Update: January 28 (Game Results) … With the Cat’s 78-82 loss to Marquette, we congratulate four VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medal: marc (76-82), earning 5.0 points; Silver Medal: FruitLoops (75-83), earning 3.0 points; Bronze Medals: Ed’77 (80-79), and Jim89 (73-82) 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 SINGLE LOSS by picking ‘Nova +2.5 points (LOSS) and making no bet on the the Over/Under. The details follow. With the loss, we are even for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova +1.0 | ‘Nova +2.5 | ‘Nova +2.5 | Marquette by 4 | LOSS |
| Over | 151.0 | 151.0 | No Bet | 160 | - |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Clarkkell | 14.0 |
| Scott0220 | 10.0 |
| BZ34 | 9.5 |
| Dom | 9.5 |
| TK87 | 9.5 |
| schitzengigles10 | 8.5 |
| Bill '62 | 8.0 |
| FruitLoops | 8.0 |
| NovaCat94 | 6.5 |
| jtc123 | 5.5 |
| Loser Cruiser | 5.5 |
| barry class of 57 | 5.0 |
| Bri'13 | 5.0 |
| Kait'08 | 5.0 |
| marc | 5.0 |
| DP5 | 4.5 |
| Bill'77 | 4.0 |
| Stevie V | 3.5 |
| FLM'33 | 3.0 |
| marty1029 | 3.0 |
| Old School | 3.0 |
| Pretty Toney | 3.0 |
| regred | 3.0 |
| Robertrise | 3.0 |
| Southoftheborder | 3.0 |
| Beardog | 2.5 |
| Bstep011 | 2.5 |
| chuck st.petersburg | 2.5 |
| Nervous Nelly | 2.5 |
| novamsu | 2.5 |
| Steph | 2.5 |
| Jim89 | 2.0 |
| Jimmy | 2.0 |
| JDW71 | 1.5 |
| JMac726 | 1.5 |
| Johnnyb1 | 1.5 |
| Rick19 | 1.5 |
| stats | 1.5 |
| TimW | 1.5 |
| bhank | 1.0 |
| Ed'77 | 1.0 |
| NovaFlyer | 1.0 |
| StatsManOne | 1.0 |
| Top Gere | 1.0 |
| Two in the Pinkston | 1.0 |
| Jimdribble | 0.5 |
Update: January 28 (Game Time) A total of 50VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 30 (650%) picking the Golden Eagles to win. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova losing by a score of 75-76 (a margin of 1.0 point and an implied over/under of 151.0). The Vegas odds makers pick ‘Nova to lose by 2.5 points and set the over/under at 151.0 points, implying a final score of 74-77.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: January 26, 9:00 PM … The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Saturday’s game vs. Marquette at Wells Fargo Center (12 Noon, ESPN2) in the 14th round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Clarkkell stands alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Villanova (10-11, 3-6) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #75 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 77, a SOS of 3, and score an average of 73.6 PPG while giving up an average of 71.3 PPG.
Marquette (17-4, 6-2) is ranked #17 in the AP Poll and #17 by Kenpom.com. The Golden Eagles have an RPI of 9, a SOS of 23, and are scoring an average of 76.3 PPG while giving up an average of 63.7 PPG. The table below sets out their Big East wins and losses so far this season.
| Opponent | RPI | AP | H/A | W/L | Marquette | Opponent |
| Villanova | 77 | - | Home | Win | 81 | 77 |
| Georgetown | 10 | 9 | Away | Loss | 70 | 73 |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1 | Away | Loss | 66 | 73 |
| St. John's | 147 | - | Home | Win | 83 | 64 |
| Pittsburgh | 93 | - | Home | Win | 62 | 57 |
| Louisville | 36 | 14 | Home | Win | 74 | 63 |
| Providence | 131 | - | Away | Win | 79 | 72 |
| South Florida | 70 | - | Home | Win | 67 | 47 |
Be sure to read our game preview tomorrow. 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)