La Salle vs. Villanova Pick
Can No. 4 Villanova avoid the upset bug that’s going around when it meets up with La Salle today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Villanova is favored today, as the Wildcats are getting odds of -21.5 points against La Salle. The over/under total for the game is listed at 141 points. Today’s game takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will air live on FS1.
Villanova is off to a 9-0 start to the season and could potentially move into No. 1 in the AP rankings next week with a win due to the upsets that have occurred over the last week. The Wildcats are 7-2 against the spread, covering in their last five games. Nova is scoring 86.6 points per game on offense while giving up 62.8 points per contest. Mikal Bridges is leading the team with 19 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while Jalen Brunson is adding 17.2 points and 4.6 assists per contest.
La Salle is coming off a 72-70 loss to Drexel earlier this week to fall to 5-5 on the season. The Explorers are only 3-7 against the spread, failing to cover in three straight. La Salle is averaging 67.3 points per game on offense while allowing 68.1 points per game on defense. B.J. Johnson is leading La Salle with 21.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while Pookie Powell is adding 15.7 points per contest.
Villanova has won four straight meetings in this series and has covered the spread in three of the four victories. Nova has covered in 9 of its last 11 against A-10 opponents and in 45 of its last 66 non-conference games. La Salle is just 1-7 ATS in its last eight and 3-9 ATS in its last 12 Sunday games. The public betting is backing Villanova today and I think the Wildcats are able to take care of business. They should be able to lock in on Johnson and the Explorers won’t have an answer
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: VILLANOVA -21.5