No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 Wisconsin Preview
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
When: Saturday, March 18, 2:40 PM ET
Line: Villanova Wildcats (-5.5) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (+5.5); total: 128.5 – view all NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
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Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (-5.5)
The Villanova Wildcats’ experience truly shined in the late stretch of Thursday’s 76-56 win over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. The Wildcats led by a single point by halftime, but stormed back in the second half by shooting a scorching 63 percent from the field.
Five Villanova players scored in double digits, but star forward Kris Jenkins was not one of them. Jenkins scored just seven points on 2-of-13 shooting and missed all six of his three-point attempts. The senior has been struggling to get his shot going for some time now (33.7 percent field-goal shooting in his last seven starts), and the Wildcats need him to break of of his funk they’re to complete their quest for back-to-back national titles.
Still, ‘Nova was fortunate to have a relatively unheralded player erupt from the bench, as freshman guard Donte DiVincenzo had a sweet 21-point, 13-rebound double-double against The Mount.
Apart from Jenkins’ slump, the Wildcats still appear as fine-tuned as ever heading into the Big Dance as the No. 1 overall seed. Then again, perhaps the they’d be wiser to limit its hacking ways in Saturday’s game as well. The ‘Cats have an NCAA-best average of merely 14.2 fouls per game this season, but they tallied 17 of them on Thursday versus a Mountaineers team that shouldn’t have received such aggression to begin with.
Betting on the Wisconsin Badgers (+5.5)
Speaking of NCAA Tournament experience, The Wisconsin Badgers once again showed why they shouldn’t be counted out in March Madness season. The Badgers beat the Virginia Tech Hokies on Thursday, 84-74, to advance to the Big Dance’s Round of 32 for the fourth-consecutive year.
Wisconsin’s upperclassmen played sensationally in Thursday’s contest, especially Bronson Koenig, who scored 28 points with eight made three’s (a new school NCAA Tournament record). Ethan Happ also finished with a sweet line of 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while SOME… big man named Nigel Hayes ironically fought off hilarious “All-Star” chants from V-Tech fans and posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards.
The Badgers impressively out-rebounded the Hokies, 37-25, but they’ll need to somehow step up even better against a Wildcats team that had a wider 43-27 rebounding edge over Mount St. Mary’s that same day. By the way, 17 of the team’s boards were from the offensive glass, which means they’ve got to fix their shot selection as well. The team shot just 43.3 percent from the floor against Virginia Tech, who actually had a better shooting night in spite of the loss (46.9 percent).
Nevertheless, Wisconsin’s veterans know what it takes to excel when their season’s on the line, and that should make Saturday’s showdown a must-watch. However, ‘Nova’s the reigning national champ given its remarkable roster balance, so the Badgers’ hopes for a fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance may indeed be in jeopardy.
Writer’s Prediction
Villanova (-5.5) smashes Wisconsin’s mouth, 86-73.
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