College Hoops Picks: Villanova Wildcats at South Florida Bulls

Preview

The Villanova Wildcats (No. 20 AP, No. 21 Coaches, 2-3, 14-4) have had a very bubble-like season so far. After a light non-conference schedule, Nova has gone 2-3 in conference play and is yet to defeat a Top 25 team (they have faced four of them—Texas, Marquette, Louisville, and Connecticut). They are shooting very well from the floor, though, and also from beyond the arc. They connect on just over three-quarters of their free throws, yet against Louisville they missed 11.

South Florida (2-4, 7-11) has had a completely different season. After entering conference play as the only Big East team with a losing record overall, they have managed to have two others join them. Their two wins have come over DePaul, with their first victory sending the Blue Demons below .500.

No has expected anything of the Bulls this season, though, so it comes as no surprise that they have a winning record against the spread. They have managed to keep it close during most of their conference play losses (they only lost by five to Syracuse, 13 to Pitt, and three to West Virginia), so their conference play ATS is actually 5-1.

Stats

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Villanova	14-4	2-3	6-7	30	34	74.7	62.2
South Florida	7-11	2-4	11-6	156	43	62.5	63.7

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG
Villanova	45.1	39.1	36.3	32.3	75.7	40.4	7.8	14.8
South Florida	41.2	41.1	31.8	30.3	60.2	64.5	5.7	12.2

Prediction

Current Line: Villanova -5.5

Villanova ATS: 6-7, 5-5 when favored
South Florida ATS: 11-6, 7-2 when underdog

As I said above, no one has expected much of South Florida this season, so it should come as no surprise that they have such a good ATS record. When they have been the underdog, they have seen spreads north of 20 points—not overly difficult to overcome.

The Wildcats have had some relatively close games during conference play, but they have been against better teams than the Bulls. South Florida is, by far, the easiest conference opponent they have faced this season. If they want to avoid being stuck on the bubble again this year, they need to start stepping up their Big East play. A big victory over South Florida would hopefully energize them for when they host Pitt on Wednesday.

Pick: Villanova -5.5

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

*This article is also featured on CFBPlace.com—and soon to be featured on CBBPlace.com*