Bearcats vs. Wildcats NCAAB Handicapping Prediction
Duke (25-4) has won 6 straight and they are getting closer to snagging a #1 seed in the Big Dance.
Venue/ Stadium: The Pavilion, Philadelphia PA
Time/Date: 2 PM EST Saturday, March 3, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): OFF
Over/Under: OFF
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Villanova Wildcats Preview
Cincy (21-9) has really improved their Big Dance seed in the last couple of weeks, as in their last 2 games they have beaten 17th ranked Louisville and 7th ranked Marquette. Overall, the Bearcats have won 4 of their last 5 games and they already beat Villanova (12-17) this season. Nova snapped their 4-game losing streak in their last game, but they are 7 games under .500 in conference play.
In their last games Cincy beat Marquette 72-61 and Villanova beat Rutgers 77-71.
This season Cincinnati is 12-12 ATS with an O/U record of 10-14 and Villanova is 7-18-1 ATS and they have an O/U record of 19-7.
Villanova has a decent scoring team and in terms of the stats they are legit on the boards, but the reason they have lost this season is their defense, which ranks 288th in the nation in opponents’ points allowed. On the flip side the Bearcats have a great defense ranking 29th in opponents’ points allowed.
Nova leading scorer Maalik Wayns (17.2 ppg) scored 39 points in the loss to Cincy earlier this season, but after missing 3 games due to injury he came back in the win over Rutgers and really struggled.
Bearcats’ leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick did not have a great game in the big win over Marquette, but Dion Dixon and Jaquon Parker combined to score 49 points. Nova’s D has really struggled this season and since that is the case their offense may need to score a lot of points in order for them to win. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Villanova ranks 10th in the nation in rebounds per game and they really need to play well on the boards to win this game. Cincy F Yancy Gates is averaging 9.5 rpg and if he can man the glass and keep the Wildcats off the offensive glass Cincy should win this game.
Cincy ranks 4th in the Big East in 3-pt FG% and Nova has to keep the guards of the Bearcats from getting open looks from deep and bombing away.
In some betting trends for this Big East game Cincy is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games, and they have an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 games.
Villanova is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 home games, and they have an Over record of 13-3 in their last 16 home games.
Jason’s Pick: Cincy wants to keep improving their seed in the Big Dance and they will do so in this game, as they will win and cover behind their stellar defense.
