Resting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Seton Hall Pirates are in the middle of a critical stretch of games that could tip them one way or the other. The three-game home stand includes teams sitting above The Hall in the Big East standings and winning two of the three games is a necessity to improve their tournament chances. The Pirates nabbed the first one, defeating No. 20 Creighton on Wednesday and now get the conference front runner and No. 2 ranked Villanova on Saturday.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, February 18, 2017, at 12:30 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center. The game will be televised live on FOX. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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The Wildcats have bounced back nicely from their upset loss at Marquette on Jan. 24 by winning six straight since. But Nova has struggled at the betting window lately. The Cats defeated DePaul 75-62 on Monday, but failed to cover the 17.5-point spread. And when you’re one of the top teams in the country, the lines will be inflated. Villanova is just 1-7 ATS in its last eight games and both losses this season have come on the road, where they are 7-2 SU and 5-4 ATS.
Seton Hall didn’t help their tournament chances by going through a recent stretch where they lost five of six games. Four of those five losses came on the road and the other was a 61-54 defeat to Butler at The Rock. Things have improved for the Pirates lately with three wins in their last four games, but beating Georgetown and Providence in overtime while losing to St. John’s doesn’t ignite much hope in pulling off the upset of Villanova.
Injury Report
Darryl Reynolds largely goes unnoticed for Villanova while he’s on the court. But when he’s not on the floor, his absence is quite noticeable. Reynolds doesn’t stuff the stat sheet, he has teammates like Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Jalen Brunson to do that. But Reynolds is a solid contributor for the second ranked team in the country. He started the first 25 games of the year, which is saying something for the defending national champions. Reynolds averages 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
But the senior is the guy that does the little things to help Villanova succeed. He’s a relentless defender, constantly hustles and provides the intangibles that make his three well-known teammates able to run the floor. Reynolds sustained a rib injury two games ago and wasn’t needed when Nova crushed DePaul on Monday night. However, the team’s depth will be tested against Seton Hall on the road.
Last Meeting
Seton Hall was embarrassed when they played Villanova in mid-January, putting up their lowest point total this season in a 76-46 loss. There could be a few reasons for that bludgeoning. The Pirates were playing their third straight road game in a span of six days and they exerted plenty of energy in the first two. There was an overtime loss at Marquette to start the trip followed by a close four-point defeat at Providence.
The Pirates were a gassed team at the end of that compacted trip and it showed. They couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a beach ball, shooting just 29 percent from the field and 25 percent from distance. Heck, they even struggled at the stripe making only 7 of 11 free throws. The good news is they’re home for this one. The bad news, and another possible reason for that earlier loss, is that Villanova is a better team.
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Villanova will have a few extra days of rest before battling the Pirates. That’s because the Wildcats opened the week with a Monday victory at DePaul, their sixth straight since a stunning loss at Marquette. And it’s a well deserved break for them after playing two road games in the span of three days. With Reynolds likely out, the seven players who have played all the minutes in the past two games surely could use the extra rest.
Seton Hall will be energized by the home crowd and the memory of that 30-point loss a month ago is likely still fresh. The Pirates have won three of four coming in, but two of those victories were less than inspiring and a loss at St. John’s was a crusher. The Pirates just don’t have the firepower and unless Nova has a major meltdown, there is no way The Hall wins this one.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova 76, Seton Hall 63
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