Nova Report
The Wildcats (8-7) are on campus to take on #18 Xavier (12-3) at 4:30 eastern time. Nova is -1.5/145.5. Xavier took down then #2 UCONN a week ago and has won 8 straight. They have a solid starting 5 who all score in double figures. They lead the Big East in assists. They also have two tall trees who can wreak havoc on the smaller ‘Cats.
Souley Boum averages 16.9 ppg and is a very talented guard. Freemantle (14 ppg) at 6’9” and Nunge (15 ppg) at 7 feet have caused everyone in the Big East fits. Nunge can hit 3’s believe it or not and Freemantle has been lethal with his sky hook. Add in the athletic Colby Jones (14 ppg) and this is a team who will make noise in March. Their 3 losses have all been close games against Indiana, Duke and Gonzaga. The one team they have struggled against in the past is Villanova. I believe Nova is something like 13-1 vs. Xavier.
The Wildcats are fresh off a beat down of lowly Georgetown on Wednesday. The game was tied at halftime but the Cats D completely shutdown the Hoyas in the 2nd half en route to a 73-57 win. In that game, Jordan Longino went down with a knee injury and will not play today thus putting more strain on Nova’s not so deep bench. Daniels and Dixon continue to lead the Cats both offensively and defensively. Armstrong is getting there offensively as is Whitmore but they are shaky defensively. Slater has been inconsistent. Arcidiacono continues to protect the ball but is a defensive liability. Nova Nation knows the Cats need a marquis win…and this would certainly qualify.
What Will Happen
The Musketeers will take advantage of their size and feed both Nunge and Freemantle as often as they can. Over 50% of their FG’s are via assists so look for a lot of passing of which most will be pushing the ball up court as they like to run. They will definitely push the pace to wear out the Wildcats and test their inexperienced Freshman. They have a solid bench but for some reason they all tend to be turnover prone…but they can score. So expect them to go 9 deep.
They are not the best at defending the 3 but have had a week to work on it.
Over on the Villanova side, they absolutely have to take care of the ball. Their turnovers cost them the Marquette game, maybe the UCONN game and allowed Georgetown to be competitive. Armstrong and Whitmore need to keep attacking the basket. Slater will have to be a defensive stud today vs. Jones. Dixon and Whitmore will need to crash the boards. And, they have to get Hauser open shots from 3.
With a week off, Xavier will be full of energy but sometimes that turns into too strong shots and turnovers. It would be nice to see Nova be ahead after the first 5 minutes. Lastly, for some reason, Xavier has not executed well vs Nova in the past. This is a new year, different teams but there is something there. Add in the fact that Vegas installed Nova as a favorite vs. a ranked club…and, it makes no sense, but it smells like a Nova win.
My Nova Pick: Villanova ml -120
Nova Pick Record:7-8