Wednesday’s Tip Sheet

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Wednesday’s college basketball’s lineup in this season’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge offers a pair of featured betting breakdowns.

In the opener, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish go on the road to face the Big Ten’s No. 3 Maryland Terrapins. Later Wednesday night, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes square off against the ACC’s No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels.

Notre Dame at No. 3 Maryland (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Maryland -9.5, 141.5

Betting Matchup

Notre Dame lost its season opener to North Carolina 76-65 as a 9 ½-point road underdog. Since that point, it has won its last six games straight-up while going 3-3 against the spread. The total has stayed UNDER in five of the seven games. The Irish have averaged 75.4 points per game with four players scoring at least 10 points a night. Senior forward John Mooney has led the way with 14.3 points and 13.0 rebounds a game. He has posted four double-doubles in his last five starts.

The Terrapins continue to move up the ranks with a SU 8-0 start but they have been much less reliable as a betting team at 4-4 ATS. The total stayed UNDER 148 points in Sunday’s 84-63 romp against Marquette as 3 ½-point favorites after going OVER in Maryland’s previous three outings. Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 22 points in that game. The senior guard leads the Terrapins in scoring with 17.1 PPG while shooting 46.2 percent from the field. Maryland is averaging 81.0 points while holding opposing teams to 62.4 PPG.

Betting Trends

-- The Fighting Irish have gone 1-5 ATS in their last six Big Ten games and the total has gone OVER in six of their last seven games against a team from this conference.

-- The Terrapins are 1-5 ATS in their last six games against an ACC team with the total going OVER in four of the last five ACC matchups.

-- Maryland has won the last two meetings (2011 and 2014) both SU and ATS. The total has gone OVER in two of the last three games between the two.

No. 6 Ohio State at No. 7 North Carolina (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: North Carolina -3.5, 136

Betting Matchup

Last Friday’s 90-57 rout of Morgan State as 27 ½-point favorites boosted the Buckeyes to 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS. This includes an earlier 76-51 lopsided victory over Villanova closing as slight one-point favorites. The total went OVER 130 points in Friday’s victory after staying UNDER in five of their first six games. Ohio State has averaged 78.3 PPG and it moved to No. 6 in nation on defense with a points-allowed average of 52.7 points. It has a trio of players averaging at least 10 point a night led by junior forward Kaleb Wesson (12.7 point). He also leads the team in rebounds with 9.3 a game.

Starting with that season-opening victory against Notre Dame, the Tar Heels have gone 6-1 SU in seven games. However, their record ATS is a costly 2-5. They did cover as two-point underdogs in last Friday’s 78-74 win against Oregon. The total went OVER 142 points in that game after staying UNDER in each of their first six outings. Freshman guard Cole Anthony has lived up to the early hype with a team-high 20.7 PPG while shooting 39.3 percent from the field. He scored 22 points in a 73-64 loss to Michigan on Thanksgiving in his team’s only SU loss this year.

Betting Trends

-- The Buckeyes have a 2-5-1 record ATS in their last eight games against an ACC team. The total has stayed UNDER in their last four games played on a Wednesday.

-- The Tar Heels are 1-6 ATS in their last seven nonconference games with the total staying UNDER in six of their last eight games at home.

-- These two teams have met five times since 2006. North Carolina has won all five matchups both SU and ATS with the total going OVER in four of the five games.