College Hoops Picks Feb. 7, 2009: Syracuse Orange at Villanova Wildcats

Syracuse Orange (6-4, 18-5) at Villanova Wildcats (6-3, 18-4)

Saturday, Feb. 7—12:00 PM EST

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Preview

Questions currently surround both of these programs—most of them involve how good each team really is.

After starting the season 16-1, Syracuse (6-4, 18-5) has gone 2-4, suffering losses to Georgetown, Pitt, Louisville, and Providence. The Orange are currently tied for sixth in the Big East, but their wins haven't necessarily been over quality teams—five of their six wins have been over teams currently in the bottom six of the Big East (Seton Hall, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, and Notre Dame). They are, however, coming off a 13-point victory over West Virginia.

The college hoops nation was questioning how good Villanva (6-3, 18-4) really was before they beat Pitt. They were yet to take down a ranked team, and their opposition hadn't been the most challenging (they had a very easy non-conference schedule). But the Wildcats silenced critics with their 10-point victory.

Following their win over Pitt, Villanova traveled to Providence and escaped the Friars by three (something the Orange were unable to do a week earlier).

Both teams have excellent players across the board and there are going to be some great individual matchups—Flynn and Reynolds, Onuaku and Cunningham, Fisher and Stokes on Devendorf and Rautins.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Syracuse	18-5	6-4	9-10	23	29	79.7	69.8
Villanova	18-4	6-3	10-7	13	24	74.8	62.7

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG
Syracuse	49.7	40.4	34.8	29.0	63.9	43.4	7.7	17.2	15.5
Villanova	45.2	38.5	35.3	32.3	74.6	41.0	7.7	14.4	13.1

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Prediction

Current Line: Villanova -4.0

To see Ryan's prediction, please head over to CBBPlace.com!

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*