Game Results:
Special Note: The initially posting of game winners contained errors. Apologies to those who were impacted!
With the Cat’s 83-72 victory at Syracuse, we congratulate five VU Hoops readers who took medals in this game. Gold Medal: regred (83-74) earning 5 points; Silver Medals: Arctic Cat (80-72) and TC'87 (81-71), earning 3 points each; Bronze Medals: Johnnyb1 (81-75) and Simple'07 (80-74), 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 won $200 by betting 'Nova +2.5 and the Under. The details follow. We’re now +$1,000 for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Result | |
| Point Spread | 'Nova -2.0 | 'Nova +5.5 | 'Nova +5.5 | WIN |
| Total Points | 144.0 | 140.5 | Over | WIN |
Leader Board After 19 Rounds
| Reader | Points |
| Hugh Jass | 13.5 |
| Joe | 13.5 |
| Pat'12 | 13.5 |
| TC'87 | 13.5 |
| regred | 13.0 |
| Joey | 10.5 |
| Nervous Nelly | 10.5 |
| chuck st.petersburg | 10.0 |
| Robertrise | 10.0 |
| TK87 | 9.5 |
| mj | 8.0 |
| Dj pizzle | 7.0 |
| mfc4293 | 7.0 |
| REPRESENT804 | 7.0 |
| Kittlesfan95 | 6.5 |
| BarneyRubble | 6.0 |
| hit the bid | 6.0 |
| Pena Power | 6.0 |
| mattymo | 5.5 |
| Palsgraf | 5.5 |
| Steph | 5.5 |
| Beardog | 5.0 |
| marty1029 | 5.0 |
| Mouph Man | 5.0 |
| novafan95 | 5.0 |
| Old School | 5.0 |
| SeanDon | 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 |
| Arctic Cat | 3.0 |
| Bill '77 | 3.0 |
| CJ | 3.0 |
| Mark Anderson | 3.0 |
| miles'88 | 3.0 |
| Novachamps22 | 3.0 |
| Schitzengigles | 3.0 |
| Simple'07 | 3.0 |
| Tommyboy | 3.0 |
| cdtoffers | 2.5 |
| Colt | 2.5 |
| super nova | 2.5 |
| David '06 | 2.0 |
| DMC | 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 |
| Johnnyb1 | 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 22 (Game Time). A total of 72 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 14 picking the Syracuse to win. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a score of 73-71 (a margin of 2.0 points and implied over/under of 144). The Vegas odds makers are picking Syracuse to win by 5.5 points and set the over/under at 140.5 points, implying a final score of 68-73. KenPom.com’s model also is predicting a Nova loss by 6.0 points by a score of 66-72.
SCATTER PLOT OF PREDICTED SCORES
Window Opening:Wednesday, January 19 (9:00 PM). The window is now open for readers to post their predicted final scores for ‘Nova’s game at Syracuse on Saturday at 12:00 Noon (ESPN) in our Closest to the Pin Contest. After eighteen rounds, we still have a three-way time for first place among Hugh Jass, Joe and Pat ’12, each with 13.5 points. Click here to see our full leader board. In our VUHoops vs. Vegas competition, VUHoops is up $800.
The #7 Cats (16-2, 4-1) had an RPI of 12, a SOS of 48 and are scoring an average of 76.6 PPG while giving up an average of 61.9 PPG. The #3 Orange (18-1, 5-1) have an RPI of 3, a SOS of 22, and score an average of 75.0 PPG while allowing an average of 60.1 PPG. Connecticut’s more notable wins have come against Michigan (+3), Georgia Tech (+4), North Carolina State (+6), Michigan State (+14), Providence (+7), Notre Dame (+12), Seton Hall (+5), St. Johns (+17) and Cincinnati (+15). Their only loss came on Monday against Pitt (-8). More statistical information about Syracuse is available at Statsheet.com.
Be sure to check out Brian’s game preview on Friday.
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