Nova Report
The 1-0 16th ranked Villanova Wildcats head 14 miles east to Broad Street in Philly to take on Big 5 rival Temple. Gametime is 7:00 pm eastern and it’s on ESPNU. Nova is -5.5/133.5.
The Cats just beat LaSalle on Monday by 11. Coach Neptune went 10 deep but 81% of the offense went through Daniels/Dixon/Slater. Temple, conversely, played only 8 of which 7 were Sophomores. Temple was up by 15 over Wagner with 8 minutes to go but let it slip away in regulation and lost in OT. Damian Dunn went 18-18 from the foul line and scored 29. Battle and Hicks, Temple’s other studs, shot terribly. Turnovers by the Sophomores did them in.
Now 10,000 screaming Temple fans and a hungry team will seek to avenge that loss.
What Will Happen
No doubt, the Cats will continue to feed Daniels, Dixon and Slater. Daniels was unconscious from 3 last out; he should regress to the mean. Dixon will dominate inside and draw fouls. Slater will need to drive to the hoop and also draw fouls. Temple will press any of the Freshman guards when they are in which will be most of the game. For the Owls, look for Hicks and Battle to get on track. Also, Dunn is bigger and stronger than the Nova guards and he’ll challenge them. The place will be loud and scoring may be at a premium. It will be a close game.
Nova Pick
I was convinced the line would be -7.5 and my pick would have been Temple. But, buying the hook, and believing Senior leadership wins out down the stretch. So Nova-5.
Nova Pick Record: 1-0