T.M. Selection: Rutgers.

I like Rutgers to cover the spread against Notre Dame in this game on Wednesday. Rutgers has been really hot toward the end of the year and I think they can win this game with how good they have looked lately. They had a very early exit in their conference tournament, losing in their 1st game but they did lose to Iowa who went on to win the whole thing. They finished their regular season with 2 wins in a row but they also had a very impressive resume to get to this game with wins over teams like Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, and they even beat Wisconsin in a road game. Those 4 wins marked the 1st time in NCAA history that an unranked team beat 4 ranked teams in a row and I think Rutgers still has a lot to prove in this tournament. Rutgers also plays a very good game on the defensive end of the court and I think their defensive play will be a key part in them winning this game. Before their loss to Iowa, they had not given up 70+ points in 3 games in a row and I think they are going to shut down Notre Dame in this game too. Notre Dame also exited their 1st game of the ACC tournament with a loss to Virginia Tech who also went on to win the whole thing but they gave up 87 points in that game and that has been a common theme for them this year since they have been giving up 70+ points in a majority of their games this year. Notre Dame has looked good in their games but they haven't really had a tougher schedule lately and I think Rutgers had to go through a lot of better teams in their conference to get here than Notre Dame did with a lot more bad teams in their larger conference. I think Rutgers has been very hot and I expect their coach to have them ready for this game since he has been turning this program around all year. Notre Dame likes to put up a lot of points in their games but I don't think they will be able to do so here with that great defensive play from Rutgers. I like Rutgers to cover the spread here and win this game.

T.M. Prediction: 74-66 Rutgers.