Update: February 7 (Game Results) … With the Cat’s 74-72 victory over Providence, we congratulate seven VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medal: marty1029 (75-71), earning 5.0 points; Silver Medal: bhank (77-71), earning 3.0 points; Bronze Medals: barry class of 57 (72-69), Gorms (78-71), Jim89 (73-68), LouBevi (75-68), and Steph (70-73), 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 picking Providence +8.0 points (WIN) and the Under (WIN). The details follow. With the loss, we are now even for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova -6.0 | ‘Nova -8.0 | ‘Friars +8.0 | Nova by 2 | WIN |
| Over | 152.0 | 154.5 | Under | 146 | WIN |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Scott0220 | 17.5 |
| Clarkkell | 15.5 |
| TK87 | 14.0 |
| jtc123 | 13.0 |
| Jim89 | 10.5 |
| Bri'13 | 9.5 |
| BZ34 | 9.5 |
| Dom | 9.5 |
| schitzengigles10 | 8.5 |
| Bill '62 | 8.0 |
| FruitLoops | 8.0 |
| marty1029 | 8.0 |
| Loser Cruiser | 7.0 |
| NovaCat94 | 6.5 |
| barry class of 57 | 6.0 |
| Kait'08 | 5.0 |
| marc | 5.0 |
| DP5 | 4.5 |
| bhank | 4.0 |
| Bill'77 | 4.0 |
| Steph | 3.5 |
| Stevie V | 3.5 |
| FLM'33 | 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 |
| Jimmy | 2.0 |
| JDW71 | 1.5 |
| JMac726 | 1.5 |
| Johnnyb1 | 1.5 |
| Rick19 | 1.5 |
| stats | 1.5 |
| TimW | 1.5 |
| Ed'77 | 1.0 |
| Gorms | 1.0 |
| LouBevi | 1.0 |
| NovaFlyer | 1.0 |
| StatsManOne | 1.0 |
| Top Gere | 1.0 |
| Two in the Pinkston | 1.0 |
| Jimdribble | 0.5 |
Update: February 7 (Game Time) A total of 45 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 5 (11%) picking the Cats to lose. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a 6.0 points, 79-73, implying an over/under of 152.0. The Vegas odds makers pick ‘Nova to win by 8.0 points and set the over/under at 154.5 points, implying a final score of 81-73.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: February 6, 8:30 PM … The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Tuesday’s game against Providence at the Pavilion (8:00PM, WPHL17) in the 16th round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Scott0220 has retaken the lead and now stands alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Villanova (10-13, 3-8) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #81 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 94, a SOS of 4, and score an average of 73.6 PPG while giving up an average of 72.1 PPG.
Providence (13-11, 2-9) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #117 by Kenpom.com. The Friars have an RPI of 137, a SOS of 104, and are scoring an average of 71.0 PPG while giving up an average of 68.7 PPG. The table below sets out their Big East wins and losses so far this season.
| Opponent | RPI | AP | H/A | W/L | Providence | Opponent | |
| St. John's | 123 | - | Away | Loss | 67 | 91 | |
| Georgetown | 13 | 12 | Away | Loss | 40 | 49 | |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1 | Home | Loss | 73 | 87 | |
| Seton Hall | 31 | - | Home | Loss | 57 | 66 | |
| Louisville | 27 | 14 | Home | Win | 90 | 59 | |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1 | Away | Loss | 55 | 78 | |
| Marquette | 12 | 21 | Home | Loss | 72 | 79 | |
| Pittsburgh | 62 | - | Away | Loss | 74 | 86 | |
| South Florida | 78 | - | Away | Loss | 78 | 81 | |
| Rutgers | 140 | - | Home | Win | 78 | 67 | |
| West Virginia | 24 | - | Home | Loss | 84 | 87 |
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, Friars 75)