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Monday, February 21
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Syracuse at Villanova: What bettors need to know
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Syracuse Orange at Villanova Wildcats (-3.5, 135.5)
A battle for key positioning in the Big East tips off at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia where Villanova (21-6, 9-5) hosts Syracuse (22-6, 9-6) on ESPN Monday night.
Refuse to lose
After dropping close-call decisions to Pittsburgh and Rutgers, Villanova bounced back with a three-point victory at Seton Hall Tuesday and a two-point overtime decision at DePaul Saturday.
Senior guard Corey Fisher scored a career-high 34 points against the Blue Demons, nailing the tying 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation.
"I was just trying to make plays on defense," Fisher said. "We weren't worried too much about offense. We were just trying to play hard.”
Maalik Wayns added 17 points, Mouphtaou Yarou snared 15 rebounds and the Wildcats escaped with a hard-fought win over the Big East's last-place team.
After starting the 2010 campaign on a 16-1 winning note, Villanova enters Monday’s game 5-5 in its last 10 games.
A.P.B.
Corey Stokes, the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, missed his third straight game Saturday because of a turf toe injury on his left foot.
Coach Jay Wright is hoping he will be ready for Monday’s contest.
"It's just hard to score," Wright said. "Corey Stokes is always a guy that you know is just going to stretch the defense. Even if he's not making shots, they're going to guard him no matter how far out he is, and it creates space for everybody. Without him, anybody else on our team, they'll just say, 'Go ahead, let those guys beat us."'
Orange juiced
Like Villanova, Syracuse emerged victorious in overtime Saturday, holding off Rutgers, 84-80.
The Orange concentrated at the free-throw stripe where they canned 34 of 47 free throws.
Jim Boeheim’s bunch entered the game ranked 280th out of 335 in free-throw shooting at 64.9 percent.
Junior forward Kris Joseph, who scored six of his 21 points in the extra session, acknowledged the extraordinary effort.
“We got them in the bonus early in both halves," said Joseph, who made 10 of 12 free throws. "I feel like we went to the basket stronger and the refs were making the right calls."
Sophomore point guard Brandon Triche chipped in with 17 points and was 9 for 9 on free throws.
“I think that's the first time we've ever done that, and I don't think it had anything to do with penetration,” said Triche. “We got a lot of rebounds, and that really helped."
Not so Fab
He was the No.1 center in the 2010 class. A McDonald’s All-American.
Naturally, high expectations followed.
Instead, 7-foot Syracuse C Fab Melo has not lived up to his name.
Melo is averaging 2.04 points, 1.8 rebounds and 9.8 minutes per game.
The big guy returned for a one-minute token appearance Saturday against Rutgers after missing the previous two games. He’s played a total of three minutes in the Orange’s last four games.
"His Achilles’ has been sore for a couple weeks and he's having trouble getting up and down the court like we need him to," Boeheim said. "That's held him back."
The good news is the injury is a convenient excuse. Otherwise, the big Brazilian has been a big bust.
In this series
• Syracuse is 5-10 SU and ATS the last 15 meetings.
• Villanova is 10-4 ATS when both teams are off a win.
• The visiting team is 16-6 ATS the last 22 games.
Tale of the tape
According to *********** College Basketball Statistics, here is a breakdown of how each team ranks among 345 others in three pivotal stat categories, namely Offensive Field Goal Percentage, Defensive Field Goal Percentage and Rebound Margin this season:
Offensive FG Percentage –
Syracuse 46.7 – No. 37
Villanova 44.7 - No. 111
Defensive FG Percentage –
Syracuse 39.5 – No. 19
Villanova 39.5 – No. 18
Rebound Margin –
Syracuse +3.4 - No. 65
Villanova +6.9 - No. 12
Dimestore
Syracuse is 13-7 SU and ATS as a dog since 1990 under Boeheim when playing with same season loss revenge of 10 or more points.
Villanova is 5-9 SU and 4-9-1 ATS under Wright against opponents with same season loss revenge of 10 or more points.
