Cincinnati Bearcats at Villanova Wildcats, The Pavilion, Villanova, PA
Sunday, January 9, 2011, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN3
Opening Line: Villanova -6.5
Current Line: Villanova -5.5
Opening Total: 135
Current Total: 135.5
Money Line: Villanova -250 / Cincinnati +210
The seventh-ranked Villanova Wildcats (13-1, 2-0 Big East) will look to extend their on-campus home winning streak to 45 games and hand the 24th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (15-0, 2-0) their first loss of the season when they meet in a conference showdown on Sunday. The Wildcats (-5.5) have won eight straight games since suffering their only loss of the season to Tennessee on November 26 and look to keep Cincinnati from starting off 16-0 for the first time in 48 years.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 19-0 start during the 1962-63 season but begin a tough stretch of their Big East schedule with visits to Villanova, Syracuse, Notre Dame and St. John’s in four of their next five games. Three of those games will be on the road against Top 25 opponents, which should all be much more difficult than either of their first two league matchups at home against DePaul and Seton Hall. Cincy beat the Blue Demons and Pirates by a combined 33 points.
Like the Bearcats, the Wildcats have not been challenged in either of their first two conference games. Villanova covered both games against South Florida and Rutgers, winning them straight-up by a total of 28 points. The Wildcats are coming off an 83-71 win at South Florida on Thursday behind a game-high 22 points from Corey Stokes, who connected on all five of his attempts from the free-throw line and beyond the 3-point stripe.
Stokes has averaged 22 points in the last four games for Villanova and leads the team with 17.3 points per game. Cincinnati does not have one player that averages 13 points or more, instead relying on a more balanced offense. Dion Dixon averages 12.9 points, which is tops for a Bearcats squad that has seven players scoring at least 6.1 points per game.
Cincinnati’s strength has been defense, holding opponents to 53.8 points per game. The Bearcats have held their last seven opponents to 60 points or less and will get tested here against a Wildcats team that is averaging 80 points in its last six games.
Villanova is 5-1 all-time against the Bearcats and has covered three of the last four meetings, including last year’s 77-73 victory. The UNDER has cashed in the last four games between the teams along with the past four lined games overall for Cincinnati. The OVER is 4-0-1 in the past five lined games overall for the Wildcats.
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