5 Bold Predictions For No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Butler

By Jerry Landry

5 Bold Predictions For No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Butler

Jerian Grant Notre Dame Fighting Irish Butler Bulldogs NCAA — The Notre Dame Fighting Irish looked awfully shaky on Thursday, and Butler looked awfully boring. Saturday’s matchup could come down to pace and tempo, or lean toward pure talent mixed in with a little luck of the Irish. Here are five crazy things that could happen in this battle of two opposing Indiana identities.

5. Notre Dame Will Shoot 60 percent From The Field

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Northeastern Huskies 2015 NCAA Tournament

5. Notre Dame Will Shoot 60 percent From The Field

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Northeastern Huskies 2015 NCAA Tournament — It may have not looked like it, but Notre Dame made 57.4 percent of its field goals against Northeastern. Notre Dame has shot well all season, and the Irish will continue this tendency against Butler.

4. Butler Will Shoot Worse Than 40 percent From The Field

Butler Bulldogs NCAA Tournament Texas field goal

4. Butler Will Shoot Worse Than 40 percent From The Field

Butler Bulldogs NCAA Tournament Texas field goal — Against the Texas Longhorns, Butler was actually outshot in terms of accuracy. Texas made field goals 34 percent of the time compared to Butler’s even more embarrassing 33 percent. I don't expect Butler to change this tide in just 48 hours, and I doubt the Bulldogs to improve beyond 40 percent.

3. Kameron Woods Will Earn A Double-Double

Butler Bulldogs Kameron Woods NCAA Tournament

3. Kameron Woods Will Earn A Double-Double

Butler Bulldogs Kameron Woods NCAA Tournament — Right now, Kameron Woods is Butler’s greatest contributor. With Roosevelt Jones dinged-up, look for Woods to take on an even bigger share of the Bulldogs’ sputtering offense.

2. Butler Will Attempt 30 Free Throws

Butler Bulldogs Chris Holtmann head coach 2015 NCAA Tournament

2. Butler Will Attempt 30 Free Throws

Butler Bulldogs Chris Holtmann head coach 2015 NCAA Tournament — Butler attempted nearly 2.5 times the number of free throws (28 attempts) as Texas (12 attempts) in the Bulldogs’ second-round victory over the Longhorns. This is how Butler makes up for so many statistical deficiencies, and it’ll be the Bulldogs greatest shot at keeping up with the Irish.

1. Butler Defies Logic, Advances To Sweet 16

Butler Bulldogs beat Texas Longhorns 2015 NCAA Tournament basketball

1. Butler Defies Logic, Advances To Sweet 16

Butler Bulldogs beat Texas Longhorns 2015 NCAA Tournament basketball — It’ll be ugly, it’ll be low-scoring and the Bulldogs will earn their 23rd win. How could Butler possibly beat another team that outshoots the Bulldogs? They will do it with rebounding and free throws. Notre Dame will succumb to the added pressure, the Irish will clank freebies from the line and Butler will capture every hustle-worthy loose ball.

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