Nova Report
After a one game homestand, the Villanova Wildcats are back on the road. First stop, Wintrust Arena in Chicago to take on the 9-4 De Paul Blue Demons. Tip off is 2:00

m eastern. Nova is -9/137. The opening line was -7.5/135.5.
De Paul has lost 3 straight conference games and has struggled scoring except vs St Johns who came off of an 18 day pause. The Blue Demons have talent. Javon Freeman-Liberty is the real deal averaging 20 ppg, 7.7 boards, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals. David Jones chips in 15.7 ppg and 8.2 boards while 6?11? Nick Ongenda is good for 10.3 ppg, 4.5 boards and 2.6 blocks. They also have size coming off the bench as well. They have issues with consistency on defense as well as turnovers. When playing good defensive clubs like Providence and Butler, their offense couldn?t reach 60 points. BUT, make no mistake, despite the fact that Nova has beaten DePaul in 20 straight games, these guys can play.
As for the Cats, they completely embarrassed Creighton on Wednesday 75-41 after being beat by Creighton in Omaha by 20. The Cats have held their last three Conference foes (of which two were ranked) barely over 50 ppg.
The Nova offense still hasn?t clicked so Coach Wright has them winning with defense.
What Will Happen: Nova will use a post up offense to start with to challenge DePaul?s big guys. Expect fouls to pile up. Once that?s established, look for the Cats to open up the perimeter game. Defensive pressure will be applied to create Blue Demon turnovers. DePaul will run their offense through Freeman-Liberty who will drive to the hoop or pass off to their big men if he detects a mismatch. DePaul?s style is fast paced but Nova will dictate their slow paced style. I just can?t see DePaul staying with the Cats for 40 minutes.
My Pick: Taking the Wildcats-9
My Nova Pick Record:4-9-1