Update:March 1 (Game Results) … With the Cat’s 77-71 win over Rutgers, we congratulate four VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medal - Bulls-Eye: bhank (77-71), earning 10.0 points; Silver Medal: Two in the Pinkston (75-70), earning 3.0 points; Bronze Medals: Hardcore fan (77-67), and Jim89 (75-69) 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 PUSH by picking ‘Nova +3.5 points (WIN) and the Under (LOSS). The details follow. With the PUSH, we remain down $100 for the season.
| VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
| Spread | ‘Nova -1.0 | ‘Nova +3.5 | ‘Nova +3.5 | ‘Nova by 6 | WIN |
| Over | 135.0 | 138.0 | Under | 148 | LOSS |
Leader Board
| Reader | Points |
| Dom | 17.5 |
| Scott0220 | 17.5 |
| Clarkkell | 15.5 |
| TK87 | 15.0 |
| Jim89 | 14.5 |
| bhank | 14.0 |
| 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 |
| Bogg357 | 7.5 |
| 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 |
| wildcat07 | 4.5 |
| Beardog | 4.0 |
| Ed'77 | 4.0 |
| Two in the Pinkston | 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 |
| 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 |
| Hardcore fan | 1.0 |
| LouBevi | 1.0 |
| NovaFlyer | 1.0 |
| StatsManOne | 1.0 |
| TC | 1.0 |
| Jimdribble | 0.5 |
Update March 1 (Game Time) … A total of 37 VUHoops readers posted predictions, with 17 (32%) picking the Cats to lose. As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a 1.0 points, 68-67, implying an over/under of 135.0. The Vegas odds makers are picking ‘Nova to lose by 3.5 points and set the over/under at 138.0 points, implying a final score of 68-71.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: February 28, 5:00 PM … The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Thursday’s game against Rutgers in Piscataway (9:00PM, ESPN2) in the 21st and penultimate round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Dom and Scott0220 continue to share first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Special Note: I will be traveling this week with limited access to the internet. I will do my best to post the game results for this and the final game against Cincinnati while I am away, but please be patient.
Villanova (11-17, 4-12) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #94 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have a RPI of 110, a SOS of 4, and score an average of 71.6 PPG while giving up an average of 71.8 PPG.
Rutgers (13-16, 5-11) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #95 by Kenpom.com. The Scarlet Knights have an RPI of 137, a SOS of 42, and are scoring an average of 66.0 PPG while giving up an average of 65.6 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 | Rutgers | Opponent | |
| South Florida | 47 | - | Away | Loss | 65 | 67 | |
| West Virginia | 45 | - | Home | Loss | 64 | 85 | |
| Connecticut | 26 | - | Home | Win | 67 | 60 | |
| Pittsburgh | 86 | - | Away | Win | 62 | 39 | |
| West Virginia | 45 | - | Away | Loss | 60 | 84 | |
| Notre Dame | 39 | 20 | Home | Win | 65 | 58 | |
| Georgetown | 11 | 9 | Away | Loss | 50 | 52 | |
| DePaul | 199 | - | Home | Loss | 64 | 69 | |
| Cincinnati | 72 | - | Home | Win | 61 | 54 | |
| Providence | 155 | - | Away | Loss | 67 | 78 | |
| Louisville | 21 | 17 | Away | Loss | 66 | 78 | |
| Seton Hall | 44 | - | Home | Loss | 54 | 59 | |
| Notre Dame | 39 | 20 | Away | Loss | 53 | 71 | |
| Syracuse | 1 | 2 | Home | Loss | 64 | 74 | |
| Marquette | 8 | 10 | Away | Loss | 65 | 82 | |
| Seton Hall | 44 | - | Away | Win | 77 | 72 |
Be sure to read our game preview as well. 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, Scarlet Knights 75)