American University at Villanova Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Tuesday,December 20, 2016 8:16, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Can you say mismatch? Little American University has the daunting challenge of visiting defending national champion and top-ranked Villanova on Wednesday night in college basketball action. It’s the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Wildcats as they open Big East play next week. Needless to say, the Cats are huge favorites on college basketball odds vs. American.

American University at Villanova Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

#AUMBB Postgame highlights from Monday’s 61-58 win over @ESHawksHoops. Sa’eed Nelson led the Eagles with 16 points. pic.twitter.com/ah6jrocjQN

— AU Men’s Basketball (@AU_MBasketball) December 20, 2016

When: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6:30 PM ET
Where: The Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: American University / Villanova
Opening NCAA Basketball Lines: TBA

Why Bet On American?

The Eagles (3-7) are from the Patriot League and they are just cashing a check here to take a beating. They have played one other ranked team this year and did pretty well, losing at then-No. 25 Maryland 62-56 in the season opener. American led 47-43 with 7:34 remaining before Maryland finally played to form. Mark Gasperini scored 14 points for the Eagles, who finished 12-19 last season and are picked to finish in the middle of the Patriot League.

American comes off a 61-58 win over Maryland-East Shore on Monday. Sa’eed Nelson had 16 points and four steals, and Gasperini added 12 points. The Hawks used a five-point run to take a 55-53 lead with 3:23 left. It was their first lead since the opening three minutes of the game. Nelson converted a steal and a layup to tie the game with 2:34 left and Delante Jones scored on a layup with 1:40 to play to put AU back ahead.

Following an MDES miss, Jones hit a pair of free throws and Charlie Jones went 1-for- 2 at the line with 13 seconds left for a five-point lead. Bakari Copeland buried a 3-pointer with two seconds left and Nelson hit one of two at the line with 1.5 seconds to play. A desperation shot from three-quarter court fell short and the Eagles preserved the win. American’s largest lead of the first half was 24-11 with 7:05 to play, but the Hawks pulled within 29-25 by halftime. AU led by as many as eight (45-37) in the second half before the visitors rallied.

This will be the second game in AU’s history against a No. 1 team. On Dec. 12, 1984, the Eagles took on D.C. foe Georgetown in front of 5,112 fans at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The Hoyas came away with the win, 86-64. Wednesday’s clash with the Wildcats will be the first-ever time AU will face the defending champion that is the top-ranked team heading into the game.

American is 2-59 all-time against top 25 opponents in its history. The two wins come against No.5 Georgetown (W, 62-61) on Dec. 15, 1982, and No. 17 La Salle (W, 68-62) on Feb. 24, 1971. The last time American faced two nationally ranked squads in the regular season was the 2012-13 campaign when they took on No. 15 Georgetown (L, 65-48) on Dec. 22 and No. 6 Kansas (L, 89-57). AU is 1-46 on the road against top teams, 1-6 at home and 0-6 at neutral site events.

Why Bet On Villanova?

The Wildcats (11-0) beat Temple 78-57 last Tuesday to stay unbeaten and for their 17th straight win dating to last season’s NCAA championship run. The Wildcats lead was at 20-16 with 2:51 remaining in the first period. The Wildcats closed the half on a 9-0 run and would use an 18-2 surge in the second half to secure the win. Seniors Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds were part of teams that compiled a 16-0 record. Every one of those victories was by a double digit margin.

After scoring just two points in the game’s first 19 minutes, Hart scored six points in the final 51 seconds of the first half. He then followed that with a brilliant second half, contributing 18 points to finish with a game high 26 points. He also added three assists and three steals without committing a turnover in 34 minutes of action. Joining Hart in double figures were Jalen Brunson (13 points, six assists), Jenkins (12 points, six rebounds) and Eric Paschall (12 points, six rebounds).

The Wildcats romped to their 18th straight Big 5 victory, and finished 4-0 this season against the Owls, Saint Joseph’s, Penn and La Salle. The Wildcats fattened their season record against Philly teams and haven’t lost any game since they fell to Seton Hall in the Big East championship game.

Paschall sat out last year after transferring from Fordham, where he won A-10 Rookie of the Year honors. While he stands at 6-foot- 6), the athletically gifted Paschall has a wide 6-foot- 10 wingspan and the frame of a linebacker (he’s listed at 250 pounds). So far, Paschall has played as the only big man on the floor for approximately 26.5 percent of Villanova’s possessions, and that lineup has been destroying opponents to the tune of +42 points per 100 possessions, while all other configurations are” netting +21 points per 100 possessions during the same games.