Update: December 28 (Game Results) With the Cat’s 77-81 loss to Marquette, we congratulate five VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medals: Clarkkell (75-84) and Kait’08 (75-84), earning 5.0 points each; Silver Medal: Dom (77-75), earning 3.0 points; Bronze Medals: Jimmy (73-78) and Top Gere (72-83) earning 1.0 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 had a DOUBLE-WIN by betting ‘Nova +10.5 (WIN) and the Over (WIN). The details follow. With the double-win, are even for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova +8.0 | ‘Nova +10.5 | ‘Nova +10.5 | Marquette by 4 | WIN |
| Over | 146 | 145.5 | Over | 152 | WIN |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Scott0220 | 10.0 |
| schitzengigles10 | 7.5 |
| Clarkkell | 6.5 |
| Kait'08 | 5.0 |
| TK87 | 5.0 |
| Dom | 4.5 |
| FLM'33 | 3.0 |
| Bstep011 | 2.5 |
| chuck st.petersburg | 2.5 |
| Nervous Nelly | 2.5 |
| novasmu | 2.5 |
| Steph | 2.5 |
| Beardog | 1.5 |
| JDW71 | 1.5 |
| Johnnyb1 | 1.5 |
| NovaCat94 | 1.5 |
| Old School | 1.5 |
| Rick19 | 1.5 |
| stats | 1.5 |
| TimW | 1.5 |
| Jimmy | 1.0 |
| StatsManOne | 1.0 |
| Top Gere | 1.0 |
| Jimdribble | 0.5 |
| jtc123 | 0.5 |
| Stevie V | 0.5 |
Update: January 1 (Game time) A total of 52 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 31 (60%) picking the Golden Eagles to win. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova losing by a score of 69-77 (a margin of 8.0 points and implied over/under of 146). The Vegas odds makers pick Marquette to win by 10.5 and set the over/under at 145.5 points, implying a final score of 68-78.
Window Opening: December 30, 4:00 PM The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Sunday’s game at Marquette (1:00PM ET, ESPN) in the sixth round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Scott0220 stands alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Villanova (7-6, 0-1) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #61 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 80, a SOS of 26, and score an average of 72.5 PPG (10th in the Big East) while giving up an average of 67.3 (10th in the Big East).
Marquette (11-2, 0-0) is ranked #14 in the AP Poll and #17 by Kenpom.com. The Golden Eagles have an RPI of 22, a SOS of 56, and are scoring an average of 78.5 PPG (2nd in the Big East) while giving up an average of 62.5 PPG (2nd in the Big East). Marquette had its second loss of the season Thursday, at home, to a very good Vanderbilt team. The table below sets out their wins and losses so far this season.
| Opponent | RPI | AP | Home/Away | Marquette | Opponent |
| WINS | |||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 304 | - | Home | 91 | 37 |
| Norfolk State | 39 | - | Home | 99 | 68 |
| Winthrop | 239 | - | Home | 95 | 73 |
| Ole Miss | 44 | - | Home | 96 | 66 |
| Norfolk State | 39 | - | Home | 59 | 57 |
| Jacksonville | 306 | - | Home | 88 | 56 |
| Wisconsin | 19 | 9 | Away | 61 | 54 |
| Washington | 104 | - | Home | 79 | 77 |
| Wisconsin Green Bay | 97 | - | Home | 79 | 61 |
| Northern Colorado | 118 | - | Home | 93 | 72 |
| Wisconsin Milwaukee | 74 | - | Home | 64 | 50 |
| LOSSES | |||||
| LSU | 72 | - | Away | 59 | 67 |
| Vanderbilt | 25 | - | Home | 57 | 74 |
Be sure to read our game preview tomorrow. We’ll post the Las Vegas spread / over-under when it’s posted. Good luck!
Special Note: When posting predictions, be sure to:
- 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, Golden Eagles 75)