NCAA Tournament Round 2 Preview: Ole Miss Women's Basketball vs Notre Dame
Ole Miss Women take on Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament on March 25, with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen up for grabs.
The Lady Rebels took care of Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a late flurry of points. Next, they meet 2-seed Notre Dame in round 2 on their home court.
The Fighting Irish took care of business in round 1, with a comfortable 81-67 over Kent State. The damage was done in the first two quarters, thanks to a fast start from the Irish. They outscored the Golden Flashes 49-30, then settled into cruise control for the remainder of the game.
Sonia Citron led the team in scoring with 29 points. Hannah Hidalgo hit a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.
Notre Dame Perfroming Without Key Players
The Fighting Irish are still performing at a high level despite injuries to key players. Not only have the Irish progressed into round 2 of the NCAA Tournament, but they are coming off an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament win over NC State. They also finished with a 27-5 record, with 13 conference wins.
Notre Dame star guard Olivia Miles has missed the full season despite there being hope she could see some action. Forward Kyree Watson, who suffered a knee injury at the start on March 9, was ruled out of the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss will not be taking the Fighting Irish likely in round 2, with the opposition showing they have life without key players.
How Do Ole Miss Women Make the Sweet Sixteen?
The Lady Rebels need to slow the Notre Dame scoring rate down. They are averaging 79.2 points per game this season, over ten more per game than Ole Miss (68.9 PPG).
They will also need to keep up their impressive stats in rebounds, ranked 18th nationally with 41.8 rebounds per game. Notre Dame is quality in scoring from the field. The Rebels don't want to be giving them second chances on misses.
Where/time to watch Ole Miss vs Notre Dame March 25?
- TV channel: ESPN Start time: 1:00 p.m. CT
- Streaming: Watch ESPN, Stream FuboTV
Ole Miss vs Notre Dame betting odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Sunday March 24
- Spread: Ole Miss +9.5
- Over/under: 130.5