College Basketball Picks: The Jimmy V Classic takes place on Tuesday night with a pair of games on ESPN including the Illinois Fighting Illini playing the Villanova Wildcats. The Illini moved into the Top 25 this week at #24 as they were 6-0 while Villanova was ranked 10th as they were also 6-0. The Illini lost to Miami so they will likely drop out of the rankings before this contest on Tuesday. Let’s look at the matchup and college basketball picks.
Illini Starting to Get Tested
Illinois started 6-0 this season but really didn’t play anyone of note. They fell to Miami on the road in their first true test of the season. Head coach John Groce has let his team play a loose style as they were averaging 86 points per game while allowing 64 points per game. That style works against poor teams but it doesn’t work against good teams. Miami had eight dunk layups out of 12 second-half baskets. The Illini could see their season spiral in the wrong direction if they are not careful as they have games against Villanova, Oregon and Missouri coming up and they play four of their first five Big Ten games on the road.
Wildcats Winning, Covering and Going Under
Villanova has been a good team to bet and to take under the total. The team went 5-1 ATS in their six games of their seven that had lines posted. And they went under the total in five of those six games. The defense has been stifling as they have allowed just 57 points per game. The team is averaging just over 75 points per game through their first seven games. The Wildcats did have a game against St. Joe’s on Saturday but they still will have had two days off before this game. The Wildcats are very deep and so far this season head coach Jay Wright has been getting his top seven players as many minutes as possible.
Game Notes
This game is the first half of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. This game has a tip time of about 7 pm Eastern with the late game having Indiana taking on Louisville.
The Illinois-Villanova series goes back to 1938 and each team has won three times. The Wildcats have taken the past two but none of the meetings have occurred since 1988 when the teams met in the NCAA tourney quarterfinals. Villanova will be playing in their third Jimmy V Classic. They lost to Texas in 2008 and to Missouri in 2011. Illinois played in 2003 and lost to Providence.
College Basketball Picks
We’ll lay the points and take Villanova in this game.
