College Basketball Picks: ESPN 2 will be televising the Top 25 match-up between the Villanova Wildcats and VCU Rams on Monday night. The game is part of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York with the winner playing either Oregon or Michigan on Tuesday. Here is a look at the game and college basketball predictions.
12th-ranked Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats begin the season as the favorite to win the Big East again this season. They went 14-2 in the conference last season and they could be just as good this season with four of their five starters returning.
The team boasts Darrun Hilliard II, who averaged more than 14 points per game last season. The team does have to find a replacement for James Bell but they do have Dylan Ennis, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins who should improve this season. Hart is a key player this season as he goes from sixth man to starter.
15th-ranked VCU Rams
The Rams went 26-9 last season but they didn’t win the Atlantic 10 and they flamed out in the NCAA Tourney as they lost in the first round. The team brings back two really good players in Treveon Graham and Briante Weber so they will be a contender for the Atlantic 10 title again this season. The team did lose some talent from last year’s team so they need to find other players to support Graham and Weber.
The team is well coached by Shaka Smart and they play a frenetic style of defense so they will be tough to play against. The concern for this team is that they struggle to score from the outside. Graham is really the only threat from the outside. The team also doesn’t have nearly as much depth as in the past and with this system that is a major issue.
Game Notes
Did you know that Shaka Smart has never led his team to a conference regular season title? VCU has been on the map as a serious contender in the NCAA Tournament under Smart but they have never won the conference title in the regular season with Smart at the helm. Both Villanova and VCU are listed with college basketball odds of 35-1 to win the national championship this season.
College Basketball Predictions
This is a neutral site game in New York but the edge in crowd support should be with Villanova. The Wildcats are the better team and they should get the win in this game on Monday so we’ll lay the points.
