Update: February 5 (Game Results) … With the Cat’s 70-79 loss to Pittsburgh, we congratulate seven VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medals: Jim89 (68-78), jtc123 (69-81) and Scott0220 (69-77), earning 7.5 points each; Silver Medals: Bri’13 (68-77) and TK87 (70-75), earning 4.5 points each; Bronze Medals: Clarkkell (74-80), and Loser Cruiser (71-75) earning 1.5 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 LOSS by picking ‘Nova +8.0 points (LOSS) and the Under (LOSS). The details follow. With the loss, we drop to -$200 for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova +2.0 | ‘Nova +8.0 | ‘Nova +8.0 | Pittsburgh by 9 | LOSS |
| Over | 140.0 | 144.5 | Under | 149 | LOSS |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Scott0220 | 17.5 |
| Clarkkell | 15.5 |
| TK87 | 14.0 |
| jtc123 | 13.0 |
| Bri'13 | 9.5 |
| BZ34 | 9.5 |
| Dom | 9.5 |
| Jim89 | 9.5 |
| schitzengigles10 | 8.5 |
| Bill '62 | 8.0 |
| FruitLoops | 8.0 |
| Loser Cruiser | 7.0 |
| NovaCat94 | 6.5 |
| barry class of 57 | 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 |
| 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: February 5 (Game Time) A total of 45 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 24 (53%) picking the Cats to lose. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova losing by a 2.0 points, 69-71, implying an over/under of 140.0. The Vegas odds makers pick 'Nova to lose by 8.0 points and set the over/under at 144.5 points, implying a final score of 68-76.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: February 2, 9:00 PM … The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Sunday’s game At Pittsburgh (2:00PM , ESPN) in the 15th round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Clarkkell stands alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Special Note: This is the third of our rivalry games; points awarded in this round increase as follows: Bulls-eye = 15 points; Gold (non-bulls-eye) =7.5 pts; Silver = 4.5 pts; Bronze = 1.5 pts.
Villanova (10-12, 3-7) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #72 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 89, a SOS of 4, and score an average of 73.8 PPG while giving up an average of 71.8 PPG.
Pittsburgh (14-9, 3-7) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #70 by Kenpom.com. The Panthers have an RPI of 64, a SOS of 18, and are scoring an average of 71.4 PPG while giving up an average of 66.6 PPG. The table below sets out their Big East wins and losses so far this season.
| Opponent | RPI | AP | H/A | W/L | Pitt | Opponent | |
| Notre Dame | 62 | - | Away | Loss | 59 | 72 | |
| Cincinnati | 98 | - | Home | Loss | 63 | 66 | |
| DePaul | 175 | - | Away | Loss | 81 | 84 | |
| Rutgers | 145 | - | Home | Loss | 39 | 62 | |
| Marquette | 10 | 25 | Away | Loss | 57 | 62 | |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1 | Away | Loss | 63 | 71 | |
| Louisville | 28 | 23 | Home | Loss | 62 | 73 | |
| Providence | 122 | - | Home | Win | 86 | 74 | |
| Georgetown | 13 | 9 | Home | Win | 72 | 60 | |
| West Virginia | 29 | - | Away | Win | 72 | 66 |
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, Panthers 75)