The City of Brotherly Love will be rocking on Tuesday night. That’s when the La Salle Explorers will take on the Villanova Wildcats in a battle of Big 5 schools in Philadelphia. Villanova is still riding high after winning the national title last season and haven’t lost yet this year, defeating all challengers but one by double digits. The Wildcats dismantled another Philadelphia foe last week when they defeated St. Joseph’s and this win would set them up for a city title.
This war on the floor will go down Tuesday, December 6, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at The Palestra. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
La Salle is sitting at 4-2 this season having almost knocked off Temple earlier this season. The Explorers have only played three games with lines on them this year and are 1-2 ATS over those affairs.
Villanova has picked up right where it left off after a fantastic campaign last year. The Wildcats are 8-0 SU and 5-3 ATS, but have struggled to cover large spreads. Villanova is just 1-2 ATS when favored by 20 points or more in a game.
Last Year’s Meeting
When these teams met last season, the Wildcats were a 25-point favorite and ended up covering by 4 in a 76-47 win. Villanova played lights out defense throughout the game, holding La Salle to just 32.7 percent shooting from the floor and held Jordan Price to just 16 points on 6 of 17 shooting.
Meanwhile, Villanova knocked down shot after shot, finishing the game by hitting 54.9 percent of its shots from the floor and 46.4 percent of its three-point attempts. Even more impressively, was how well the Wildcats were able to set each other up. There were assists tallied on 24 of Villanova’s 28 shots from the field and their ability to set each other up for open jumpers set the tone for the day.
This time around, the Wildcats won’t have Ryan Arcidiacono, Daniel Ochefu, or Kris Jenkins, but they will have Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Jalen Brunson.
Key Stat
It’s no surprise that Villanova has one of the top offenses in the country thanks to its terrific shooters. The Wildcats rank second in the country in adjusted offense per Ken Pomeroy and are hitting almost 50 percent of their shots from the floor.
That number is very impressive considering the kind of shots they take. Villanova doesn’t pound the ball inside to big men who can boost a team’s shooting percentage, but instead takes a lot of mid-range jump shots and three-pointers.
Close to half the Wildcats’ field goal attempts are from beyond the arc and their ability to sink these on a consistent basis makes them tough to defeat. On the season, Villanova has drained over 40 percent of its three-point attempts and four of its five starters are hitting over 40 percent from distance as well.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
La Salle has only made the tournament once in the past quarter century and is coming off one of the worst seasons in school history. While most of the Atlantic-10 surged last year, La Salle sank and the Explorers managed to go just 9-22 on the year. Long-time coach John Giannini could be forced out with another terrible season and a win against the best team on its schedule would be big.
Barring a dreadful shooting night from Villanova, there’s just no way La Salle has what it takes to win this game and the Explorers will be hard pressed to cover. Look for Villanova to be favored by 20 or more and cover this game with a bit of room to spare.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova 84, La Salle 55
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