Last Updated on March 20, 2010 9:00 am by drew
Nova-St. Mary’s Pick
The second round of the NCAA Tournament kicks off Saturday at 1:05PM ET when Villanova faces off with St. Mary’s.
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This contest is part of the South Regional and will take place from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed while St. Mary’s is the No. 10 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Villanova 4.5-point favorites over St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon. The over/under has been set at 153.
Villanova is seeking its third straight Sweet Sixteen appearance with a win, it would be the 17th Sweet Sixteen in school history. The Wildcats reached the second round with a 73-70 win over No. 15 Robert Morris. The Wildcats had 20 points from Scottie Reynolds in the win while Mouphataou Yarou scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Taylor King added 10 points. Villanova shot just 35 percent from the field in the win, but forced 20 turnovers on defense to sneak past the Colonials.
St. Mary’s won its first NCAA Tournament game on Thursday in an 80-71 win over No. 7 Richmond. St. Mary’s shot 49 percent from the floor in the win and out-rebounded Richmond 39-16 for the game. Omar Samhan had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead St. Mary’s while Mickey McConnell added 23 points and four assists. The Gaels are contending for their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday with a win over Villanova.
A lot of times during the tournament you will see a team narrowly win its opening round game and then turn around and completely dominate on the way to the Elite Eight or further. I am not sure that Villanova will fit this role, but there is no such thing as a bad win in the tournament. St. Mary’s looks to be for real and the No. 10 seed shouldn’t fool you. But, I think Villanova got its wake up call on Thursday and should be ready to put on a better showing on Saturday.
Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is: VILLANOVA -4.5 and UNDER 153
March Madness Betting Trends
St. Mary’s is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Villanova is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games
March Madness Injury Report
VILLANOVA
No Injuries Reported
ST. MARY’S
No Injuries Reported
March Madness Game Odds
Villanova Wildcats -4.5 Over 153
St. Mary’s Gaels +4.5 Under 153
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Posted: 3/20/10 9:00AM ET