Nova Report
Nova (12-4) vs Butler (9-6) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly at high noon eastern. Line is Nova-14.5/125.
The Wildcats are finally home! Out of 16 games thus far, 11 have been away from home. For Butler, it?s their second straight road game with their last being a 72-58 win over short handed Georgetown.
Amazingly, Butler uncharacteristically pushed the pace for awhile in the Georgetown game and was successful. I don?t expect that today. They have a pretty balanced scoring attack between Golden, Bolden, Harris and Thompson. They play great defense but are offensively challenged. Their strategy will be interesting as they know Nova will start two players with injuries.
Yes, Samuels (hip) and Slater (ankle) played hurt vs Xavier on Wednesday and were not as effective as usual. Coach Wright may split their time with Antoine and Longino today. Thus, the Cats will continue to rely heavily on Gillespie, Moore and Dixon. My guess is they will continue their post up offense and aggressive defense as it has worked well over the past three weeks.
This is a tough one to handicap. Ordinarily, Nova should cover the number but with two starters hurt?? As far as the total, noon game, two defensive minded clubs?under for sure but Nova is due for a breakout shooting game.
What will happen: this should be a workmanlike win for the Cats. Butler will give it their all but they just don?t have the talent (though they did beat Oklahoma in Norman).
My play: 5 point teaser with Nova-9.5/Over 120
Nova Pick Record: 6-9-1