Tuesday Big 5 Matchup Features St. Joe's At Villanova

Saint Joseph’s Hawks at Villanova Wildcats
College Basketball Betting Preview
Date: 12/11/2012 at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Opening Lines: Saint Joseph’s -2½, O/U 135
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Television: ESPNU

Saint Joseph’s Hawks: Saint Joseph’s (5-2 straight-up, 3-2 against the spread) is a road favorite at fellow Philadelphia Big 5 school Villanova for the first time since 2004. The Hawks have been tested this year with a neutral site win (79-70 OT) over then-No. 20 Notre Dame on Nov. 16 and a bad road loss (80-51) at then-No. 11 Creighton on Dec. 1. They did rebound most recently with a 67-55 win at Coppin State last Tuesday (no spread listed). The team relies heavily on six players who each average over 30 minutes per game. That leaves them vulnerable to foul trouble or an in-game injury. The two leading scorers both reside in the backcourt with senior Carl Jones (15.4 points per game) and junior Langston Galloway (13 ppg). The "over" is 3-0 in Saint Joseph’s three games with totals this season and 8-0 dating back to last year.

Villanova Wildcats: The Wildcats (5-4 SU, 4-3-1 ATS) are coming off a much-needed 68-55 win at Pennsylvania on Saturday as 7-point favorites. They were just 1-4 SU and 1-3-1 ATS in their prior five games. Freshman point guard Ryan Arcidiacono leads the team in scoring at just 12.3 ppg. Points have been hard to come by the last six games for Villanova (averaging 62.8 ppg), even with one going into overtime. The "under" is 4-1 in those six contests. Coach Jay Wright’s team is 2-2 SU and 1-2 ATS at home at The Pavilion this year, losing the last two to Temple (76-61 as 4-point ‘dogs) and Columbia (75-57 as 10-point favorites). 'Nova would love to get revenge for last year’s 74-58 loss at Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings between the teams and the "under" is 8-1 in the last nine.

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