4* Friday Night Big Dance *TOP DOG*

Xavier vs. Notre Dame, 03/16/2012 21:45 EDT, Score: 67 - 63

Point Spread: +2½/-105 Xavier

Sportsbook: TopBet

Result: Win

4* Friday Night Big Dance *TOP DOG* on Xavier +2.5
Xavier underachieved this season as a brawl with Cincinnati sent it into a tailspin. Notre Dame, meanwhile overachieved, exceeding expectations without Tim Abromaitis in the lineup.

However, the Musketeers have gotten their mojo back. They have won three of their last four with a big win over a very good St. Louis team in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Notre Dame has started to come back down to earth with losses in 3 of its last 5 games and the two wins against South Florida and Providence in this stretch were rather unimpressive.

These two played 3 like opponents this season and Xavier went 2-1 versus those teams while Notre Dame went 0-3. The Musketeers defeated Cincy and Georgia by double digits but lost to Gonzaga. The Irish lost to Cincy and Gonzaga by double digits and Georgia by 4 points.

It's hard not to like the Musketeers catching points in the Big Dance considering they are 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog. They are 15-5-2 ATS in their last 22 NCAA Tournament games overall.

The Fighting Irish are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games and 0-6 ATS in non-conference games this season. They are also 1-5 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite and 1-10-2 ATS in their last 13 non-conference games. Take Xavier.