College Hoops Picks, Feb. 1: Cincinnati Bearcats at Villanova Wildcats

Cincinnati Bearcats (4-4, 14-7) at Villanova Wildcats (4-3, 16-4)

Sunday, Feb. 1—Noon EST

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Preview

Both teams are coming off huge upsets and their first victories over Top 25 teams this season. Cincinnati (4-4, 14-7) took down No. 23 Georgetown 65-57 on Wednesday, while Villanova (No. 21 AP, No. 21 Coaches, 4-3, 16-4) upset third ranked Pittsburgh in their last game at the Spectrum.

After failing to take down their first four ranked opponents they faced, Villanova (who has been ranked all season) started hearing speculation about whether they were starting to be NIT-bound. They were firing on all cylinders on Wednesday, and the surprise hero of the game was Reggie Redding, who scored 18 points while only averaging 7.3 this season.

The Wildcats' normal heroes are Dante Cunningham (F, 16.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and Scottie Reynolds (G, 14.5 PPG, 4.2 APG), who were the only other Villanova players to score double-digit points against Pitt.

The offensive weapon for the Bearcats is Deonta Vaughn (G, 15.6 PPG, 4.8 APG), who has been great when Cincinnati has won and has struggled when they have fallen short.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Cincinnati	14-7	4-4	5-8	59	30	70.0	63.7
Villanova	16-4	4-3	8-7	13	22	74.1	61.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG
Cincinnati	42.6	40.4	33.6	33.2	67.6	43.0	6.3	14.8	14.5
Villanova	45.0	39.0	36.3	31.8	74.3	40.6	7.8	14.9	12.7

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Prediction

Current Line: Villanova -12.0

Cincinnati ATS: 5-8, 2-5 when underdog
Villanova ATS: 8-7, 6-5 when favored

Villanova just pulled the upset of their lives, while Cincinnati's win over Georgetown didn't shock the hoops nation (they have been on a huge slide as of late). In the only two times the Bearcats have been the underdog by double-digit points, they have fallen short.

In the Wildcat's four last games they are 4-0 ATS—including one game when they were favored by 14. They have overcome larger spreads than this this season, and I think the guards of Guard-U are going to pick apart Cincinnati, since they have no true point guard right now.

Ryan's Pick: Villanova -12.0

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

*This article is also featured on CBBPlace.com*