College Basketball Pick: #1 Villanova Wildcats at Georgetown Hoyas
Villanova and Georgetown Fight It Out Tonight
The #1 Villanova Wildcats (16-1 Overall, 4-1 Big East) play the unranked Georgetown Hoyas (12-5 Overall, 2-4 Big East) at 6:30 p.m. E.T. tonight, Jan. 17. The Wildcats are tops in the Big East, while the Hoyas are in eighth place and 2.5 games in back of the Cats. Our Villanova plays Georgetown 2018 NCAA basketball Big East pick has the Wildcats at -12.5 or -13.0 and the over/under at either 158.5 or 159.0.
Recent History
The Wildcats are 4-1 for their last five and have just one loss thus far this season. That loss was to the Butler Bulldogs on Dec. 30 by a score of 101-93. Since then, they have beaten Marquette, Xavier, and St. John’s. The Hoyas are 2-3 for their past five, losing to Marquette, Creighton, and Seton Hall and beating DePaul and St. John’s.
Matchup
The Wildcats are averaging 88.3 PPG, but as of late, they have been struggling to score, averaging 84 PPG over their last two games. Their shooting percentage is at 52.1, and they are hitting 41.4% of their threes while tonight’s opponents are putting in 45.7% and knocking in 34.4% of their shots from downtown. The Cats have five players who are averaging double-digits, while the Hoyas put three on the court. Free throws could be a problem for Villanova, as their success rate is a good three percentage points below that of Georgetown and the Hoyas are putting in four more points per game from the foul line than the Wildcats.
Players to Watch
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson, a junior, is lights out as a shooter, hitting 56% of his shots and 48% of his threes, and also a sound playmaker. Junior guard Mikal Bridges and freshman forward Omari Spellman are both on target when it comes to field goals and fine rebounders. For Georgetown, junior center Jessie Govan leads the team with 17.6 PPG and 11.4 RPG. He’s good on 51.9% of his field goals. Junior forward Marcus Derrickson and junior guard Kaleb Johnson are hitting 54% and 57% of their shots respectively.
Our Villanova Plays Georgetown 2018 NCAA Basketball Big East Pick
The Wildcats certainly have more firepower than their opponents, while both bring sound defenses to the court. Despite Villanova’s lack of scoring as of late, we think they will pick it up tonight. We like the Cats at -12.5 and the over at 158.5.
Summary Wildcats at Hoyas Picks- Villanova at -8.5 and over 158.5
