Update: February 20 (Game Results) … With the Cat’s 70-73 loss to UConn, we congratulate seven VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medals: Kait’08 (71-75), earning 5.0 points; Silver Medals: JDW71 (68-75), Dom (71-70), Jim89 (68-75), Ed’77 (72-71), and Gorms (68-71), earning 3.0 points each; Bronze Medals: Jimmy (75-73), earning 1.0 point. 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 WIN by picking ‘Nova +3.0 points (PUSH) and the Over (WIN). The details follow. With the single-loss, we are up $100 for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova +2.0 | ‘Nova +3.0 | ‘Nova +3.0 | UConn by 3 | PUSH |
| Over | 138.0 | 137.5 | Over | 143 | WIN |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Dom | 17.5 |
| Scott0220 | 17.5 |
| Clarkkell | 15.5 |
| TK87 | 15.0 |
| Jim89 | 13.5 |
| FruitLoops | 13.0 |
| jtc123 | 13.0 |
| marty1029 | 11.0 |
| Kait'08 | 10.0 |
| Bri'13 | 9.5 |
| BZ34 | 9.5 |
| Bill'77 | 9.0 |
| schitzengigles10 | 8.5 |
| Bill '62 | 8.0 |
| Loser Cruiser | 7.0 |
| NovaCat94 | 6.5 |
| barry class of 57 | 6.0 |
| Top Gere | 6.0 |
| Colt | 5.0 |
| Gorms | 5.0 |
| marc | 5.0 |
| DP5 | 4.5 |
| JDW71 | 4.5 |
| bhank | 4.0 |
| Ed'77 | 4.0 |
| chuck st.petersburg | 3.5 |
| Steph | 3.5 |
| Stevie V | 3.5 |
| FLM'33 | 3.0 |
| Jimmy | 3.0 |
| Justin | 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 |
| Nervous Nelly | 2.5 |
| novamsu | 2.5 |
| JMac726 | 1.5 |
| Johnnyb1 | 1.5 |
| Rick19 | 1.5 |
| stats | 1.5 |
| TimW | 1.5 |
| LouBevi | 1.0 |
| NovaFlyer | 1.0 |
| StatsManOne | 1.0 |
| TC | 1.0 |
| Two in the Pinkston | 1.0 |
| Jimdribble | 0.5 |
Update: February 20 (Game Time) ... A total of 39 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 18 (46%) picking the Cats to lose. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova losing by a 2.0 points, 68-70, implying an over/under of 138.0. The Vegas odds makers are picking ‘Nova to lose by 3.0 points and set the over/under at 137.5 points, implying a final score of 67-70.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: February 19, 9:30 AM … The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Monday night’s game against Connecticut at Wells Fargo Center (7:00PM, ESPN) in the 19th round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Scott0220 remains alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Villanova (11-15, 4-10) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #89 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 101, a SOS of 4, and score an average of 72.6 PPG while giving up an average of 71.9 PPG.
Connecticut (16-10, 6-8) is unranked by AP but ranked #40 by Kenpom.com. The Huskies have an RPI of 25, a SOS of 1, and are scoring an average of 68.4 PPG while giving up an average of 63.3 PPG. The table below sets out their wins and losses since the beginning of the Big East season.
| Opponent | RPI | AP | H/A | W/L | Connecticut | Opponent | |
| South Florida | 56 | - | Away | Win | 60 | 57 | |
| St. John's | 128 | - | Home | Win | 83 | 69 | |
| Seton Hall | 34 | - | Away | Loss | 63 | 75 | |
| Rutgers | 157 | - | Away | Loss | 60 | 67 | |
| West Virginia | 32 | - | Home | Win | 64 | 57 | |
| Notre Dame | 36 | - | Away | Win | 67 | 53 | |
| Cincinnati | 80 | - | Home | Loss | 67 | 70 | |
| Tennessee (OOC) | 110 | - | Away | Loss | 57 | 60 | |
| Notre Dame | 36 | - | Home | Loss | 48 | 50 | |
| Georgetown | 13 | 14 | Away | Loss | 44 | 58 | |
| Seton Hall | 34 | - | Home | Win | 69 | 46 | |
| Louisville | 20 | - | Away | Loss | 59 | 80 | |
| Syracuse | 1 | 2 | Away | Loss | 67 | 85 | |
| DePaul | 182 | - | Home | Win | 80 | 54 | |
| Marquette | 8 | 12 | Home | Loss | 64 | 79 |
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, Huskies 75)