South Carolina State Bulldogs vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

South Carolina State is unbeaten and scoring 84.7 points a game behind Noah Treadwell, while Notre Dame is unbeaten at home behind Brady Koehler and Braeden Smith. A total of 147.5 and a very large home line set up the question in South Bend.

The Matchup

South Carolina State visits Notre Dame on Wednesday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, on ACCNX, with Notre Dame a 25.5-point favorite and a total of 147.5. The moneyline is off the board for both teams. The tip is at 6:00 PM CT. A spread this large assumes one team controls every stretch of the night, and the visitor's opening form makes that assumption worth questioning.

South Carolina State is 3-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, scoring 84.7 points a game and allowing 64.0 in the 2026-27 season. Noah Treadwell leads the Bulldogs at 15.7 points a game, DeShaun Jackson Jr. leads them at 4.7 assists a game, and Chris Parker leads them at 7.0 rebounds a game. Notre Dame is 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, scoring 83.7 points a game and allowing 66.0. Brady Koehler leads the Fighting Irish at 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, and Braeden Smith leads them at 7.0 assists a game, so the home team owns the best creator in the game while the scoring leaders sit level.

What makes South Carolina State interesting here is how completely its profile has flipped from its own last season. The Bulldogs went 10-22 in 2025-26, scored 67.1 points a game, and allowed 78.8, a team beaten soundly most nights.

Through three games this season they are scoring 84.7 and allowing 64.0, and Treadwell scoring at the same rate as Koehler is a big part of why the offense looks nothing like last winter's version. Notre Dame's own jump is real but smaller: the Fighting Irish went 13-18 last season, scored 74.5, and allowed 75.3, and an unbeaten start at 83.7 scored and 66.0 allowed is an improvement built on steadier defense rather than a total reinvention.

Key Factors

The case for the points starts with how little separates these teams in the areas that decide a blowout. Koehler and Treadwell both average 15.7 points a game, and Parker at 7.0 rebounds a game edges Koehler at 6.7, so Notre Dame does not hold the usual best-scorer and best-rebounder advantages that let a favorite run away early and keep running. Smith is the one clear edge, at 7.0 assists a game against Jackson at 4.7, and his creating is how the Fighting Irish generate clean looks when a defense is set.

The scoring environment also helps the underdog more than the favorite. Both teams score in the mid-eighties a game this season, 84.7 for South Carolina State and 83.7 for Notre Dame, and both allow in the mid-sixties, 64.0 and 66.0. In a game where the visitor can score at that rate, the favorite has to defend almost perfectly for forty minutes to build a margin this large, because every answered basket resets the work. A total of 147.5 expects points, and points shared between two capable offenses rarely produce a runaway.

The honest counterpoint is that Notre Dame is the deeper, more talented home team and South Carolina State's turnaround rests on three games after a 10-22 season. If Smith controls the pace, Koehler wins his matchup inside, and the Bulldogs' early shooting cools on the road in South Bend, the Fighting Irish can absolutely pull away in the second half and clear this number with room to spare. The Bulldogs have to prove their new defense, allowing 64.0 a game after allowing 78.8 last season, survives a real ACC road test.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.