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Texas Tech should be a -7 favorite against Notre Dame. The Irish advanced from the First Four in double overtime against Rutgers. The Irish pushed the game into St. Patrick's Day, past Midnight on the East Coast, and luck was on their side.
Paul Atkinson Jr. was in the right place at the right time for Notre Dame as the clock wound down in the second overtime period against relentless Rutgers.
Atkinson rebounded a missed shot by Blake Wesley and put back a layup with 1.4 seconds left to give the Irish an 89-87 win in a wild First Four game and put them into a first-round West Region contest on Friday in San Diego.
“Well, let me start by saying Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone here,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “And you notice that Paul's shot went in at 12:02 (EDT) on St. Patrick's Day, so maybe there was a little bit of karma there.”
The Red Raiders went 12-6 in a tough basketball conference and ranked 14th in the nation.
In non-conference games since 2016, Texas Tech is 73-13 (84.9%) Straight Up.
They finished the season with a tough loss against Kansas, 74-65.
Shannon finished with 14 points, and Bryson Williams had 17 for the Red Raiders (25-9), who still have never won the Big 12 Tournament. They also lost to Oklahoma State in their only other championship appearance in 2005.
- Tony Caliente, Gambling911.com
