Hawks vs Wildcats CBB Basketball Spread/Handicapping
The Hawks may not be the favourite but many expect them to compete in the challenging Atlantic 10 conference this season. To date they have put the conference on notice by beating a very good Notre Dame team and losses to Florida State and Creighton are nothing to be ashamed of.
St. Joseph’s Hawks (5-2) vs Villanova Wildcats (5-4)
Tuesday December 11
The Pavillion – Villanova, PA
7:00PM
Moneyline: No ML currently listed
Spread: St. Joseph’s -4
O/U: 136
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s Picks Today!
St. Joseph’s
Taking a Big East and fellow Big 5 scalp before conference play starts will only make their resume that much stronger.
St. Joe’s plays a tight defensive style that usually works well in their conference.
Their main weakness is their depth as they essentially play only a 6 man rotation. They aren’t very big and might have some trouble with the Cat’s tall strong center. This is a perimeter oriented team that is going to dog you all game long.
Even though they are from the “smaller” conference they are probably the more talented team overall.
Small number on this Big 5 scrape. When the number is this size you generally want to back the side you think will win because the last two minutes can be very unpredictable. I wish the Hawks were stronger at the line than their current 63%.
Still they should emerge victorious based on what we have seen from both clubs this season.
Villanova
We haven’t seen a lot from the Wildcats but maybe enough to know this season won’t be a total disaster. [ad-6571516]
Other than a loss to Columbia the losses have been respectable, including two to other Atlantic 10 programs. This team is still trying to define itself after being dominated by the backcourt throughout the Jay Wright era.
They are struggling but there is talent there especially at the top end…just not much of it.
Villanova has one of the more experienced big men in the country in Mouphatou Yarou.
He hasn’t progressed that much over 4 years but shows glimpses from time to time. He is joined upfront by Jayvaughn Pinkston, a physical specimen, who has increased his production in his sophomore season.
Like the Hawks they also don’t have a great deal of depth so it is important these two play smart.
Both schools are from Philadelphia and play each other every year. St Joe’s won last year’s tilt easily and has covered the last 5 in the series.
Unfortunately for Wildcat fans they are a good bet to do so again.
Spread Pick: St. Josephs -4
O/U Pick: Under
Score Prediction: St. Joseph’s 67 – Vilanova 60
