RESULTS: With the Cats convincing win over Xavier, 88 – 75, we congratulate seven VUHoops readers who earned points in this round.
- NovaDave (Nova 88, Xavier 73) awarded 3 points
- Nova09nyc (Nova 83, Xavier 75) awarded 2 points
- WreckinCrew56-55-53-58 (Nova 85, Xavier 77) awarded 2 points
- Marty1029 (Nova 85, Xavier 78) awarded 1 points
- NovaEngineer (Nova 82, Xavier 75) awarded 1 point
- nynovascott (Nova 84, Xavier 77) awarded 1 point
- Ramon Usategui (Nova 88, Xavier 81) awarded 1 point
The updated leader board after five rounds is provided below.
Player | Points |
Noah Thacker | 5 |
NovaDave | 4 |
NovaKG | 4 |
youngBUCK | 4 |
drpainosaurus | 3 |
John-Knee V | 3 |
SMOKIN JAY WRIGHT | 3 |
Terchmil | 3 |
Johnny Burke | 2 |
jpbfrog | 2 |
kevin.pulsifer | 2 |
nationer15 | 2 |
nova09nyc | 2 |
NovaEngineer | 2 |
speedracer33 | 2 |
Sweetness and Light | 2 |
villadelphiapa | 2 |
willyannan | 2 |
WreckinCrew56-55-53-58 | 2 |
Zxcvbnmmnbvcxz | 2 |
Eberz for 3! | 1 |
Kantcant | 1 |
marty1029 | 1 |
nynovascott | 1 |
Philanova | 1 |
Ramon Usategui | 1 |
ryanschock24 | 1 |
StephDon | 1 |
villanovakevin14 | 1 |
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 betting NOVA giving 9.5 points (WIN) and betting the OVER (WIN). After six rounds, we would be even money.
UPDATE (January 14, 9:00 PM) ... Recapped below is the way the VUHoops Crowd see this one so far:
# Reader Predictions: 55
% Picking Cats to Win: 100%
$ Raised for Nova Men’s Basketball (this game): $137.50
$ Raised for Nova Men’s Basketball (cumulative): $430.00
Wisdom of VUHoops' Crowd Prediction:
o Spread: Villanova -13.0
o Over/Under: 147.0
o Final Score: Nova 80 - Xavier 67
Vegas Odds Makers' Prediction:
o Spread: Villanova: -9.5
o Over/Under: 143.5
o Final Score: Nova 77- Xavier 67
SCATTER PLOT OF PREDICTED SCORES
Window Opening (January 14, 10:00 AM): The window is now open for you to post your predicted final score for Wednesday's game vs. Xavier, the only team that beat Villanova so far this season. The official contest rules are posted HERE.
After five rounds, Noah Thacker is in the lead with five points. The full Leader Board is posted HERE.
Don't forget that you support Villanova Men's Basketball by playing Closest to the Pin. A contribution of $2.50 will be made to Villanova Men's Basketball and Nova Dave’s Wawa Arena at Villanova for each score posted over the final nine conference home games up to a maximum of $5,000. We raised only $292 so far. Let’s try to up the ante by raising $250 in this round by getting 100 readers to post predictions!
The table below provides a head-to-head comparison of the two teams.
'Nova | Xavier | |
---|---|---|
Record | 15-1 (3-1) | 11-5 (2-2) |
AP Ranking | #8 | NR |
RPI | #5 | #34 |
SOS | #19 | #25 |
Avg. Points Scored | 77.1 | 79 |
Avg. Points Allowed | 60.5 | 67.6 |
Villanova's best win this season was over VCU (AP #20; RPI #4), while the Cat’s only loss was at Seton Hall (AP #19; RPI #12). Xavier’s best win was vs. Seton Hall, while their worst loss came at DePaul (RPI #174).
Enter your predicted final score in the comments section in the format: NOVA xx, Xavier yy. Good luck!