Nova Report
The 9-2 Villanova Wildcats are at ‘The Rock’ in Newark, NJ to play the 11-1 Seton Hall Pirates in a Big East Conference opener for Nova. Seton Hall is -1.5/133. Tip is 7:00 pm eastern on Peacock.
Seton Hall‘s only loss was by 2 to USC. They have won at Kansas St, at Providence, Washington State, NC State and Rutgers. They are the #1 team in the country in steals and blocked shots. They play a slow style but are aggressive defensively. They shoot foul shots well but also commit a lot of fouls. They play 8 guys and their point production is spread pretty evenly over 5 players. Three point shooting is below average. They are tough to score on in the paint.
Clark, 10.1 ppg, is the guy that runs the team and is a defensive stalwart. Staton-McCray is their leading scorer at 13.4 ppg. The combination of Hines (6’10”, 7.4 ppg) and Payne (6’9”, 7.8 ppg) combine to be a lethal shot blocking duo. Simpkins is their 50% 3 point shooter (11.8 ppg). Williams (9.4 ppg) and Fisher (7.3 ppg) round out their major contributors.
The Cats are fresh off an OT win over Wisconsin and definitely could use a Big East road win. Defensively, they have been focusing on shutting down a teams leading scorers and backing off the other guys. They can’t do that tonight. They have been better at taking care of the ball lately and will need to do that again vs the Pirates. Seton Hall will let Nova shoot threes and their success may determine the outcome. Nova, like the Pirates, have a multiple of double digit point scorers so defending all of them is a must. Villanova’s Brennan and Hodge will need to hold their own on the glass.
This game sets up as a low scoring contest that might not get decided until the last possession.
Nova Pick: Villanova +2 ( buying 1/2 point)
Nova Pick Record:6-4-1