Miami Hurricanes vs Villanova Wildcats Sweet 16 Betting Preview & Odds
Thursday NCAA Tournament action and we will see the Miami Hurricanes take on the Villanova Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. CBS will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:10 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Villanova listed as 4 point favorites, while the total has been set at 140.
The Miami Hurricanes come in at 27-7 on the year and they made it to this point off a 7 point win over Buffalo and a very impressive 65-57 win over Wichita State, who some thought would make it to the Final Four. The Canes now have their nsights set on Villanova and Jim Larranaga does own a victory over the Cats in the tournament as he beat them back in 2011 when he was HC of George Mason. Miami is now 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games vs non-conference teams and they, but they are also just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs a team with a winning record. The defense really played tough in the win over the Shockers as they held them to just 33.9% shooting overall and 27.3% from long range. That defense has been solid all year for the Canes and it checks in at 53rd in the nation in points allowed, allowing just 66.7 ppg, while also ranking 122nd in defensive FG% overall and 123rd in 3-pt defense. On offense Miami has 7 players that average at least 5.4 ppg and are led by Sheldon McClellan, who averages 16.0 ppg and he had 18 points in the win over Wichita State. Angel Rodriguez is 2nd on the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg and he led the Canes in scoring vs the Shockers with 28 points. Davon Reed (11.2 ppg) and Ja’Quan Newton (10.8 ppg) also average in double figures for the Canes. As a team Miami come into this game ranked 123rd in the nation in scoring, putting up 75.4 ppg, while also ranking 27th in shooting overall, 69th from long range and 23rd at the charity stripe. Miami is 220th in the nation in rebounding, while they commit just 11.0 turnovers per game (30th) and force 11.6 turnovers per game (250th).
The Villanova Wildcats are the number 2 seed here in the south region and they got to this point with an easy 29 point win over NC Asheville by 29 points in the first round and then they topped Iowa by 19 points. They really haven’t been tested yet, but they will in this one, especially since the ACC has not been kind to HC Jay Wright as he is just 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS in his last 6 games with the power conference, which includes a loss to NC State in the 2nd round of this event last year. The favorite is 1-4 ATS the last five in this series, but we also note that the Cats are 5-0 ATS in the tournament off a DD ATS win and 34-16-2 ATS in their last 52 vs non-conference opponents.The Wildcats have 7 players that average at least 6.4 ppg. They are led by Josh Hart, who averages 15.4 ppg, and had 129 vs Iowa, which led the team in the win. Kris Jenkins is 2nd at 13.3 ppg, while Ryan Arcidiacono (12.0 ppg) and Jalen Brunson (10.0 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Daniel Ochefu leads the team in rebounding at 7.8 rpg and chips in with 9.8 ppg. Villanova has been a good offensive team this year as they come in ranked 68th in scoring, putting up 77.5 ppg, while also ranking 32nd in shooting overall, 152nd from long range and 3rd from the free throw line. On defense they have been strong as they rank 15th in points allowed, giving up just 63.3 ppg, while also ranking 32nd in defensive FG% overall, and 104th in 3-point defense. The Wildcats are 193rd in the nation in rebounding, while they commit just 11.1 turnovers per game (44th) and force 13.8 turnovers per game (79th).
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