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Closest to the Pin Round 25: Pittsburgh (Rivalry Game Bonus Points)

Update: Saturday, February 12 (Game Results). With the Cat’s 54-57 loss vs. Pittsburgh, we congratulate four VU Hoops readers who took medals in this game. Gold Medal: Hugh Jass (58-56), earning 7.5 points; Silver Medals: hit the bid (65-61) and regred (66-60) earning 4.5 points each; Bronze Medal: Chicken Dinner (68-60), earning 1.5 points. 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 lost $200 by betting ‘Nova -3.0 (loss) and the Over (loss). The details follow. With the double loss, we drop to +$800 for the season.

VU Hoops Vegas Bet Actual Result
Spread 'Nova -4.0 'Nova -3.0 'Nova -3.0 Pitt by 3 LOSS
Total 142.0 139.0 OVER 111 LOSS

Leader Board After 25 Rounds

Reader Points
BarneyRubble 21.0
Hugh Jass 21.0
regred 17.5
Beardog 15.5
Pat'12 15.0
chuck st.petersburg 14.5
Joe 14.5
TC'87 13.5
novafan95 12.5
Robertrise 11.0
hit the bid 10.5
Joey 10.5
Mouph Man 10.5
Nervous Nelly 10.5
NovaFlyer 10.0
Palsgraf 10.0
TK87 9.5
mj 9.0
Two in the Pinkston 8.0
Chicken Dinner 7.5
NovaCat94 7.5
Dj pizzle 7.0
mfc4293 7.0
Pena Power 7.0
REPRESENT804 7.0
DP5 6.5
friartownmayor 6.5
Kittlesfan95 6.5
Steph 6.5
mattymo 5.5
Clarkkell 5.0
honey badger 5.0
Kait'08 5.0
marty1029 5.0
Old School 5.0
SeanDon 5.0
gaparch 4.5
Stevie V 4.5
Andy'06 4.0
Colt 4.0
dom 4.0
Ed'08 4.0
doctor feelgoodes 3.5
Jimmy 3.5
Arctic Cat 3.0
Bill '77 3.0
CJ 3.0
Ed'77 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
super nova 2.5
David '06 2.0
DMC 2.0
Lou '06 2.0
pttam7yanks 2.0
Bri'13 1.5
CMM 1.5
EG'77 1.5
Esto 1.5
FLM'33 1.5
Mark A 1.5
mprams 1.5
Pete (Aliti 13) 1.5
Johnnyb1 1.0
Loser Cruiser 1.0
MarkA 1.0
Matt 1.0
Muhley 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, February 12 (Game Time). A total of 62 VUHoops readers posted predictions, six picking the Panthers to win. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a score of 73-69 (a margin of 4.0 points and implied over/under of 142). The Vegas odds makers are picking ‘Nova to win by 3.0 points and set the over/under at 139.0 points, implying a final score of 71-68. KenPom.com’s model is predicting Nova to win by 2.0 points by a score of 71-69.

Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores

Window Opening: Thursday, February 10 (6:00 PM). The window is now open for readers to post their predicted final scores for ‘Nova’s game vs. Pittsburgh in the Pavilion on Saturday at 9 PM in our Closest to the Pin Contest. After twenty-four rounds, Barney Rubble remains in the lead with 21.0 points. Click here to see our updated leader board. In our VUHoops vs. Vegas competition, VUHoops is up $1,000.

Note: This is the third of four Rivalry Games, and your chance to put Barney Rubble into the rear view mirror. Points increased as follows: Bulls-eye = 15 points; Gold (non-bulls-eye) =7.5 pts; Silver = 4.5 pts; Bronze = 1.5 pts.

The #9 Cats (19-5, 7-4) have an RPI of 16, a SOS of 29, and are scoring an average of 75.5 PPG while giving up an average of 64.0 PPG. The #4 Panthers (22-2, 10-1) have an RPI of 6, a SOS of 20, and are scoring an average of 77.4 PPG while giving up an average of 61.9 PPG.

Pittsburgh’s ten Big East wins have come against Connecticut (+15), Providence (+4), Marquette (+8), Georgetown (+15), Seton Hall (+21), Syracuse (+8), DePaul (+30), Rutgers (+3), Cincinnati (+12) and West Virginia (+5). Their single Big East loss came against Notre Dame (-5). More statistical information about Pittsburgh is available at Statsheet.com.

Be sure to read Brian’s game preview

Special Note: When posting scores, please remember to list your predicted score for Villanova first, followed by the opponent’s score (e.g., ‘Nova 70 – Pittsburgh 65).