2011 NCAA Tournament Second Round – East Region
#8 George Mason Patriots vs. #9 Villanova Wildcats, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Friday, March 18, 2011, 2:10 pm Eastern, TV: TNT
Opening Line: George Mason -1
Current Line: Villanova -1
Opening Total: 136
Current Total: 135
Money Line: Villanova -120 / George Mason +100
No team in the NCAA tournament field struggled more down the stretch than the ninth-seeded Villanova Wildcats (21-11). No team was hotter than the eighth-seeded George Mason Patriots before they suffered a 79-63 loss in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Villanova (-1) and George Mason (-1) will square off on Friday in the second round of the Big Dance at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The top-seeded Patriots had the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 straight games prior to falling to the fourth-seeded Rams in surprising fashion. VCU jumped out to a 39-25 halftime lead and cruised from there before going on to lose to #2 Old Dominion 70-65 in the championship game. All three teams from the Colonial ended up making it into the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats have stumbled into the Big Dance as one of a record 11 teams from the Big East Conference, losers of five games in a row and 10 of 15. They have failed to cover the spread in their last nine games along with 12 of 13 after beating the line in their previous seven games.
Villanova was ranked as high as seventh in the country back on January 17 following an 11-game winning streak that propelled the team to a 16-1 start. However, injuries to senior guards Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher caught up with the Wildcats in the second half of the season and helped lead to a shocking 70-69 first-round loss to South Florida in the Big East tournament.
Stokes was limited to 26 minutes in a 77-76 loss at Rutgers due to a turf toe injury and missed the next three games for Villanova, including a 57-54 home loss to Pittsburgh on February 12. When he returned in a 69-64 home loss to Syracuse on February 21, Fisher started showing the ill effects from a knee injury, which severely affected his shooting. After scoring a career-high 34 points in a 77-75 win at DePaul on February 19 when Stokes was out, Fisher totaled 39 in the next four games combined.
The Wildcats had similar issues this time last year, dropping five of seven games before the NCAA tournament, where they bowed out in the second round with a 75-68 loss to St. Mary’s. They needed overtime to beat Robert Morris 73-70 in the first round and failed to cover 10 of their last 13 games to end the year.
George Mason lost 69-68 to Villanova at the beginning of last season, covering the 15-point spread. The Patriots last made it to the Big Dance in 2008, when they lost to Notre Dame 68-50 in the first round. Their previous NCAA tournament appearance before that was the school’s legendary run to the 2006 Final Four, where they lost to eventual national champion Florida.
Now that you have read this NCAA tournament college basketball betting preview featuring George Mason & Villanova, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
