Villanova Wildcats at Providence Friars, Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, RI
Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN3
Opening Line: Villanova -6
Current Line: Villanova -6
Opening Total: 154
Current Total: 156
Money Line: Villanova -250 / Providence +210
The eighth-ranked Villanova Wildcats (17-2, 5-1 Big East) will try to beat the Providence Friars (12-8, 1-6) for the ninth straight time on Wednesday as they conclude a three-game road trip. The Wildcats (-6) have split the first two games of their road trip with a loss at #5 Connecticut (61-59) last Monday that preceded a big victory at #9 Syracuse (83-72) on Saturday.
One could argue that Providence is coming off an equally large win on Saturday against Louisville (72-67), snapping the team’s 16-game losing streak in conference play. Improved defense helped the Priors top the Cardinals, as they had given up an average of 84 points in their previous four games. The key to this meeting with Villanova will be whether or not they can continue to play at that level against a Wildcats team that has scored more than 80 points in four of their six league games so far.
Villanova used hot 3-point shooting early on against the Syracuse 2-3 zone to bury the Orange, making eight shots from behind the arc en route to a 40-29 halftime lead. The Wildcats got a monster 53-point performance from their three-guard combo of Maalik Wayns, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes with the trio going 10-of-22 on 3-point attempts and 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. Wayns scored 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half.
Providence has scored 72 points or more in four of its last five games but had given up 79 or more in four straight before slowing down Louisville. The Friars limited the Cardinals to 44.6 percent shooting from the field but were especially effective limiting the 3-point shot, with Louisville making only 4 of 23 (17.4 percent).
Senior Marshon Brooks continued his scoring barrage for Providence with a game-high 27 points, the fourth time in five games he has reached or surpassed that mark. Brooks helped his team overcome being outrebounded for the seventh straight game, and he scored only five points in last year’s meeting with Villanova.
The Friars have not had much success stopping the Wildcats in losing the last eight meetings in the series, surrendering an average of nearly 85 points per game. The OVER is 6-2 in those games. Those numbers are even higher in the last three meetings, as Villanova has scored 92 or more each time. The total surprisingly went UNDER in last year’s 92-81 win for the Wildcats.
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