The Holy Land of Hoops

Legends Classic at Brooklyn
Villanova vs Virginia Commonwealth, 7:00
ESPN2: Doug Sherman, Dan Dakich , Jeff Goodman

Murray State @ Xavier, 7:00
Fox Sports 1: Joe Davis, Jim Jackson

NJIT @ Marquette, 9:00
Fox Sports 1: Eric Collins, Corey Williams

Paradise Jam Championship Game
Seton Hall vs Illinois State, 9:00
CBS Sports Network: Danny Lee, Kevin Lehman, Monyka Jernigan

Missed one:

Paradise Jam Championship
Seton Hall vs. Illinois State, 9:00
CBS Sports Network

Thanks for the heads up. That Nova/VCU game looks like a good one. I'm definitely gonna tune in

Villanova is a 1 1/2 point favorite.

Hall2012 wrote:Missed one:

Paradise Jam Championship
Seton Hall vs. Illinois State, 9:00
CBS Sports Network

Sorry, I didn't have it on my list because it wasn't listed as ISU/ODU was still being played.

I haven't seen VCU play yet this year, but I think Villanova matches up well with them, with great press-breaking and ball-handling, so this may turn into a lay-up drill for the Cats. They also i think will play with better focus after their Lehigh and Bucknell hypnosis. I also get the sense that Ochefu might be unstoppable down low (Pinkston a little less so). Villanova 78, VCU 69.

The other 3 games should be winnable too. Murray State catches my eye, but Xavier is too complete a team.

In other areas, Butler:
Butler has played 3 weak teams, but the keys to optimism about them is:
- they win each game by 40 or whatever.
- they're executing and playing well under a different coach.
- they have veteran starters who are comfortable with each other.
- Kelan Martin looks to be Big East ready.
- Roosevelt Jones is fantastic.
Butler could pick off UNC because of the reasons listed, plus generally speaking UNC is lazy and typically less prepared than they should be. Butler will be focused, they can score inside and out, and they can rebound. Like Notre Dame yesterday, UNC will bank on offensive rebounds via jumping over the back and counting on the refs to not call fouls on them. Butler vs UNC is a toss-up.

what VCU is going to do is force Nova to play more than the normal 7 that they play. In the 2 close games this year- they played Booth in both games a total of 9 minutes and Reynolds a total of 5 minutes(with a dnp in there). VCU will force players like them to play a lot of minutes and even further down the bench.

VCU will bring the pressure per usual, but if Nova can limit turnovers, and keep VCU to one shot they will win. Arc, Ennis, and Hilliard need to hold strong. Nova has a huge advantage with Pinkston and Ochefu and need to make a effort to play inside out. Nova also needs to win the 50/50 balls. I could see Hart logging a lot of minutes in this game to match the athletes that VCU will have. Good Luck Nova!!!!

xufan02 wrote:VCU will bring the pressure per usual, but if Nova can limit turnovers, and keep VCU to one shot they will win. Arc, Ennis, and Hilliard need to hold strong. Nova has a huge advantage with Pinkston and Ochefu and need to make a effort to play inside out. Nova also needs to win the 50/50 balls. I could see Hart logging a lot of minutes in this game to match the athletes that VCU will have. Good Luck Nova!!!!

the thing is- that's a HUGE if.

Also- given the short turn-around time for tomorrow- that will be a big impact as well. Nova going 2-0 would be HUGE.

Officiating big in this one. VCU kept in check by referees are so-so. VCU allowed to be ultra physical in the press is a very tough team to beat.