Nova Report
The 11-5 Villanova Wildcats march into Madison Square Garden for a 7:00 pm eastern battle with 13-3 St. John’s on CBSSN. The line opened with the Red Storm -8.5/147 over Nova but now is -6.5/145.5.
St John’s has lost its 3 games by a total of just 5 points: by 1 vs Baylor, 1 at Creighton and by 3 vs Georgia. They crushed Virginia by 25 (Villanova lost to UVA) and beat New Mexico. Probably their two best wins. They have been in a shooting slump the last 3 games (11% from 3, 46% from 2) but have made up for it by taking more shots than anyone in the country (73 per game). They rely on speed, shot blocking and steals. RJ Luis (16.6 ppg) and Khadary Richmond (10.9 ppg) are their go to scorers. 6’9” Ejiofor is their best shot blocker. Wilcher and Smith combine for 20 ppg and man the guard spots.
For the Wildcats, they come in off of an emotional, gut wrenching 2 point win over UCONN. Eric Dixon, the nations leading scorer at 25.7 ppg, had just 3 at the half but Poplar, Longino and Brickus picked up the slack. In the second half, bench players Perkins and Parker had some key buckets.
When Nova last played St. John’s, Coach Rick Pitino switched from man to man to a match up zone. Nova’s Coach Kyle Neptune couldn’t solve it and Nova lost 70-50. Should be a better chess match today.
Tonight, the Red Storm will definitely force the pace. Nova will need to get back quickly and go into their switching defenses to avoid fast break baskets. St. John’s will double team Dixon who will need to kick it out fast to avoid turnovers. Nova will need to continue hitting 3’s as the St. John’s defense in the paint is solid. The Wildcats will need both Longino and Poplar to step it up. We’ll see if the Cats can focus after their tough W vs. UCONN. Lastly, the Nova coaches impress on the kids that if they can hold any team under 70 points, they will win.
Going with a 5 point teaser tonight.
Nova Pick: 5 point teaser Villanova +11.5/Under 150.5
Nova Pick Record: 8-8