March Madness round 1 picks: Villanova vs Robert Morris
by Nick Meyer
The Villanova Wildcats struggled a bit down the stretch, but with the lack of fellow candidates for the number two seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats ended up getting the nod and a favorable matchup against Robert Morris in the first round, at least on paper.
Villanova is a big NCAA Tournament betting favorite going into this one against the Colonials, but we've seen a 2/15 upset before in the tournament and there's always a chance that it could happen again.
College basketball betting fans know that in the back of their heads, but covering the spread is the thing on most bettors' minds as the game approaches.
Villanova Wildcats (24-7 SU, 18-12 ATS) vs. Robert Morris Colonials (23-11 SU, 3-4 ATS)
12:30 p.m., Thursday, March 18, CBS
NCAA basketball betting spread: Villanova favored at -18
Robert Morris got into the NCAA Tournament with a title game win over Quinnipiac, 52-50, and the Colonials won the Northeast Conference title with a record of 15-3 in the regular season.
That would seem to make them a formidable foe for a team in Villanova that didn't do too well down the stretch.
But the Colonials have a couple of big strikes against them as an NCAA Tournament underdog going into this one when it comes to covering the NCAAB betting spread.
First of all, the Colonials are led by two freshmen in Karon Abraham at guard and Russell Johnson at forward.
That's bad news against a Villanova team that has experience from going to the Final Four at Ford field in Detroit last year and is led by a dynamite veteran PG in Scottie Reynolds.
Secondly, the Colonials are from a lesser conference and Villanova is battle-tested from the Big East, which is the second-highest ranked RPI conference in the nation.
With big-time scorers and athletes flanking Reynolds, the Wildcats should be able to run Robert Morris out of the gym and rest up for the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a big win.
Robert Morris only scores 68 points a game while Villanova scores 82, and the Wildcats should be able to push a pace in this game that the Colonials will not be able to keep up with.
Villanova's weakness is a truly dominant big man on the opposing team and the Colonials don't present that challenge nor do they have anywhere near the overall firepower to keep up in the first round.
NCAA Tournament betting pick: Villanova (-18) over Robert Morris in the first round.