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Monday, February 21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syracuse at Villanova: What bettors need to know
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syracuse Orange at Villanova Wildcats (-3.5, 135.5)
A battle for key positioning in the Big East tips off at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia where Villanova (21-6, 9-5) hosts Syracuse (22-6, 9-6) on ESPN Monday night.
Refuse to lose
After dropping close-call decisions to Pittsburgh and Rutgers, Villanova bounced back with a three-point victory at Seton Hall Tuesday and a two-point overtime decision at DePaul Saturday.
Senior guard Corey Fisher scored a career-high 34 points against the Blue Demons, nailing the tying 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation.
"I was just trying to make plays on defense," Fisher said. "We weren't worried too much about offense. We were just trying to play hard.”
Maalik Wayns added 17 points, Mouphtaou Yarou snared 15 rebounds and the Wildcats escaped with a hard-fought win over the Big East's last-place team.
After starting the 2010 campaign on a 16-1 winning note, Villanova enters Monday’s game 5-5 in its last 10 games.
A.P.B.
Corey Stokes, the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, missed his third straight game Saturday because of a turf toe injury on his left foot.
Coach Jay Wright is hoping he will be ready for Monday’s contest.
"It's just hard to score," Wright said. "Corey Stokes is always a guy that you know is just going to stretch the defense. Even if he's not making shots, they're going to guard him no matter how far out he is, and it creates space for everybody. Without him, anybody else on our team, they'll just say, 'Go ahead, let those guys beat us."'
Orange juiced
Like Villanova, Syracuse emerged victorious in overtime Saturday, holding off Rutgers, 84-80.
The Orange concentrated at the free-throw stripe where they canned 34 of 47 free throws.
Jim Boeheim’s bunch entered the game ranked 280th out of 335 in free-throw shooting at 64.9 percent.
Junior forward Kris Joseph, who scored six of his 21 points in the extra session, acknowledged the extraordinary effort.
“We got them in the bonus early in both halves," said Joseph, who made 10 of 12 free throws. "I feel like we went to the basket stronger and the refs were making the right calls."
Sophomore point guard Brandon Triche chipped in with 17 points and was 9 for 9 on free throws.
“I think that's the first time we've ever done that, and I don't think it had anything to do with penetration,” said Triche. “We got a lot of rebounds, and that really helped."
Not so Fab
He was the No.1 center in the 2010 class. A McDonald’s All-American.
Naturally, high expectations followed.
Instead, 7-foot Syracuse C Fab Melo has not lived up to his name.
Melo is averaging 2.04 points, 1.8 rebounds and 9.8 minutes per game.
The big guy returned for a one-minute token appearance Saturday against Rutgers after missing the previous two games. He’s played a total of three minutes in the Orange’s last four games.
"His Achilles’ has been sore for a couple weeks and he's having trouble getting up and down the court like we need him to," Boeheim said. "That's held him back."
The good news is the injury is a convenient excuse. Otherwise, the big Brazilian has been a big bust.
In this series
• Syracuse is 5-10 SU and ATS the last 15 meetings.
• Villanova is 10-4 ATS when both teams are off a win.
• The visiting team is 16-6 ATS the last 22 games.
Tale of the tape
According to *********** College Basketball Statistics, here is a breakdown of how each team ranks among 345 others in three pivotal stat categories, namely Offensive Field Goal Percentage, Defensive Field Goal Percentage and Rebound Margin this season:
Offensive FG Percentage –
Syracuse 46.7 – No. 37
Villanova 44.7 - No. 111
Defensive FG Percentage –
Syracuse 39.5 – No. 19
Villanova 39.5 – No. 18
Rebound Margin –
Syracuse +3.4 - No. 65
Villanova +6.9 - No. 12
Dimestore
Syracuse is 13-7 SU and ATS as a dog since 1990 under Boeheim when playing with same season loss revenge of 10 or more points.
Villanova is 5-9 SU and 4-9-1 ATS under Wright against opponents with same season loss revenge of 10 or more points.
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