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How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow
Game Time: 2:00pm CT
Location: The Pavillion, Villanova, PA
TV: FOX / FSGO
Radio: 1620AM the Zone in Omaha / 610AM WTEL in Philly
Other Blogs: White & Blue Review - Creighton / VU Hoops - Villanova
Tweeters:
Creighton - Rob Anderson / Creighton MBB / Tom Nemitz / “Patrick Marshall” / Matt DeMarinis / Corey Lathrop / Jon Nyatawa / Bleeds Blue / Ryan Holmgren / Danny O’Byrne / Austin Gaule / Creighton Otter / Michael McNeil
Villanova - Ryan Saccoman / Tehr Umar / Eugene Rapay / VU Bench Mob / Terry Toohey / Marc Narducci / Brian Ewart / Mike Town / Chris Lane / Catherine Ryan / Brendan Reilly / VU Hoops / VU Hoops Live Tweets / The Villagnome
Odds & Ends
Villanova opened as an 11 point favorite according to Odds Shark.
If you enjoy betting on sports to earn extra income so you can feed starving children, by all means keep gambling. If you bet on sports because you’ve developed an affinity for it, I suggest you seek help right away. Here’s a list of vices to replace the serotonin release you gain when you successfully gamble:
- Watching all six seasons of The Sopranos fifteen times in succession with Spanish subtitles turned on
- Smoking cigarettes in front of the windows at a rehab center
- Throwing footballs at joggers that pass by
- Going to the library and not watching pornography on the computers
- Cooking a series of nice meals for someone you hate
- Bowling with your friends
Previous Meeting
#1 Villanova 80 - #10 Creighton 70 - 12/31/16
O, Woe is invisible, Jalen scoring in droves!
A maniacal performance that cannot be forgotten!
27 points! Unstoppable! Weep and laugh at his supremacy!
His calm demeanor like potatoes au gratin!
Josh Hart subdued? Unlikely! A double-double, no cheese!
Though there was Patton with 18, Foster with 22!
That sold out crowd in O-Town, tickets cost extra with fees!
An affair so sublime, the New Years baby wept!
Basketball at its finest, choosing not to be shy!
Wildcats were on top of the world! Jays in tow!
Cats remain, the Jays beginning a descent from on high!
Wildcats torn asunder by Bulldogs, Jays fell to the Friars!
To the Pavillion we go, Pennsylvania hosting!
A Top-25 matchup, a marquee matchup FOX is boasting!
Mouth quivering, lusting for buckets!
Bring on the hoop ball, from San Fran to Nantucket!
the end
Verba de Ludis
How the turntables have turned since the last time these two teams met. Phil Booth and Darryl Reynolds will be absent from the hardwood for the Wildcats while the Bluejays deal with the ongoing drama brought about them with the accusations levied against Maurice Watson Jr.
While both teams come off of losses in the previous game, the hunger for a win will be strident and true for them, seeking vengeance most foul.
Villanova is still one of the best teams in the country, running like some Fortune 500 company or something. The play of Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson in the previous affair was paramount to their success, this game acting as a catapult to send both stars into the stratosphere as the Bluejays offer but one actor that can stymie their play in Khyri Thomas.
Kris Jenkins has been inconsistent all year, but is due for a turnaround game, and against a pretty marshmallowy soft defense this may be primed for a breakout performance. Plus, y’know, it’s at the Pavillion, where opposing teams go to die a very methodical death.
Without Darryl Reynolds, however, Creighton’s Justin Patton may hold the spotlight for the Jays. In the loss against Providence it appeared that Patton was bound to break the Friar defense as he scored with relative ease, yet in the waning seconds of the ballgame he didn’t receive a touch, confusing and upsetting fans as he’d been eating all night long. Perhaps the Jays saw that on the tape this week and realized that the offense should move completely through Patton, much like the 13-14 team moved through McDermott, as his ability to score with the ball will open up cutting lanes and shooters on the wing.
Their main problem will be Jalen Brunson, as Thomas will likely stick to Hart. Do you allow freshman point guard Davion Mintz to key in on him, likely setting him up to get burned over and over again? Or will the Jays deploy a 1-3-1 zone to try to take away easy jumpers and attempt to turn up the pressure?
It’ll be interesting to watch, but in this sort of game - with all the off-court distractions and the inability to get the ball where it desperately needs to go - the Wildcats should feast all afternoon, deploying the likes of DiVencenzo, Bridges, and Hart to decimate the Jays on the perimeter, while allowing Eric Paschall to roam around the paint and be a nuisance to the interior.
This game will likely get ugly, fast, and the should the shooting percentage of the ‘Cats hover around 55-60% all game I’d imagine a blowout of epic proportions. Creighton simply doesn’t have the horses or mental mettle to keep pace. Final score should stick around 85-65 with lots of bench players getting some work in.