We have two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum following Round One. Villanova won their game over NC Asheville in convincing fashion, while the story wasn’t quite the same for Iowa.
Iowa was the favourite in their opening round matchup but now look like one of the worst 7-seeds on the map. This game has only two possible outcomes in our mind; a miraculous Iowa win or a Villanova blowout.
Fancy another Round of 32 matchup, well perhaps our Syracuse-Middle Tennessee Predictions, Picks and Preview will get your motor revving.
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March Madness No. 2 Villanova vs No. 7 Iowa Preview
Where: Barclay’s Centre, Brooklyn, New York
When: Sunday, March 20, TBA
Line: Villanova (-6) vs Iowa (+6) Over-Under – 145.5 – view all March Madness lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Villanova Wildcats
On paper, this is a Wildcat win. However, after watching the first round, the choice is a little more difficult than you’d think. The Wildcats walked away with a 86-56 win, but they dominated a brutal team. Asheville showed up and shut up. They shot under 30% from behind the arc and under 37% from the field. They were outmatched in every way, so really the Round of 32 is when the tournament will really begin for Nova.
Iowa narrowly beat Temple in what should’ve been a locked up game in the dying minutes, but the Hawkeyes are no pushover. For the Wildcats to pull out a win, they will have to rely on the big man Daniel Ochefu, who finished Friday’s game with a double-double (17 points & 10 rebounds). He will have to dominate the inside, which shouldn’t be a major issue because Iowa is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the tournament. They finished 11th in the Big Ten with 36.9 defensive boards per game.
The Cats will also be relying on the steady play of guard Ryan Arcidiacono. He put up 14 points in the team’s opening round matchup, 12 of which were from behind the arc (4-6 for three). The one they call “Arch” carried the flow for Villanova through his 31 minutes of floor time. He had ice in his veins and was very consistent. A trait that will need to be a trend, if the Cats want to continue their winning ways.
The Wildcats are 13-2 ATS in their last 15 games.
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Betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are an interesting bunch. They had their opportunities to beat Temple and end the game and they couldn’t do it time and time again. They missed two clutch free throws in the last minute, although they still led by three. Then on the ensuing Owls possession they fouled the shooter behind the arc and surrendered three points from the line to eventually head to overtime.
It wasn’t just Friday night though, inconsistency has been the story of the past few months for Iowa. After beating Michigan State, Michigan and Purdue during the regular season, the Hawkeyes looked like they could be headed for a lengthy run in college ball’s biggest tourney. However, they followed up their winning ways with a 2-6 end to their season, an early exit from the Big Ten tournament and an ugly win to start March Madness.
Anyhow, what’s done is done. Let’s move on.
The Round of 32 is a different story altogether and the Villanova Wildcats are a vastly superior team to the Temple Owls. So the Hawkeyes will need a near perfect game, if they want to pull off the upset.
Jarred Uthoff will be the man they look to for another big performance. He put up a team high 23-points on Friday and was the teams leading scorer all year long posting 18.9 ppg. The team will also need to start making their easy jumpers. Against Temple, Iowa went 34% from the field and will need to be much stronger in the next round.
If they can make their short jumpers and step up their rebound game, they’ll have a shot. If not, they’ll be just another notch on the Villanova belt.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 2-8 ATS in their last ten games.
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Writer’s Prediction
Iowa starts strong…that’s it. Villanova torches the Hawkeyes 70-54.
