Notre Dame vs. Radford Basketball Prediction, Odds, Line, Pick, and Preview: November 10

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play the Radford Highlanders in their NCAA Basketball season opener on Thursday. Notre Dame finished 24-11 last season, earning a play-in game in Dayton for March Madness' Field of 64.

The Irish edged fellow 11-seed Rutgers 89-87 in double OT before a convincing win over Alabama to make the Round of 32. They locked horns with the 27-10 Texas Tech Red Raiders for 40 minutes but lost 59-53.

Mike Brey enters his 23rd year on the Notre Dame sidelines this season. All-ACC guard Blake Wesley darted for the NBA after a sensational freshman campaign, but enough upperclassmen returned from last season's team to give the Fighting Irish postseason hope.

Radford has been steadily declining since they won the Big South Conference Tournament in 2018. The Highlanders went 11-18 with a 7-9 conference record during the 2021-22 season.

Outside of one returning starter, Radford will have plenty of new faces, including former ESPN top 100 recruit Bryan Antoine, who never found his footing in three years with the Villanova Wildcats.

Notre Dame vs. Radford Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Over/Under	Moneyline
Radford Highlanders	+18	0137.5	+900
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-18	u137.5	-20000

All Lines Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook

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ShotQuality Tale of the Tape

ShotQuality shows a lot of similarities between these two non-conference foes, with both exceptionally good on one side of the court but mediocre to bad on the other.

Notre Dame had an Adjusted Offensive Shot Quality (AdjOFF SQ) of 1.06 last season, good for 82nd in the country. Meanwhile, they posted a 1.03 Adjusted Defensive Shot Quality (AdjDEF SQ) stemming from poor post-up (0.89 SQ PPP) and midrange play (0.79 SQ PPP).

However, to focus more on the offense, they were one of the best in catch & shoot three-point SQ PPR (1.10 SQ PPP on 31% frequency), and regression stats suggest they should have been even better (2%).

Cormac Ryan, one of the many returning veterans for the Irish, posted an insanely impressive 1.17 SQ PPP on catch-and-shoot three-pointers last season. They also added Niagra transfer Marcus Hammond to the mix. The senior was also sharp with catch & shoot threes, finishing in the 83rd percentile in efficiency with treys. He will also elevate Notre Dame's play when taking shots off screens. The Irish had a 0.99 SQ PPP on shots coming off screens, while Hammond owned a 1.19 SQ PPP on guarded and unguarded threes off the screen.

Radford is the polar opposite of the Fighting Irish but more magnified. They are aggressive on defense but putrid on offense. The Highlanders should struggle on offense, given that Notre Dame's weakness, spacing, isn't a strength for Radford.

They added former top recruit Bryan Antoine to the mix, but he probably didn't stick at Nova because he ranked in the 2nd percentile in three-point efficiency. Defensively, the Highlanders are stout in transition and against the midrange game.

The problem is that the Irish love to set up a half-court offense under Mike Brey. The 2021-22 rendition of the Irish ranked in the top 75 of the country in post-up, half-court, and catch & shoot three-point frequency. Radford was susceptible to the half-court offense, allowing 0.99 SQ PPP and 1.03 SQ PPP on catch & shoot threes.

Notre Dame vs. Radford Prediction

How can you not love the Irish heading into the season? They bring back a ton of veteran guys that ooze experience, and they even made a little noise in the tourney last year despite being one of the unluckiest teams in 2021-22.

Unfortunately, they posted a laughable -15.61 in SQ luck (SQ Win Percentage - Actual Win Percentage) *100. With a fresh slate and an experienced roster, give me the Irish to dominate in the season opener.