Wildcats vs Hoyas NCAAB Handicapping Prediction
Georgetown (20-6) is currently the 8th ranked team in the nation, but since they are coming off a loss to Seton Hall it is unlikely that they will get a #1 seed in the Big Dance.
Venue/ Stadium: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Time/Date: 2 PM EST Saturday, February 25, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): OFF
Over/Under: OFF
Villanova Wildcats vs. No. 8 Georgetown Hoyas Preview
Villanova (11-16) has lost 3 straight and 6 of their last 7 games and they can only play spoiler unless they pull off a major shock and win the Big East tournament.
In their last games Villanova lost to UCONN 73-70 in OT and Georgetown lost badly to Seton Hall 73-55.
This season Villanova is 6-17-1 ATS with an Over/Under record of 18-6 and Georgetown is 12-9 ATS with an O/U record of 11-10.
Villanova can score, but the reason they are losing is because of their weak defense that ranks 286th in the nation in opponents’ points allowed. On the other side of the coin Georgetown wins with their D since they rank 16th in the nation in opponents points allowed. However, in the loss to Seton Hall the Hoyas allowed the Pirates to shoot 61% from the field and 61.5% from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Hoyas are led by Jason Clark (14.5 ppg) and F Hollis Thompson (13.2 ppg 5.5 rpg) and each of these guys failed to score in double digits in the loss to Seton Hall. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Otto Porter (8.5 ppg 6.7 rpg) and Thomson will have to play well on the boards, as the one thing the Wildcats can do is hit the glass ranking 5th in the nation in rebounds per game.
Nova is dealing with a couple of injuries, as leading scorer Maalik Wayns (17.17.8 ppg) and his backcourt partner in G James Bell (7.5 ppg) have both missed a few games and each is questionable for this Big East match up.
With the injury issues the Wildcats have they will need good games from Dominic Cheek (13 ppg), Mouphtaou Yarou (10.8 ppg 8.2 rpg), and JayVaughn Pinkston (10.3 ppg 5.5 rpg). Yarou is 6’10” and if the Georgetown duo of Porter and Thomson can bottle him up in the lane the Hoyas should win this game.
In some betting trends for this Big East match up Villanova is 4-13 ATS in their last 17 road games, 4-10 ATS in their last 14 road games vs. a team with a winning home record, and they have an Over record of 6-1 in their last 7 games.
Georgetown is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games, 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games following a S.U. loss, and they have an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
Jason’s Pick: The Hoyas have not been a good ATS team as of late and while the Wildcats have been losing their last 2 games have come against good teams and both losses were in OT. Even with a banged up backcourt I think the Wildcats will have a good game and cover the spread.
