Georgetown Hoyas vs. Villanova Wildcats Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – March 5, 2016

It’s sad to see the Georgetown Hoyas waste talented senior D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera’s last year in college. The Hoyas are out of the NCAA Tournament picture following a barrage of losses in conference play. While there’s always the conference tournament to keep their hopes up, the Hoyas are likely done. That being said, the Hoyas could salvage some pride before the regular season ends if they could take down the Villanova Wildcats on the road.

Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our preview of Miami (FL) vs. Virginia Tech.

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Georgetown Hoyas vs. Villanova Wildcats Preview

Where: The Pavilion, Villanova

When: Saturday, March 5, 12:00 PM ET

Line: Georgetown Hoyas vs. Villanova Wildcats – view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: FOX

Betting on the Georgetown Hoyas (14-16, 7-10 Big East)

The Hoyas are thirsty for a win. They lost their fifth straight game on Tuesday, an 88-87 heartbreaker of a loss to Marquette, and are now likely out of the radar of the selection committee. A win over third-ranked Villanova should boost their morale heading into the Big East tourney, which should act as Georgetown’s last hope for a ticket to March Madness.

And based on the Hoyas’ previous matchup with Villanova, beating the Wildcats isn’t just a pipe dream. They fought Villanova well, albeit in a close 55-50 loss on January 16. The Hoyas committed lots of fouls that resulted to 22 free throw attempts by Villanova, but they made up for it by hitting seven threes as against the Wildcats’ three. Georgetown is tied for second in the Big East with 8.1 three-pointers per contest.

Leading scorer D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 15 points in the first meeting with Villanova on 6-for-14 shooting from the field with three three-pointers. Expect him to keep jacking up those shots considering that this is the senior’s last regular season game of his collegiate career. Smith-Rivera is averaging 16.6 points per game this season.

Sophomore guard L.J. Peak, meanwhile, has to contribute more this time around against Villanova, as he scored just seven points in the earlier matchup. He’s second on the team with 11.5 PPG.

Georgetown is 2-0 ATS in its last two road games.

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Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (26-4, 15-2 Big East)

Villanova’s stay on top of the AP poll didn’t last that long—no thanks to a 90-83 loss to No. 5 Xavier on Wednesday—but at least that didn’t dampen the Wildcats’ drive, as they’ve bounced back with two straight wins over Marquette (89-79) and DePaul (83-62).

Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Villanova especially of late, as the Wildcats averaged 83.0 points over their last five games. They’ve also shot 50.3 percent from the field in their past three outings, including the DePaul game on Tuesday, when the Wildcats connected on 50% of their shots (29-for-58).

While Villanova didn’t have that kind of shooting touch (38.3 FG%) in the first matchup with Georgetown, the Wildcats should have no problem this time around thrashing the Hoyas’ lamentable defense that allowed their last three opponents to score 81.3 points on 52.4% from the floor.

Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins won’t hesitate to abuse that kind of defense. Hart leads the Wildcats with15.2 points per game, while Jenkins is putting up 12.5 a game. Jenkins is coming off a sensational 31-point outing against DePaul to raise his average to 21.4 points over his last five games.

Villanova knows how to defend, too. The Wildcats are 13th in the nation with only 63.0 points surrendered per game.

Villanova is 3-0 SU and ATS in its last three home games against Georgetown.

Writer’s Prediction

Villanova wins, 88-74.

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