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The Villanova Wildcats are back in action Tuesday night. The Wildcats, off a 2-1 start to the year, play the Hartford Hawks at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville.
Hartford heads into this game having played just one game against a familiar opponent. The UConn Huskies defeated Hartford in the Hawks’ only game of the season so far, 69-57 last Friday. It’s pretty impossible to make sweeping statements after one game, but it was a poor showing for the Hawks offensively. They shot just 26.7 percent from 3-point land and 34.3 percent on 2-point tries. The only strengths they showed offensively were getting to the line and then shooting at the line. They went 21-for-27, outpacing the Huskies by over 20 percent.
Moses Flowers was also a bright spot in the losing effort. Flowers scored a game-high 24 points and made baskets at every level of the floor. He’ll be the one to watch and to corral for Villanova. Their guards will have to certainly play better defensively than UConn’s did, as the Huskies had trouble defending Flowers even through some of his inefficiencies.
If Hartford’s lone performance taught us anything on defense, it’s that they struggled inside. Villanova has performed well on the interior so far this year, shooting 55.1 percent on 2-point tries. They’ve yet to really be tamed, shooting 59.5, 58.8 and 47.2 percent on the interior in their three games so far. Hartford will have to be up to task in that category if they want to at least aim to control the game. Otherwise, it could be a very long night in Uncasville for them.
How to Watch
Time: 5 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Odds
Spread: Villanova -25.5
Total: 137.5
Moneyline: Villanova -50000 | Hartford +3000