Nova Report
The 6-4 Villanova Wildcats take on the 5-2 UCLA Bruins in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center at 7:00 pm eastern on FOX. Nova is -3.5/127.5.
The Bruins’ two losses were close games to top ten ranked Gonzaga and Marquette. They have one of the slowest paces in the country and are ranked 21st in defense which is their strength. They press, pressure and cause turnovers. Offensively, they rely on 4 players all who score in double figures: Sebastian Mack (14.7 ppg, their only 3 point threat), Adem Bona (13.4 ppg, their big man), Lazar Stefanovic (11.1 ppg) and Dylan Andrews (10.1 ppg). These guys like to get to the basket and rack up fouls on opponents. They shoot just under 50% inside the arc and take pretty much all their shots from there. They rank 358th in 3 point shooting. They really have just one guy coming off the bench. They DO have a height advantage. They have not played in 8 days.
For the Cats, they have lost 3 straight. The last being an OT heartbreaker (71-70) as Kansas St hit a step back 3 with 3 seconds to play. To make matters worse, Justin Moore, their best player, sprained his knee in that game and is ruled out for today. Their guard play has been shaky and look for UCLA to pressure whoever takes over for Moore.
As dire as it sounds for the Cats, UCLA can’t defend the 3. Nova has been on a 3 game drought from 3. These guys shoot too well for this to continue. Additionally, Nova can use their bench to their advantage in this one by trying to run UCLA ragged. I expect Villanova to speed it up on offense and try to foul out a few Bruins. Lastly, these guys want to rally around Moore and prove that they can win without him. This looks like a good spot for Villanova.
Nova Pick: Villanova-3 (buy hook)
Nova Pick Record:5-5