Villanova Wildcats vs. West Virginia Mountaineers 9:00 ET
Friday the 13th might be an unlucky day for some, but for basketball bettors at Bookmaker Sportsbook, things couldn’t be better. They’ll have their chance to sink their teeth into another fantastic Big East match-up with March Madness implications when the scorching hot Villanova Wildcats (20-4, 13-7 ATS) head to Morgantown to clash with the West Virginia Mountaineers (16-8, 9-12 ATS).The Wildcats come into this match with the best ATS mark in the Big East at 8-3, while West Virginia is a mediocre 5-6 ATS in conference play. Last season, ‘Nova snapped a three-game losing skid to the Mountaineers by beating them 78-56. WVA has covered six of the L/10 in this series heading into tonight’s clash.
Should Villanova be considered one of the favorites to cut down the nets in April? In this six-game winning streak through the Big East, the Wildcats have improved from 50-1 to 32-1 on the March Madness betting line, and could be a steal of a price there. Following tonight and a match-up in the Carrier Dome a week from Sunday, Villanova should be favored in all of its remaining regular season games, and with a strong showing in the Big East Tournament, could reasonably finish on the two-line come Selection Sunday.
For now though, the Wildcats have been money for sports bettors, covering the spread in eight straight games. Much of that has been thanks to Mr. “Do-It-All,” F Dante Cunningham. The senior leads the teams in scoring (17.0 points per game), rebounds (7.2 per game), steals (1.6 per game), and blocks (1.4 per game). The Wildcats offense has been on fire of late averaging 99.3 points per game in its L/3.
Needless to say, the task is difficult tonight for a West Virginia squad that is just fighting for its spot on the dance floor come March. With Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Villanova, and Syracuse all firmly in the Dance right now, the Mountaineers are in with a mess of Big East teams like Cincinnati, Providence, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, and Georgetown for what will probably come down to just one or two more positions. With an RPI of 16 though, the Mountaineers make a strong case to make the Dance if they reach 21-22 wins.
That signature win in conference is still missing on the resume, as they are 0-6 SU (and just 1-5 ATS) against the big boys in the Big East. If WVU is winning this game tonight, it is going to be on the strength of its defense, which ranks 32nd in the nation, allowing just 61.0 points per game. No team in America defends the three-ball better than the Mountaineers, who are allowing teams to shoot just 26.6% from beyond the arc.
Thanks to a 10-2 home record, the Mountaineers have been tabbed as 4.5-point home chalks by the oddsmakers, while the ‘total’ chimes in at 138.
