Expert Pick: Villanova Wildcats vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
[ad#bodog-250]In a huge Big East tilt, Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats will take on Jamie Dixon and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Both teams come into the game ranked within the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll. The Wildcats are currently #10, while the Panthers are #4. Villanova comes in with a 19-5 overall record, and 7-4 in the Big East. The Wildcats are tied with Louisville for fourth place in the toughest conference in the country. Pittsburgh is 22-2, and 10-1 in Big East play. The Panthers hold a 1.5 game lead on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. These two teams have yet to play this season, but will play again in Pittsburgh on the final day of the regular season. These two teams have the chance to meet in the Big East tournament later in March as well.
The road team, Pittsburgh Panthers have won three straight games since their last loss on January 24th. That loss came to Notre Dame. Their other loss this season came to the Tennessee Volunteers. Pittsburgh is led by Brandon Wannamaker and Ashton Gibbs, who are combining for over 30 points per game. The Panthers rank 5th in the country in rebounding, with nearly 42 per game. They have also been very unselfish, as they are the 2nd ranked team in assists, averaging 18.4 per game. Pittsburgh, in March will be making their 23rd NCAA tournament appearence. The Panthers also have 22 tournament wins in school history, with one trip to the Final Four.
Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher lead the Wildcats. The two guards are scoring 30.6 points per game. Villanova took a controversial loss at Rutgers on February 9th to fall to fourth place in the conference. Before that, Villanova had won two in a row, against Marquette and West Virginia. The Wildcats are scoring 75.5 points per game, which ranks 45th in the nation. Villanova has made 31 tournament appearences, with 4 trips to the Final Four. The Wildcats won the national title in 1985. They hold a 49-31 tournament record.
This game should be another rough and tough Big East game. Anytime these two teams get together, it’s a barn burner. The home team has a little bit of an advantage due to their home crowd. The Wildcats have shot the ball pretty well at home, and struggled a bit on the road. Case in point for that was their loss at Rutgers on Wednesday night. Villanova comes in -3.5 at home. Pittsburgh will give their best effort, as they always do under Dixon. Look for the guard play of Villanova to eventually be too much. Wildcats win by 4.
Our Pick: Villanova Wildcats -3.5. Bet the Wildcats here.
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