The Georgetown Hoyas’ NCAA Tournament chances went up in smoke with a horrific end to the conference season, and their regular season could wrap in a similarly fruitless fashion. Georgetown must hit the road this week to face off against the fourth-ranked Villanova Wildcats.
Villanova is closing in on a No. 1 seed in March Madness and a victory in this matchup would be another step toward achieving that goal. The Hoyas are on the road and the inferior team so there is no question they will be a significant underdog in this contest.
Villanova has an outside chance at claiming the Big East crown but needs this win and some help from Xavier to pull it off.
Don't miss the hardwood action from the Wells Fargo Center at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 3, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on FOX.
We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NCAA Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Georgetown is 15-13 straight up and 13-14 against the spread. The Hoyas have actually done a really nice job against the spread on the road this season, covering in eight of nine attempts. Georgetown is 9-6 against the spread as the underdog, so this situation is setting up nicely as it tries to at least cover the spread.
Villanova is 25-4 straight up and 18-10-1 against the spread. The Wildcats have covered in eight of their 12 attempts at home this season. Villanova has been the favorite in every game this season and that will remain the case as the regular season concludes.
Key Stat
7. That’s the number of losses in the past nine games for Georgetown, as it has dropped from a possible NCAA Tournament participant to on the outside of the picture. The skid started with four consecutive losses to DePaul, Creighton, Xavier and Providence. Three of those losses came on the road and all of them were by eight points or fewer, so it was a lot of bad luck to not win at least one of them.
Georgetown briefly got back on track with back-to-back wins over Seton Hall and Butler, but that has been forgotten as it is in the midst of another lull.
The Hoyas enter this game on a three-game losing streak. They were defeated by Xavier, Providence and Marquette in succession, and while the games were close, the bad part is they were all at home. Georgetown doesn’t want to end the season on another long losing streak but it seems likely against a team as talented as Villanova.
Last Meeting
The first game between these teams was a laugher as Villanova raced out to a huge lead and cruised to an 88-56 victory. All five Villanova starters scored in double figures in the contest, led by 18 points and seven assists from Jalen Brunson.
Villanova had a 42-20 lead at the half as the contest was never competitive. The Wildcats shot a sparkling 60 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from three-point range. Jessie Govan had 12 points for Georgetown, the only player on the team to register in double figures.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
Georgetown is better than it showed in the first matchup between these teams, but still not in the same stratosphere as Villanova. The Wildcats are determined to finish the regular season on a high note to prepare for what should be a deep March Madness run.
Villanova is the easy choice to win this game, although the substantial spread could be an issue. Check to see where the oddsmakers peg it heading into this matchup.
NCAA Odds: Villanova 83, Georgetown 69
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