Monday night college basketball and we will see the Villanova Wildcats travel to the Verizon Center to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. The game has a start time of 9;00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. Current Vegas betting odds have Villanova listed as 4 point favorites, while the total is set at 132.
Analysis: Since their only loss of the year (66-62 OT Loss at Seton Hall), the Villanova Wildcats have come back to win 4 straight games. The Cats are now 17-1 on the year overall, including 4-1 in the Big East and 3-1 in true road games. Villanova is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 40-18 ATS in their last 58 games following a S.U. win, but just 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings in Georgetown. The Wildcats have been a very solid offensive team this year, ranking 27th in scoring (76.9 ppg), 42nd in shooting (47.3%), 113th in 3 point shooting (36.0%) and 160th in FT shooting (69.5%). Defensively the Cats have been sold this year, ranking 45th in points allowed (60.6 ppg), 103rd in defensive FG% (40.8%) and 36th in 3 point defense (33.5%).
The Georgetown Hoyas come in having won 4 of their last 5 games, which includes a tough 61-59 home win over Butler on Saturday. The Hoyas are now 12-5 on the year, which includes a 4-2 mark in Big East play and a 9-1 mark at home. Georgetown is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. Big East. Georgetown has been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 94th in scoring (71.5 ppg), 55th in shooting (46.5%), 184th in 3 point shooting (34.1%) and 140th in FT shooting (69.9%). Defensively the Hoyas have been decent, as they come in ranked 149th in points allowed (64.9 ppg), 66th in defensive FG% (39.6%) and 115th in 3 point defense (32.2%).
Pick: This has the feeling of a one of those tough Big East defensive battles that usually takes place. The Under is 8-2 the last 10 games played here between this team and in the last 2 meetings here the teams combined for just 125 and 113 points. Both teams have the ability to score in the 70's but these two teams have played solid defense this year so I don't see either team hitting 70 points here. The Hoyas come in allowing 64.9 ppg overall, while at home they have allowed just 61.3 ppg. The Cats have played very good defense all year. allowing just 60.6 ppg overall and 63.8 ppg on the road. Neither team plays at a high tempo and both are rather average from long range and the charity stripe. We also should have a close game which means allot of walking the ball up the court the last 8 minutes or so. The Hoyas played some higher scoring games in the earlier part of the year, but since Big East play has started their games have averaged just 128.5 ppg. I see this one lower scoring than that. 64-60 sounds about right.
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