat Indiana with 2.1 left.

Ron Harper Jr.'s latest @RutgersMBB game-winner takes home 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤. 😤

📍 @OldTrapper pic.twitter.com/8ZxKbpUUff

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 7, 2022

As a 10th seed, Rutger beat ACC Clemson 60-56 in the first round of the 2021 tournament before losing to eventual Final Four participant Houston 63-60 in the second round. Rutgers lost three of the five games in which

Neither team has fared well at a neutral site this season. Rutgers is 0-1 and Notre Dame is 1-4 as you consider strategies for betting on March Madness.

Wesley-McConnell Brings the Intrigue

Freshman guard 6’5 Blake Wesley, who leads the Irish in scoring at 14.6 points per game,. will face a tough challenge against Rutgers defensive specialist wing senior 6’7 Caleb McConnell, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

🏀NBA Top Shot/March Madness 2022-2023 Rookie Badge WATCH🏀

-BLAKE WESLEY (Guard)- (NOTRE DAME ) 6’5” 185 lbs

2022 NBA Projected Draft Pick = #15 (THUNDER)
AVG – 14.6 PTS 41% FG 1.2 STL

+ 2nd ALL-ACC
+ ALL-ACC ROOKIE
+ AVG 27 PTS 5 REB 2 STL in HS 21-22 pic.twitter.com/uIv7L05Jbn

— SPORTS POD RECCOMENDATIONS (@AroundDapperPod) March 11, 2022

Wesley, projected as a potential NBA first-round pick in the 2022 draft, had 24 points (9 of 12 shooting) against Illinois and hit the game-decider in a 66-62 victory over Kentucky but has not been as productive in the second half of the season, shooting 36.7 percent from the field.

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell assigns McConnell to the opponents’ best wing/guard, and the results are positive. McConnell averages 2.2 steals per game, in the top 15 in Division I. McConnell had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament victory over Clemson last season.

Caleb McConnell – Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/pFhpeR7VGh

— Pete Winter (@pwinter7) March 8, 2022

ND, Rutgers Win With Balance

Each team has three double-figure scorers and role playing contributors.

Wesley and seniors Dane Goodwin (13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds) and Paul Atkinson (12.3, 7.0) are supported by seniors Prentiss Hubb, Nate Laszewski and Cormac Ryan.  Among Division I players averaging at least 13 points, Goodwin is the only one shooting 50 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 85 percent from the foul line.

Stretch ‘4’ Laszewski replaced Goodwin in the starting lineup in the ACC tournament loss to Virginia Tech. The Irish are shooting 38.0 percent from three-point range, 16th in Division I.

Guard Ron Harper Jr. (15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds) leads three double-digit scorers for the Scarlet Knights. Clifford Omoruyi  (11.8, 7.9) and Geo Baker (12.4 points) are joined by McConnell and point Paul Mulcahy. Rutgers lost three of the five games in which Baker did not start because of an early-season hamstring injury.

Notre Dame vs Rutgers Prediction

Rutgers has six Quad 1 wins this season against Notre Dame’s two, and the Scarlet Knights have played a stiffer schedule throughout. Rutgers will build off its 2021 tournament victory in this one. Although the Scarlet Knights are not favored,  a victory here will not in any way be an upset.

The pick: Rutgers +1.5 (-115)

OTHER MARCH MADNESS CONTENT

Regional Previews

• East Region Odds — Baylor Earns Top Seed, Kentucky Favored
• Midwest Region Odds See Kansas Favored Over Auburn, Iowa and Wisconsin
• South Region Odds: Arizona +110 Favorites, Tennessee & Houston Sleepers
• West Regional Odds: Gonzaga Odds-On Favorite to Reach Final Four

General

• SBD’s Expert Brackets and March Madness Picks 2022
• March Madness Odds Favor Gonzaga at +350 After Selection Sunday
• March Madness Odds for All First Round Games
• Printable 2022 March Madness Bracket – Make Your Picks for the NCAA Tournament