Villanova Wildcats at Pittsburgh Panthers on CBS – Odds, Free Picks, and Predictions -NCAA Basketball Betting 3/5/11: Guard Corey Fisher will lead the No. 19 Villanova Wildcats on the road to the Petersen Events Center to take on guard Ashton Gibbs and the No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM ET on CBS Sports. The Wildcats enter the game on a 3 game losing skid at 21-9, 9-8 – 9th in the Big East – while the Panthers have won 7 of 10 and sit at 26-4, 14-3 needing a win to stay in first place in the Big East and most likely a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A loss today and a win by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would put them in a tie for 1st and that is something the players don’t want.
“We want to be the only champion in the Big East,” Pitt forward Gilbert Brown said. “We’re going to do our best to bring it home.” Pitt is 3-0 at the Pete against the Wildcats, already won this year once, and the last 7 consecutive. “We don’t want to share it, that’s for sure,” guard Brad Wanamaker said. “We want to go out and end our careers at Peterson Events Center the right way.” “Knowing people had confidence and faith in us, then to actually come out and do what we’ve done this season has meant a lot,” Brown said. “We’re out to prove everybody right.” The odds makers at SBG Global have the Pittsburgh Panthers a -9 point favorite at home against the Villanova Wildcats.
The Panthers are coming off a 66-50 beat down of the USF Bulls on the road to move to 13-11 ATS for the season. Forward Nasir Robinson led the way with 18 points and pulled down 10 boards while Gibbs added 16 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Forward Gilbert Brown also chipped in 10 points a rebound and a dime. Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Villanova. Vegas odds makers have the Pittsburgh Panthers +1000 to win the 2011 NCAA Championship.
Villanova’s most recent loss was a 93-72 thumping on the road from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish moving them to just 11-15 ATS for the season. Fisher was the top Cat scorer with 22 points and 3 assists and forward Antonio Pena added 12 points and 5 rebounds. Guard Maalik Wayns rounded out the double digit scoring with 11 points, pulling down 4 boards and dishing 8 assists. Villanova is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games on the road the total has gone OVER in 4 of Villanova’s last 6 games on the road. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 134 points combined of the Villanova Wildcats and Pittsburgh Panthers.
MATCHUP: No. 19 Villanova (21-9) at No. 5 Pittsburgh (26-4)
GAME TIME: 4:00 PM EST
TELEVISION: CBS
Recent Villanova and Pittsburgh Betting Odds Trends:
Villanova: VILLA are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
VILLA are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 vs. Big East.
Over is 17-7 in VILLA last 24 road games.
Pittsburgh: Over is 45-22-1 in PITT last 68 Sat. games.
Head to Head: Under is 8-1 in the last 9 meetings.
VILLA are 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
NCAA Basketball Vegas Odds:
Favorite: Pittsburgh -9.5
Total: O/U 134.5
* Morning Lines at the Mirage in Las Vegas
NSAwins Blog Writer Rich Fritz’s Villanova Wildcats at Pittsburgh Panthers Free NCAA Basketball Predictions 3/5:
Play Pittsburgh -9.5
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