In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Mountaineers of Mt. St. Mary’s will take on the Wildcats of Villanova on Thursday. This game will be played at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo New York. The Mountaineers are coming off the one point win over New Orleans in the play-in game on Tuesday. They are 20-15 on the season.
The defending national champion Villanova Wildcats come into the tournament as the top overall seed. The Wildcats won 31 times in 34 games this season. Villanova was the regular season champion out of the Big East, and also won the conference tournament. The Wildcats are -24.5 over Mt. St. Mary’s in the college basketball odds.
Mt. St. Mary’s vs Villanova March Madness Betting Pick, Odds & TV Info
When: Thursday, March 16, 2017, 6:10pm ET
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY
TV: CBS Sports
Radio: Mt. St. Mary’s / VillanovaStream Option: March Madness LiveNCAAB Odds: Villanova at -24.5
Why Bet on Villanova?
The Villanova Wildcats, led by Jay Wright are extremely talented. The Wildcats have much of their roster that beat North Carolina in the title game a season ago back. The top scorer for the Wildcats has been guard Josh Hart. Hart is going to be one of the national candidates for player of the year. Hart is scoring 18.9 points per game.
The Wildcats are scoring 77.7 points per game. Defensively, Coach Wright and his team are 17th in the nation, allowing just over 62 points per game. Villanova is in the NCAA Tournament for the 37th time in school history. The Wildcats are seeking their 6th trip to the Final Four. Villanova has won 57 tournament games.
Why Bet on St. Mary’s?
The Mt. St. Mary’s Mountaineers are looking to pull off a big time shocking upset. A 16 seed has never upset a top seed in the tournament. Mt. St. Mary’s finished as one of the lowest scoring teams in all of the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers scored just 68.3 points per game. Defensively, Mt. St. Mary’s allowing just under 69 per game.
On the offensive side, Mt. St. Mary’s was led by Elijah Long. The guard scored more than 15 points per game in the regular season. The Mountaineers were tested in the non conference season, as they took on West Virginia, Iowa State and Minnesota to start the season. Mt. St. Mary’s won just 1 out of their first 12 games this season.
Betting Pick & Score Prediction
The Villanova Wildcats are the defending national champions for a reason. The Wildcats are a crazy talented team, and well coached by Jay Wright. The Wildcats are going to look to get out quick and run away from the underdog. Look for several big plays early from Villanova, as they then put it in cruise control.
The point spread is pretty large, but no problem for the Wildcats. The defending champions know they need to take care of business early, and take care of it often. The final bet for this game on Thursday is the top ranked Villanova Wildcats with ease. Bet on Villanova -24.5 over Mt. St. Mary’s.
