With less than two weeks until Selection Sunday the regular season of college basketball is beginning to draw to a close.
But have no fear, March is here! Which means the best 68 men’s basketball teams are preparing to tip-off off March Madness in 2021.
Take a look at our previews of PointsBet’s top 10 favorites to win the 2021 NCAA Championship. Coming in at #4 is the Villanova Wildcats out of the Big East Conference.
Villanova Wildcats:
Record: 15-4
Conference: Big East
NCAA Championship Odds: +1100
Season Summary
The 2019-20 Wildcats were in a great position prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the college basketball season and NCAA tournament. Villanova were sitting on top of the Big East with a 24-7 overall record (13-5 vs Big East) and ranked as the 10th best team in the country on the final AP poll of the 2019-20 season.
Despite losing Saddiq Bey to the NBA during the 2020 offseason, the Wildcats were determined to ‘run it back’ in 2020-21. With most of their roster from the previous year returning, Villanova were once again in a great position to compete for their third NCAA championship in six years.
Following senior Collin Gillespie and sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl being named in the preseason All-Big East First Team, the Wildcats were considered one of the favorites to win the NCAA tournament and were subsequently ranked the third best team in the nation in the preseason AP poll.
As it stands today, Villanova have lived up to their preseason hype, currently sitting on top of the Big East with a 10-3 record against conference rivals (15-4 overall) and once again ranked as the 10th best team in the nation on the eve of the March Madness tournament.
Although they started the season with a 2-1 record, the Wildcats then went through a tumultuous period of COVID-19 related postponements. In fact, of their next 14 scheduled games, Villanova secured six victories to improve to a 8-1 record, however the remaining eight games were postponed.
After almost a month of not competing, Villanova returned to the court on the 19th of January, reigniting their season with consecutive wins over Seton Hall and Providence to improve to 10-1.
Of their next 11 scheduled games, Villanova had a further three postponements as well as five victories and three losses, leaving the Wildcats with a 15-4 overall record with two games remaining this season.
Although Villanova have struggled to consistently stay on the floor this year, the output from their preseason All-Big East duo has kept them in the hunt for a fourth national championship in the school’s history.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is leading the Wildcats in points (15.5), rebounds (7.9), steals (1.1) and blocks (0.5), while Collin Gillespie is dishing off a team high 4.7 assists per game and also averaging the second most points per game (14.4).
Congrats to Collin Gillespie on being named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Top 10 Watchlist! #GoNova✌️ pic.twitter.com/jztZHN1FSP
— Villanova Athletics (@NovaAthletics) January 27, 2021
As good as Robinson-Earl and Gillespie have been this season, they are just two of five Wildcats averaging 10+ points per game, as Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels and Caleb Daniels have and will continue to be vital to Villanova’s success.
The Wildcats will close out the regular season with matches against No. 14 Creighton and Providence before commencing the Big East tournament.
Given that Villanova currently lead Creighton by just .5 of a game in the Big East standings, the winner of their upcoming head to head match will likely take out the regular season championship in the Big East.
As well as that, Villanova have just a 0-1 record against AP ranked opponents in 2021 (2-1 for the season), meaning a win over No. 14 Creighton would not only be great for their Big East tournament play, but also for their confidence heading into the 2021 NCAA tournament.
Betting Summary
Following the postponement of the 2020 March Madness tournament, the Villanova Wildcats opened with odds of +2800 to win the 2021 NCAA championship after concluding the 2020 college basketball season with a 24-7 record.
In the 2020 offseason, the Wildcats were picked to win the Big East Conference in the coaches’ poll, receiving nine first-place votes for a total of 99 points. As well as that Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl were selected in the preseason All-Big East First Team.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has been named a finalist for the 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝.
The @Hoophall honor is given to the top power forward in college basketball. @JCREarl | #GoNova pic.twitter.com/rLL8d7K3Ax
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 25, 2021
This resulted in Villanova being given the No. 3 ranking on the 2020-21 preseason AP poll, which subsequently saw the Wildcats odds to win the NCAA tournament come in from +2800 to +700 prior to their tip-off of the new season of college basketball.
An early loss to Virginia Tech resulted in the Wildcats national championship odds drifting out to +1300. However a string of six consecutive wins (and three postponed games) saw Villanova return to +900 odds prior to the new year.
Despite not playing a game between December 23rd and January 19th, the Wildcats maintained their favor with the bookmakers, hardly wavering from their +900 odds.
However, a 7-3-3 (win-loss-postponed game) record following their return to the court (Jan 19th) has resulted in the Wildcats settling with odds of +1100 to win their fourth NCAA championship in the school’s history.
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of PointsBet.
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Image by: flickr
