Update: Game Results: With the Cat’s 74-66 victory vs. Maryland, we congratulate ten VU Hoops readers who took medals in this game. Gold Medals: mattymo (72-66) and Old School (74-68), earning 5 points each; Silver Medals: Barney Rubble (76-67), Kait’08 (73-68) and Palsgraf (73-68) earning 3 points each; Bronze Medals: Ed’08 (74-62), Hugh Jass (76-64), Kittlesfan95 (77-65), pttam7yanks (76-68) and cdtoffers (75-69), earning 1 point each. Our updated leader board is provided below.
VUHoops vs. Vegas: Based on the average predicted scores of the VUHoops Crowd and the posted Vegas line, we would have broken-even, winning $100 by betting Villanova to cover the spread and losing $100 by betting the over. The details follow. We’re remain +$600 for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Result | |
| Point Spread | 'Nova -10.0 | 'Nova -5.5 | 'Nova -5.5 | WIN |
| Total Points | 150.0 | 146.5 | Over | LOSE |
LEADER BOARD AFTER 17 ROUNDS
| Reader | Points |
| Hugh Jass | 13.5 |
| Joe | 13.5 |
| Pat'12 | 13.5 |
| Joey | 10.5 |
| Nervous Nelly | 10.5 |
| TC'87 | 10.5 |
| chuck st.petersburg | 10.0 |
| Robertrise | 10.0 |
| TK87 | 9.5 |
| mj | 8.0 |
| regred | 8.0 |
| Dj pizzle | 7.0 |
| mfc4293 | 7.0 |
| Kittlesfan95 | 6.5 |
| BarneyRubble | 6.0 |
| hit the bid | 6.0 |
| Pena Power | 6.0 |
| REPRESENT804 | 6.0 |
| mattymo | 5.5 |
| Palsgraf | 5.5 |
| Steph | 5.5 |
| Beardog | 5.0 |
| marty1029 | 5.0 |
| novafan95 | 5.0 |
| Old School | 5.0 |
| Two in the Pinkston | 5.0 |
| Stevie V | 4.5 |
| Andy'06 | 4.0 |
| Ed'08 | 4.0 |
| Kait'08 | 4.0 |
| doctor feelgoodes | 3.5 |
| Jimmy | 3.5 |
| Bill '77 | 3.0 |
| Mark Anderson | 3.0 |
| miles'88 | 3.0 |
| Novachamps22 | 3.0 |
| Schitzengigles | 3.0 |
| Tommyboy | 3.0 |
| cdtoffers | 2.5 |
| Colt | 2.5 |
| super nova | 2.5 |
| David '06 | 2.0 |
| DMC | 2.0 |
| Simple'07 | 2.0 |
| CMM | 1.5 |
| DP5 | 1.5 |
| EG'77 | 1.5 |
| Esto | 1.5 |
| FLM'33 | 1.5 |
| friartownmayor'13 | 1.5 |
| Mark A | 1.5 |
| mprams | 1.5 |
| Pete (Aliti 13) | 1.5 |
| Chicken Dinner | 1.0 |
| Clarkkell | 1.0 |
| Loser Cruiser | 1.0 |
| Lou '06 | 1.0 |
| Matt | 1.0 |
| pttam7yanks | 1.0 |
| Rich'09 | 1.0 |
| Vinny'06 | 1.0 |
| bgunn | 0.5 |
| Brendan '10 | 0.5 |
| Christopher Coggins | 0.5 |
| David | 0.5 |
| FishersTalent13 | 0.5 |
Update: Saturday, January 15 (Game Time). A total of 70 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with one picking Maryland to win. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a score of 80-70 (a margin of 10.0 points and implied over/under of 150). The Vegas odds makers are picking ‘Nova by 5.5 points and set the over/under at 146.5 points, implying a final score of 76-70. KenPom.com’s model agrees with our friends in Vegas, also predicting a Nova win by a score of 76-72.
Window Opening: Friday, January 14 (7:00 am). The window is now open for readers to post their predicted final scores for ‘Nova’s game vs. Maryland on Saturday at 1:00 PM (Wells Fargo Center, CBS) in our Closest to the Pin Contest. After sixteen rounds, Joe and Pat ’12 are tied for the lead with 13.5 points. Click here to see our full leader board. In our VUHoops vs. Vegas competition, VUHoops is up $600.
Special Note: I will be traveling for the next three days and will post the results of this Closest to the Pin contest on Monday, January 17 before the Connecticut game.
The #7 Cats (15-1, 4-0) have an RPI of 13, a SOS of 68 and are scoring an average of 77.9 PPG while giving up an average of 61.8 PPG. The Terrapins (11-5, 1-2) are not ranked, have an RPI of 76, a SOS of 116, and score an average of 79.2 PPG while allowing an average of 62.2 PPG. Maryland’s more notable wins have come against Penn State (+23) and Wake Forest (+19). Their five losses have close contests against quality teams -- Pitt (-9), Illinois (-4), Temple (-3), BC (-4) and Duke (-7). Villanova and Temple have played one common opponent, Temple, with Nova winning at home (+4) and Maryland losing at home (-3). KenPom.com’s model is picking Nova to win by a score of 73-68. More statistical information about Maryland is available at Statsheet.com.
Be sure to check out Brian’s game preview.
Special Note: When posting predictions, please be sure to:
- List your predicted score for Villanova first, followed by the score for the opponent (e.g., Cats 100, Owls 75)
- All future 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.
- Note the following rule change: given the extraordinary number of readers participating in the contest, we can no longer enforce our rule prohibiting duplicate score predictions.
- 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 guests or anonymous readers cannot be accepted.