Nova Report
The 8-4 Villanova Wildcats walk into Omaha, Nebraska to do battle with the 7-5 Creighton BlueJays. Gametime is 4:00 pm eastern on Fox. Creighton is -5/143.
The BlueJays have had an up and down season. They beat then ranked #1 Kansas but lost last out to Georgetown. In fairness, the Hoyas shot out of their minds going 63% from 3. Creighton has also had tough losses to ranked Alabama and A+M. They are led by Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7’1” center averages 16.7 ppg as does sharpshooter Steven Ashworth. 6’10” Freshman Jackson McAndrew (8.6 ppg) has been improving rapidly. Their bench production has not been up to par with recent years. This club is pretty much average both offensively and defensively. McDermott though is a smart Coach who has consistently put in schemes to take advantage of Nova’s weaknesses.
On the Villanova side, they beat Seton Hall by 12 last out. The Hall may prove to be the worst team in the Big East. Longino and Perkins had their best games vs Seton Hall. Eric Dixon, the country’s leading scorer, had a quiet 25 points shooting just 44%. Today Nova needs, yet again, to step up their defense. Even vs. the Hall, there were too many defensive lapses. Plus, Century Link in Omaha has typically not treated the Cats well. (Creighton is 6-1 there this season).
Expect Creighton to shoot much better than they did at Georgetown. This will force Villanova to pick up the pace and play faster than they want. It should be a close game with fouls near the end increasing scoring.
My Nova Pick: Over 143
Nova Pick Record:5-7