Sweet 16 Preview: Spokane Regional

An exciting Texas A&M team will face off against top-seeded Notre Dame at 4 p.m. today. Here’s how these two teams stack up against each other, with the help of some data from Her Hoop Stats.

Texas A&M advanced to the Sweet 16 after knocking out DePaul by overcoming a 17-point third-quarter deficit. Freshman guard Chennedy Carter hit a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to finish with 37 points and send the Aggies to their first Sweet 16 since 2014.

They have a much taller task, however, if they want to advance. A Notre Dame team that holds the top seed and comfortably made it past its first two opponents. Muffet McGraw’s team tied for the ACC regular-season crown with Louisville, who the Irish lost to once in the regular season and again in the ACC Tournament final. Their only other loss on the season was an early-December visit to UConn, where they gave the Huskies their second-closest game of the year.

Comparing the two sides, Notre Dame clearly has an advantage on both sides of the ball and has been much more dominant, as we can see by the difference in margin per game. The Irish have four starters averaging over 14.4 points per game, led by Arike Ogunbowale’s 20.6 PPG. With a balanced attack and the ability to handle all kinds of teams, this is one of McGraw’s most competitive teams of late. Expect Notre Dame to win this one fairly comfortably... unless Carter can pop off for over 35 again.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 11 Central Michigan.