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).