Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Tip-off: Saturday, 3:15 p.m. ET
Line: TBD

Notre Dame will look to rebound from a disappointing loss to North Dakota State with a win over in-state rival Indiana on the road on Saturday.

After previously having lost to Iowa and Indiana State, the Fighting Irish dropped their third game of the season with Wednesday's 73-69 defeat to the Bison. They have yet to beat a major-conference foe this season and play Indiana, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 8 Duke in their next four games. Notre Dame has excelled at passing the ball with 19.2 APG (3rd in nation), but has failed to outrebound its opponent in each of its three losses. That doesn't bode well facing a Hoosiers team that excels on the glass with 48.2 RPG (2nd in nation). Their two losses this season came to ranked foes in Connecticut and Syracuse. Indiana is 6-3 ATS this season, while Notre Dame is 2-5-1 ATS. These two teams last met in Bloomington in 2011, with the Hoosiers taking a 69-58 victory. They are 8-2 SU, but just 4-6 ATS, in their past 10 meetings with the Fighting Irish.

Which Indiana school will win Saturday's in-state rivalry? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The StatFox Experts have been rolling in college basketball Best Bets this season with a 61% ATS (80-51-5) mark, including an eye-popping 74% ATS (45-16) record since Nov. 26. StatFox Zach is leading the way at 68% ATS (17-8-1) on Best Bets, while StatFox Scott is 63% ATS (17-10), StatFox Brian is 60% ATS (15-10-1) StatFox Gary is 59% ATS (16-11-2) and StatFox Dave is 56% ATS (15-12-1).

Senior PG Jerian Grant (18.7 PPG, 6.1 APG) is the star of the Notre Dame offense, leading the team in both scoring and distributing the ball. He’s making 53% of his FG attempts and 41% of his three-point tries. But after putting up back-to-back, 20-point games in the team’s wins against Delaware and Bryant, he went 0-for-5 FG in the loss to North Dakota State. Joining him in the backcourt is SG Eric Atkins (12.4 PPG, 4.8 APG), who can also score and pass the ball well, giving the team two passing weapons on the perimeter. Down low, C Garrick Sherman (14.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG) and SF Pat Connaughton (13.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG) are both good rebounders for a team that ranks just 163rd in Division I with 36.5 RPG. Sherman, a 6-foot-11 senior, is coming off back-to-back double-doubles and is starting to consistently see more minutes. Connaughton is averaging 19.7 PPG over the team’s past three contests. And when the team needs a scoring jolt, look for Mike Brey to design some plays for freshman guard Demetrius Jackson (8.1 PPG), who is hitting 50% of his three-pointers (13-of-26) this year.

Freshman PF Noah Vonleh (12.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG) has been mighty impressive for Indiana, averaging a double-double in his first year of collegiate action. He also can be a menace defensively with more than one block and one steal per game. The team’s leading scorer though, is PG Yogi Ferrell (16.4 PPG, 3.8 APG), who is hitting 2.6 threes per contest and has doubled his scoring output over last year, while his assists have dipped slightly. They are Indiana’s only two double-digit scorers while forwards Jeremy Holloway (9.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG), Troy Williams (9.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and Will Sheehey (9.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG) all average at least nine points. Of those five leading scorers, only Sheehey—a senior—isn’t a freshman or sophomore, so this team has potential, but a lot of growing pains to overcome before it can reach its full potential.