Villanova Wildcats at Pittsburgh Panthers
Petersen Events Center – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sunday, February 5, 2012, 2:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Pitt -8
Current Line: Pitt -8
Opening Total: 144 1/2
Current Total: 144 1/2
Opening Money Line: Pitt -380 / Villanova +310
Current Money Line: Pitt -380 / Villanova +310
At the beginning of the season, if someone said that on Super Bowl Sunday, that Pitt and Villanova would be 3-7 in the Big East and ahead of only DePaul and Providence in the conference standings, you would have probably thought they were insane. Yet, here we are. To say these two perennial contenders haven’t lived up to expectations would be a massive understatement. Villanova is 10-12 this season and Pitt is 14-9. The Wildcats have lost two games in a row including 82-78 at home last Saturday to Marquette. The Panthers have won 3 games in a row after a 7 game losing streak. Pitt beat West Virginia 72-66 Monday night. Villanova leads the series 32-30 against Pittsburgh. The Panthers have won three games in a row against the Wildcats since Villanova beat them in the 2009 East Regional Final to go to the Final Four. Villanova hasn’t won in Pittsburgh since 1996, a streak of 7 games.
Villanova is coached by Jay Wright. The Wildcats have losses to Saint Louis, Santa Clara, Missouri, Temple, St, Joseph’s, West Virginia, Marquette, South Florida, Syracuse, Cincinnati, and Louisville. Villanova has wins over LaSalle, Delaware, UC-Riverside, Penn, DePaul, Seton Hall, and St, John’s.
Pittsburgh is coached by Jamie Dixon. The Panthers have losses to Long Beach St, Wagner, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, DePaul, Rutgers, Marquette, Syracuse, and Louisville. Pitt has wins over LaSalle, Penn, Robert Morris, Duquesne, Tennessee, Oklahoma St, Providence, and Georgetown.
Villanova is outscoring opponents 74-72 this season. The Wildcats are shooting 42.1% from the field, including 30.7% from 3 point range. Villanova makes 75.5% of their free throws. The Wildcats average 40.8 rebounds and have a rebounding margin of +5.9. The Wildcats are seventh in rebounding in the nation. Villanova averages 12.7 assists, 14.4 turnovers, 5.4 steals, and 2.7 blocks a game. Villanova opponents are shooting 41.4% from the field, including 33.8% from 3 point range. The Wildcats force 11.5 turnovers a game.
Villanova guard Maalik Wayns averages 18.4 points, 4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1 steal a game. He leads the team in scoring, assists, and steals. Dominic Cheek averages 12.4 points, and 4.3 rebounds a game. Mouphtaou Yarou averages 11.1 points, 8.8 rebounds to lead the team, and 0.6 blocks a game to lead the team.James Bell, Darrun Hilliard, and JayVaughn Pinkston also contribute to the scoring.
Pitt is outscoring opponents 71-67 this season. The Panthers are shooting 46.2% from the field, including 35% from 3 point range. Pitt makes 68.9% of their free throws. The Panthers average 38.6 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +9.8. Pitt averages 16.1 assists, 13.3 turnovers, 4.6 steals, and 3 blocks a game. Panther opponents are shooting 44.1% from the field including 33.3% from 3 point range. Pitt forces 10.8 turnovers a game.
Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs averages 16.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists a game. He shoots 35% from 3 point range. Nasir Robinson averages 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds to lead the team, and 2.2 assists a game. Travon Woodall averages 12 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 7 assists a game to lead the team. He is shooting 43.4% from 3 point range. Lamar Patterson averages 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals a game to lead the team. Dante Taylor averages 6.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks a game to lead the team. Khem Birch led the team in blocks with 1.9 a game but he transferred to UNLV in December.
Pitt is 8-10 against the spread and the total is 9-9 this season. Villanova is 6-13 ATS and the total is 15-4 this season. Pitt is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 against Villanova, and 6-1 in Pittsburgh. The home team is 11-5 ATS in the series recently. Nine of the last ten games went over. The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in Sunday games, 17-35-1 overall, 4-11 in road games, 6-17 in Big East games, 7-23 after failing to cover, 5-17 after a straight up loss and 5-21 against teams with winning records. The Panthers are 5-1 ATS overall, and in Big East, 4-1 after a cover, 5-2 after a straight up win, 1-4 at home against teams with losing road records, 2-9 at home, and 0-4 in Sunday games.
Pitt has played a lot better since point guard Travon Woodall returned from injury. The hole is too big to climb out of to compete for the conference title but Pitt could be in line for an at large bid to the NCAA tournament. Villanova will struggle to even make the NIT as they are firmly in rebuilding mode. I like the Panthers playing at home.
