NCAAB: VILLANOVA SUDDENLY PROFITABLE
Villanova bettors that stuck with the Wildcats through a rocky start are suddenly reaping profits.
The Wildcats have covered six games in a row, winning five of those outright, including a victory over previously #3 ranked Pittsburgh.
Villanova backers have a chance to increase their profits on Saturday as the #17 Wildcats host the #20 Syracuse Orange to start a huge day of college action at Sportsbook.com.
The Wildcats won two of three meetings against the Orange last year, covering the spread in each victory.
Check out the Sportsbook.com Live Odds page for complete odds for this and a full day of college games. Don’t forget that basketball betting at Sportsbook.com could lead to extra profits with the ‘Beat the House’ promotion. There are weekly cash prizes for the members that win the most bets, with $10,000.00 in the prize pot for those that win the most this season.
Villanova’s recent tear has quickly turned them into one of the most profitable teams in a very tough Big East conference. During the streak of six straight victories against the spread (ATS), their only straight up loss was an 89-83 defeat as 9 ½-point underdogs to a Connecticut team that’s now ranked #1 in the nation.
In fact, in the last 10 games, the Wildcats only losses have come against opponents now ranked inside the Top 10: UConn, #5 Louisville and #8 Marquette.
Ranked #23 in the pre-season polls, Villanova has never been outside the Top 25 all year, bouncing back and forth, reaching as high as #15 but never lower than #23.
Trouble against highly ranked teams was a cause for concern for Villanova but the win over Pittsburgh proved they could hang with the best and they’ll get another chance to prove themselves against a ranked opponent Saturday.
It took Syracuse three weeks to move into the polls, jumping from outside the Top 25 to #16 and working their way up to the #8 ranking two weeks ago before a losing skid dropped them to #20.
Consecutive losses to Pittsburgh, Louisville and Providence were part of a 1-4 straight up and ATS slide that the Orange were on prior to Wednesday’s 74-61 victory over West Virginia as 1 ½-point underdogs.
Whether the victory is enough to convince bettors to back Syracuse on Saturday remains to be seen.
Syracuse bettors will be siding with the nation’s 18th ranked offense. Led by sophomore Jonny Flynn’s 17 points per game, the Orange have five scorers averaging 10 points per game or more. With an average of 79.7 points per game, Syracuse has no problems putting up points but they have big problems preventing them.
Teams score an average of 69.8 points per game against Syracuse, ranking them 236th in the country defensively.
That could be the only statistic that bettors need to know to sway them into betting on a hot Villanova team playing at home.
Villanova has duel threats in forward Dante Cunningham and guard Scottie Reynolds and if either player gets hot, Syracuse will have a tough time on Saturday. Reynolds scored 31 points in a victory over Providence on Tuesday and while Cunningham doesn’t have the big breakout games that Reynolds can sometimes have, he’s consistent and the team leader with an average of 16.5 points per game.
Will the Wildcats offense overwhelm Syracuse and lead bettors to a seventh consecutive payday? Place your bets at Sportsbook.com.
