Update: Game Results: With the Cat’s 84-81 victory over La Salle, we congratulate four VUH readers who took medals in this game. Gold Medal: Joey (85-81), earning 5 points; Silver Medal: TC’87 (89-83), earning 3 points; Bronze Medals: Andy’06 (84-71) and mfc4293 (92-79) earning 1 point each.
LEADER BOARD AFTER 9 ROUNDS
| Reader | Points |
| TC'87 | 10.5 |
| TK87 | 8.5 |
| Joey | 7.5 |
| Pat'12 | 7.5 |
| mfc4293 | 6.0 |
| Steph | 4.5 |
| novafan95 | 4.0 |
| Beardog | 3.0 |
| Dj pizzle | 3.0 |
| miles'88 | 3.0 |
| Colt | 2.5 |
| doctor feelgoodes | 2.5 |
| Hugh Jass | 2.5 |
| Joe | 2.5 |
| Palsgraf | 2.5 |
| Stevie V | 2.5 |
| super nova | 2.5 |
| David '06 | 2.0 |
| cdtoffers | 1.5 |
| CMM | 1.5 |
| DP5 | 1.5 |
| EG'77 | 1.5 |
| Esto | 1.5 |
| FLM'33 | 1.5 |
| Friar Fanatic'13 | 1.5 |
| Mark A | 1.5 |
| mprams | 1.5 |
| Pete (Aliti 13) | 1.5 |
| Andy'06 | 1.0 |
| Chicken Dinner | 1.0 |
| bgunn | 0.5 |
| Brendan '10 | 0.5 |
| Christopher Coggins | 0.5 |
| David | 0.5 |
| FishersTalent13 | 0.5 |
| jimmy | 0.5 |
| Kitlesfan95 | 0.5 |
| mattymo | 0.5 |
| Nervous Nelly | 0.5 |
Update: Sunday, December 12 (Game Time). A total of 84 VUH readers posted predictions, with four favoring La Salle. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning in a defensive battle by a score of 74-66 (a margin of 8.0 points and implied over/under of 140). The Vegas odds makers are picking 'Nova by the same margin of 8.0 points in a slightly higher-scoring affair, with the over/under set at 147, implying a final score of 78-70.
SCATTER PLOT DEPICTING READERS' PREDICTIONS
Window Opening: Friday, December 10 (7:00 am). The window is now open for readers to post their predicted final scores for 'Nova's game at La Salle on Sunday at 2 PM in our Closest to the Pin Contest. After eight rounds TK87 sits alone atop the leader board with 8.5 points. Click here to see our full leader board.
The #12 Cats (7-1) have an RPI of 42, a SOS of 158 and are scoring an average of 75.8 PPG while giving up an average of 58.4 PPG. The Explorers (6-3) are not ranked, have an RPI of 46, a SOS of 58, and score an average of 78.2 PPG while allowing an average of 75.9 PPG. La Salle's notable wins have come against Providence (+9) and Boston University (+3). Their losses include Baylor (-10), Missouri (-12) and Oklahoma State (-5). More statistical information about the Explorers is available at StatSheet.com.
Be sure to check out Brian's game preview.
Special Note: When posting predictions, be sure to consider:
- December – March Games (except Rivalry Games): Points are awarded to winners as follows: Bulls-eye = 10 points; Gold (non-bulls-eye) =5 pts; Silver = 3pts; Bronze = 1pt.
- Rule change: given the extraordinary number of readers participating in the contest, we can no longer fully enforce our rule prohibiting duplicate score predictions. We will only adjust scores that duplicate those of our contest leader (to ensure that there is no piggybacking); scores that duplicate other readers will be accepted.
- Use a consistent handle / ID so that we can keep an accurate running leader board over the course of the season. Obviously, score predictions posted by anonymous readers cannot be accepted.
- List your predicted score for Villanova first, followed by the score for the opponent (e.g., Cats 100, Marist 75)