Notre Dame’s Home Court Streak in Jeopardy

One week after beating Georgetown and Seton Hall, the Fighting Irish believed they were right back in the fight for title contention in the belaboring Big East. Two road losses later, Notre Dame (12-5, 5-7 ATS) has to regroup in a hurry facing a very good Connecticut club. What has undermined the Irish is a faulty road defense, allowing 77.4 points a game. Though the competition has been weaker, they have given up just 63.4 PPG on the home hardwood and are 20-11 ATS after a game where they failed to cover the spread.

Connecticut (17-1, 7-7 ATS) is one of the most experienced teams in a veteran league. All five starters are juniors or seniors, as is the top reserve in both the backcourt and the frontcourt. Of the eight-man rotation, freshman guard Kemba Walker is the only player seeing any significant minutes. That’s not to say the Huskies are bullet-proof, they have made plenty of miscues in different contests, be it guards A.J. Price, Jerome Dyson or center Hasheem Thabeet. The difference this year, when it counts late in games, they make the plays which have led to victories. With Notre Dame’s defense a question, UConn could succeed having 80-45 ATS mark when they make 47 to 53 percent of their shots in a game.

UConn is the highest-ranked opponent to visit South Bend in more than 10 years as the Irish look to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 47 games. Coach Mike Brey of Notre Dame received free bulletin board material courtesy of the Huskies. Connecticut is the only team in the country to have five wins over Top 25 teams and goes for number six Saturday. "It's going to feel good to break (Notre Dame's) home winning streak," forward Jeff Adrien said last Sunday Sunday. "It's a tough place to play, but we can do it."

Bookmaker.com has Notre Dame as a one-point underdog, with this being only the fifth ranked opponent the Irish have facing during this length stretch and only two top 10 teams.